A Defender of
Liberty Under God
Will be Called an "Extremist"

Anyone who defends "Liberty Under God" eventually gets labeled an "extremist."
I take that back.
They are called "You EXTREMIST!!"
To which I reply, "Thank you!"

Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican Nominee for President, responded to repeated accusations of "extremism" as follows:

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!

On the other hand, consider the $4 Trillion federal budget which Republicrats and Demoblicans have given us. America's Founding Fathers would say our government was extremely oppressive. And today's Defense Department says America’s Founding Fathers were extremists.

America's Founding Fathers were "alarmists" who took great risks.

Are Libertarians "Extremists?"

Imagine the look of anguish on the face of an Iraqi peasant as she holds her dead child in her arms, killed by the United States. Only an "extremist" would kill thousands of Iraqi children over . . . over what? . . . oil?

Indeed, some have argued that libertarians are the only moderates, because they avoid the anti-human extremes of war, confiscation of property, and a Messianic State.

• "Extremism": Their Favorite Word to Demonize You
• Is the Case for Liberty Too Extreme? | Richard M. Ebeling
• Who Is an Extremist? | Jacob G. Hornberger
• Is Liberty Too Extreme? | Richard M. Ebeling
• "Far too many Republican lawmakers fear the word 'extremist. . . .'" source
• Are You an "Extremist"? | Thomas Sowell
• Extremism in the Pursuit of Historical Truth

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Are Christians "Extremists?"

Yes, they are.

Jesus Christ says if you are not an extremist, you are not a Christian.
In fact, if you are not an extremist, you make Jesus puke.

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. {16} So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." Revelation 3:15-16

And now, the "New Direction" Democrat Congress wants to arrest anyone accused of being an "extremist." Details here.

Fanfare for the lukewarm:

“THE PUZZLE IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE so badly.
Not so wickedly, but so inanely.
Not so cruelly, but so stupidly.
There is little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture.
We have celebrities but not saints.
Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs.
Infamous criminals act out the aggressions of timid conformists.
Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators.
People, aimless and bored, amuse themselves with trivia and trash. Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of justice gets headlines.”
― Eugene H. Peterson, 1932-2018.

Here is a perfect example of "extremism."

Mark 12 28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'He is one, and besides Him there is no other'; 33 and 'to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,'--this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask Him any question.

What right does God have to demand ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my mind, and ALL my strength? I've already had a stressful day at the office!

For too many people, loving and obeying God is a part-time responsibility. Jesus said it should be a passion, full-time.

This does not mean being a missionary or cleric. It means obeying God's commandments in every area of life, with no zones of neutrality.

But I "made a decision" for Christ! "Once saved always saved." How can you suggest that I'm not saved? Why do I have to be an "extremist?"

It's not politically correct to say this, but the Bible says that some people are excluded from the Kingdom of God:

John 3
³   Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6
⁹   Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
¹⁰   Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

"But I don't commit any of these acts!" you reply.

But Jesus reserved some of His harshest criticisms towards those who thought of themselves as "good," and "respectable" -- those who held "extremists" in contempt. Do you recall Jesus saying this:

Matthew 25 41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

When was the last time you visited someone in prison? When was the last time you even thought about the millions of human beings who are wrongly imprisoned -- even here in the United States?

Jesus said many things like this that offended even those who were "His disciples":

From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. --John 6:66

And of course, the religious leaders of His day wanted Jesus the Great Teacher and Healer put to death!

And when the chief priests and scribes saw the marvels that He did . . . they disdained.
-- Genevan Testament (Matt. xxi. 15).

Matthew 7
²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

1 Corinthians 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Can you be a half-way follower of Christ?

No. If Jesus is not 100% your Lord and Master, He is not lord at all and you deceive yourself.

If you reserve even a whit of autonomy for yourself, you are in fact claiming complete sovereignty. Even if you choose to follow Jesus 99% of the time, it is still YOU who are choosing, you who approve of 99% of Jesus' commands, you who put yourself in the place of God and judge some of what Christ said to be wrong,  you who are acting as lord of your life. You view religion as a Smorgasbord. You pick and choose depending on what YOU like, but do not view the Word of God as an absolutely binding package deal. Everybody agrees with something Jesus said, even some real sickos. A Christian is someone who believes everything Jesus said. Nothing less than full submission counts for anything.

