By Jason Charles on 4/4/2016 (8 years 234 days ago) Theology & Religion
In the sea of modern "churchianty" Pastor Baldwin is a lone voice, truly a voice crying in the wilderness. While preachers every Sunday are dancing around the political nature of Jesus' ministry in favor of ear-tickling preaching, Pastor Baldwin is preaching Jesus AND instructing his people on the Biblical Principles of Liberty, and then applying those truths to the volatile political climate that is tearing this country apart.
As a non-501c3 church he isn't beholden to any IRS threats and therefore speaks out powerfully on national issues that the 501c3 preachers don't dare address, fearing removal of their tax exempt status. As a result of his preaching there is no-doubt that Pastor Baldwin is having a impact on a national stage; much to the chagrin of the liberal media as evidenced by a recent hit-piece done on the Investigative Discovery channel called "Hate in America."
Ryan Lenz, Online Editor and Senior Writer with the SPLC is quoted as saying this in the most recent episode that talks about both Pastor Baldwin and his role with the Oath Keepers,
"Chuck Baldwin views Montana as a battleground in every which way, he is trying to recruit there, he is trying to recruit liberty-loving fighters. People that are willing to stand up to the federal government for a number of reasons."
...
"Chuck Baldwin's anti-government rhetoric is dangerous, because at the core of Chuck Baldwin's rhetoric is a very distinct set of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories that the federal government is out to take away your sovereignty, to take away your liberties and to take away your freedom."
Ryan Lenz as the Senior Writer with the SPLC and as the website editor is undoubtedly behind the hugely misleading and false SPLC article that connects Pastor Baldwin to white supremacists and neo-nazis' in the Flathead Valley of Montana. Ryan Lenz and his staff are more interested in painting Christians as racist conspiracy theories that are calling for armed revolution than doing any real fact checking. On Pastor Baldwin's website there is a testimony from a long-time congregate of Pastor Baldwin who made the move from Florida with Him, and who patently states that Pastor Baldwin has never once exhibited racists belief's, and guess what, he is a black man. Then the episode also falsely states that his church Liberty Fellowship meets in a location that they haven't met in for years indicating that they didn't even bother to check the address on the front page of his website.
The show went on to connect Pastor Baldwin to violent attacks on government officials. Heidi Beirich, Director, SPLC Intelligence Project said this,
"when you start telling people that the government is evil, you start telling people that you have to arm yourself to take on the government, and you start talking to paranoid people about this stuff, you get attacks on government officials."
...
"We(SPLC) basically have definitions of what we consider anti-government if you propagate in certain kinds of conspiracy theories you are on our radar. These ideas are dangerous and Chuck Baldwin is responsible for propagating them. And when we see violence committed in the name of these ideas we are absolutely going to write about it, and warn the public about them and warn law enforcement about it"
The show cuts to Ryan Lenz alluding to the fact that Pastor Baldwin's rhetoric is what causes shootings and used the example of what happened in Las Vegas when Jared and Amanda Miller started shooting police officers. The ironic thing about using the Jared and Amanda Miller shooting as evidence that he inspires violent , anti-government extremism is the fact that these two killers were told to leave the Bundy stand-off by Ammon Bundy when they showed up at the BLM protest at Bunkerville in April 2014.
"The couple suspected in Sunday’s Las Vegas shopping center shooting tried to join the armed standoff against federal agents at Cliven Bundy's Nevada ranch in April, but they were asked to leave for being "too radical," Bundy's son said.
Jerad and Amanda Miller did not "align themselves" with the April protest’s main issues, Ammon Bundy told The Associated Press.
"Not very many people were asked to leave," he said. "I think they may have been the only ones." (ABC News)
These two were not even accepted in the Bundy Ranch camp, and Ammon who has now been arrested and imprisoned as a leader of the now notorious stand-off at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Center was called out publically by Pastor Baldwin both before the fatal shooting of LaVoy Finicum by Oregon State Patrol and after it was revealed that LaVoy Finicum ran a police barricade resulting in officers opening fire on him in that confrontation, which according to investigators was ruled as being a justified shooting.
The fact is Pastor Baldwin is consistent in his teachings and preaching when it comes to what is right action when faced with government tyranny. He is not afraid to call out the evils of government, nor is he afraid to call out the unjustified action by people in the patriot movement. The Bible provides a moral framework for how righteous government is to operate, and it also provides a moral framework on how to restore government when it goes bad. This understanding was not lost on the founding generation but it truly is lost on our generation. Yes, it is true that there are some so called "patriots" who are hell bent on starting a war with government, but groups like the SPLC need to become quite a bit more sophisticated in their analysis as evidenced by the opposition of the recent BLM stand-offs by Pastor Baldwin. If anything Pastor Baldwin is a voice of reason, and provides instruction in the Biblical principles that enforces the proper role of government, and encourages the proper utilization of the systems of government towards change, that effectively helps dissuade lone-gunman activity.
It is not Pastor Baldwin's supposed "anti-government" rhetoric that truly sets the SPLC and other government agencies on edge, it is the fact that he is rallying churches to teach Biblical Principles that makes them afraid. It is the Bible, the Constitution and moral and righteous action by the body politic that has the political class on edge. A generation that becomes re-educated in the Principles of Liberty, the moral instruction included in scripture, and act as a powerful vocal church body will undoubtedly bring ruin upon the power elite. It is the message they fear, not the violent rhetoric, this message is why Pastor Baldwin is the kind of preacher America needs.
The Message
The Bible is the foundation of everything we have come to understand and cherish here in America in regards to our constitutional form of government.