If you disagree with this -- if you want to avoid "extremes" -- then you want to be at point "M" on the chart below:

Do you want to be a Grade "A" Christian? Then you had better avoid being a Grade "Z" Christian with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

"It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation." ~ Roberto Benigni

If you are not an extremist in defense of "Liberty Under God," what is the guiding principle that prevents you from being a defender of tyranny, atheism and hate? Is "moderation" the Grand Principle that you believe will keep America from collapsing into chaos and lawlessness? When Jesus said "Love your neighbor," was He really just telling us not to hate our neighbor, to avoid extremes, and have an attitude of "moderation" toward our neighbor? Can Lukewarm Indifference ever be Christlike?

Even if our goal were no more than "moderation," if you are at point "Z," we must be "extremists" in the opposite direction, and advocate "A" in order to get you to point "M,"  because if we only advocate "Moderation,"  "Z + M" only brings you to point "T." Life is a tug-of-war. If you don't pull the rope with every ounce of strength you have, you're in the mud.

We advocate "A" on the scale above. We're trying to get you to adopt "A" as your position as well. If you're a Moderate and we move you toward "A" to any degree, we've succeeded. For now.

We are then called “extremists” and worse because we threaten the power brokers of our time.
R. J. Rushdoony on Chalcedon’s Vision

Are you SURE you're a Christian?

There is no evidence that William Lloyd Garrison, the abolitionist, personally engaged in violent acts to end slavery, but he made only selective condemnation of terrorists like John Brown, who was a violent pawn of Unitarian conspirators. Garrison was right to oppose slavery, but wrong in fighting slavery with terrorism, and applauding violent insurrections. Garrison created a good analogy, however, in "The Liberator" (Inaugural Editorial):

I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation.  No!  no!  Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present.  I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD.  The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.

If you want government to intervene domestically, you're a "liberal."
If you want government to intervene overseas, you're a "conservative."
If you want government to intervene everywhere, you're a "moderate."
If you don't want government to intervene anywhere, you're an "extremist."
~ Joseph Sobran

January 4, 2008

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

Jane Harman and
Liberty's Lost Light

Thinking for Yourself
is Now a Crime

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

What was the greatest failure of 2007? President Bush's "surge" in Iraq? The decline in the value of the US dollar? Subprime mortgages? No. The greatest failure of 2007 was the newly sworn in Democratic Congress.

The American people's attempt in November 2006 to rein in a rogue government, which has committed the US to costly military adventures while running roughshod over the US Constitution, failed. Replacing Republicans with Democrats in the House and Senate has made no difference.

The assault on the US Constitution by the Democratic Party is as determined as the assault by the Republicans. On October 23, 2007, the House passed a bill sponsored by California Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman, chairwoman of a Homeland Security subcommittee, that overturns the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression, association, and assembly.

The bill passed the House on a vote of 404-6. In the Senate the bill is sponsored by Maine Republican Susan Collins and apparently faces no meaningful opposition.

Harman's bill is called the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act."When HR 1955 becomes law, it will create a commission tasked with identifying extremist people, groups, and ideas. The commission will hold hearings around the country, taking testimony and compiling a list of dangerous people and beliefs. The bill will, in short, create massive terrorism in the United States. But the perpetrators of terrorism will not be Muslim terrorists; they will be government agents and fellow citizens.

We are beginning to see who will be the inmates of the detention centers being built in the US by Halliburton under government contract.

Who will be on the "extremist beliefs" list? The answer is: civil libertarians, critics of Israel, 9/11 skeptics, critics of the administration's wars and foreign policies, critics of the administration's use of kidnapping, rendition, torture and violation of the Geneva Conventions, and critics of the administration's spying on Americans. Anyone in the way of a powerful interest group--such as environmentalists opposing politically connected developers--is also a candidate for the list.

The "Extremist Beliefs Commission" is the mechanism for identifying Americans who pose "a threat to domestic security" and a threat of "homegrown terrorism" that "cannot be easily prevented through traditional federal intelligence or law enforcement efforts."

This bill is a boon for nasty people. That SOB who stole your girlfriend, that hussy who stole your boyfriend, the gun owner next door--just report them to Homeland Security as holders of extreme beliefs. Homeland Security needs suspects, so they are not going to check. Under the new regime, accusation is evidence. Moreover, "our" elected representatives will never admit that they voted for a bill and created an "Extremist Belief Commission" for which there is neither need nor constitutional basis.

That boss who harasses you for coming late to work--he's a good candidate to be reported; so is that minority employee that you can't fire for any normal reason. So is the husband of that good-looking woman you have been unable to seduce. Every kind of quarrel and jealousy can now be settled with a phone call to Homeland Security.

Soon Halliburton will be building more detention centers.

Americans are so far removed from the roots of their liberty that they just don't get it. Most Americans don't know what habeas corpus is or why it is important to them. But they know what they want, and Jane Harman has given them a new way to settle scores and to advance their own interests.

Even educated liberals believe that the US Constitution is a "living document" that can be changed to mean whatever it needs to mean in order to accommodate some new important cause, such as abortion and legal privileges for minorities and the handicapped. Today it is the "war on terror" that the Constitution must accommodate. Tomorrow it can be the war on whomever or whatever.

Think about it. More than six years ago the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked. The US government blamed it on al Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission Report has been subjected to criticism by a large number of qualified people--including the commission's chairman and co-chairman.

Since 9/11 there have been no terrorist attacks in the US. The FBI has tried to orchestrate a few, but the "terrorist plots" never got beyond talk organized and led by FBI agents. There are no visible extremist groups other than the neoconservatives that control the government in Washington. But somehow the House of Representatives overwhelmingly sees a need to create a commission to take testimony and search out extremist views (outside of Washington, of course).

This search for extremist views comes after President Bush and the Justice (sic) Department declared that the President can ignore habeas corpus, ignore the Geneva Conventions, seize people without evidence, hold them indefinitely without presenting charges, torture them until they confess to some made up crime, and take over the government by declaring an emergency. Of course, none of these "patriotic" views are extremist.

The search for extremist views follows also the granting of contracts to Halliburton to build detention centers in the US. No member of Congress or the executive branch ever explained the need for the detention centers or who the detainees would be. Of course, there is nothing extremist about building detention centers in the US for undisclosed inmates.

Clearly the detention centers are not meant to just stand there empty. Thanks to 2007's greatest failure--the Democratic Congress--there is to be an "Extremist Beliefs Commission" to secure inmates for Bush's detention centers.

President Bush promises us that the wars he has launched will cause the "untamed fire of freedom" to "reach the darkest corners of our world." Meanwhile in America the fire of freedom has not only been tamed but also is being extinguished.

The light of liberty has gone out in the United States. [return]

‎"One of the greatest difficulties is to keep before the audience's mind the question of Truth. They always think you are recommending Christianity not because it is true, but because it is good. And in the discussion they will at every moment try to escape from the issue ‘True-or False’ into stuff about a good society, or morals, or incomes of Bishops, or the Spanish inquisition, or France, or Poland—or anything whatever. You have to keep forcing them back, and again back, to the real point. Only thus you will be able to undermine...their belief that a certain amount of ‘religion’ is desirable but one mustn't carry it too far. One must keep on pointing out that Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."

—C.S. Lewis
God in the Dock, 1945, p. 101.

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From Birmingham Jail”

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime–the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

You'll recognize one of those archists above as Adolph Hitler. Hitler did not kill six million Jews. Name one Jew whom you can prove Hitler killed. Six million Jews were killed by six million Germans who chose to wear a silly uniform, walk a silly goose-step, and follow the orders of a beyond-silly, pathologically evil man. These Germans were archists. They were "ordinary people." Just like you.

next: Campaign Finance, Corruption and the Oath of Office