The main points Pastor Baldwin is asking that people take from all of his preaching, columns and media is the fact that the Revolutionary War that formed our country was not based on the knee-jerk reaction of a handful of disgruntled colonists. No, it was instead a unanimous decision made by the elected officials who represented the will of the people in all of the 13 colonies at the time. The decision making process, debate and resulting actions that led up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence was quite literally based around the cumulative thinking and knowledge going back thousands of years to the time of Christ.
It was Jesus himself that stood up to the Roman government (John 19:11), the civil and spiritual authority of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees (Matthew 23) , and also King Herod (Luke 13:32). Jesus started something that no man had ever done in the known world up to that point, he defied wicked, worldly authority by saying no, you are not gods, your authority is limited, your jurisdiction is limited and the sole power that preside over a nation and allows for its existence is God Himself who judges the nations (Psalms 110:6, Isaiah 40:23). Jesus also placed the power in the people themselves. By walking among them, instructing them, and openly rebuking the establishment class he made it abundantly clear that the power of Heaven itself was with the people first, and lastly in that of the governing class. When he confronted the political establishment of His day, he brought to bear the will of the people. Scripture recorded that the ruling class feared Jesus because they feared the will of the people. (Matthew 21:46) This is hugely significant to say the least and indicates that anything we do in terms of political activism always begins with the will of the people. If we cannot marshal the will of the people towards a significant cause then it is a losing battle especially in the face of wicked government. This realization is the foundation of our constitutional government and is why political philosophy maintains to this very day that government's legitimacy is only justified when established within the consent of the governed.
Churches and pastors today fail to realize just how revolutionary, profound, politically charged, and disruptive Jesus' life and ministry was to the power structures of His time. His life and teachings were so profound it took 1700 years for some of the brightest minds known to mankind to think through and resolve all of the Biblical concepts and principles demonstrated by Jesus as recorded in the gospel narratives. These men who analyzed Jesus' life relative to the whole counsel of scripture is what brought human kind into the Church Age, Out of the Dark Ages via the Protestant Reformation, into the Enlightenment and finally onto the battle field of the Revolutionary War against the despotic monarchy of Great Britain. In the providence of God, and through the studied, principled and timely actions of our founders they were finally given an opportunity to put the notion of "Divine Right to Rule" forever to rest in the annuals of history.
This is the message that Pastor Chuck Baldwin has worked tirelessly to bring to our generation for multiple decades of ministry service. If we are to restore our constitutional republic, our liberties, our economy, and the future of our posterity there are foundational, Biblical principles that must be taught, disseminated and acted on in the same courage and understanding that our founding generation had. Anything less than this equates to abject failure. These truths are lost to this generation and Pastor Baldwin maintains that without the churches re-discovering, teaching and leading this generation we have nothing but bondage and judgment to look forward to. His realization that the church is the solution is not based on some independent interpretation of scripture, no, it is based on the principles found throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament and the collective understanding of over 1700 years of thought. In truth, we have lost our country mainly because we have lost the pulpit. Our constitution is founded on Biblical principles meaning, if we want our country back then the dissemination of those principles falls squarely on the shoulders of the pastors and less on the shoulders of politicians and the educated class.
Betrayed by Friends
Though this article deals with the obvious and pressing threat of the liberal attack-dog group at the SPLC, the main opposition comes from within the ranks of the patriot community itself. Sadly, so many who once professed undying allegiance to Pastor Baldwin have turned on him for his criticism of the LaVoy Finicum episode. Anybody removed from the drama of the patriot community that objectively watched the video of LaVoy Finicum ramming a police barricade, then jumping out of the truck only to be gun-downed would conclude the man wanted to die. They would also conclude that he did everything in his power to get shot that day, including go for a gun in his waistband according to the officers who fired the fatal shots. The people who continue to support the Bundy's are more interested in creating a legend out of LaVoy Finicum and a narrative of hating government than being concerned about the lives and well being of the people LaVoy almost got killed in that truck that day. One of which is a friend of mine and whom I care about who almost got shot in the head because of that mad man when a FBI bullet went through the roof of that vehicle. Hero's don't put other peoples lives on the line they protect the lives they are entrusted with which is the exact opposite of what Finicum did.
Pastor Baldwin goes on to point this obvious fact out at the pulpit and long-time supporters within his own fellowship body and within the movement engage in outright character assassination, whisper campaigns against him and even inferring that he has been threatened with arrest and is why he has taken on such a drastic "pro-government" stance in regards to the LaVoy episode in recent months. Total unfounded paranoia, speculation, and betrayal in my personal opinion. At the end of the day nobody and I mean nobody that has spoken out publicly via circulated emails nor privately whispered criticism can hold a candle to the fruit produced by Pastor Baldwin over the course of his 40 year ministry. The issues he addresses in scripture like the control the 501c3 has over churches, our right to self-defense, Romans 13 and the proper, limited role of government are critical to understanding why our country is where it is, and he is the only voice that is affecting change and educating on these topics.
I personally thank God for Pastor Baldwin, I thank God for his ministry, I thank God for the platform that he has and I thank God for the many more people that will flock to the banner of Liberty Fellowship that will continue to arrive in the years to come. I also thank God for the stumbling blocks and the judgment that God will undoubtedly level against the men and woman who persist in trying to harm his ministry over outrageously petty issues. Who needs the SPLC to spend big money on creating televised hit-pieces, all they have to do is let the egotistical, prideful, self-willed, gossip-ridden, paranoid, schizophrenics eat each other up. They may be wrong about everything else but they sure have hit the nail on the head in the characterization of what makes up the bulk of people in the patriot movement. I am sure these same critics will call this article cult-like but all I have to say is where is your fruit? I see and hear the complaints via social media and voiced by others but don't see your fruit and therefore have nothing but disdain for such criticisms. Your faith, and your work has little substance and reflects nothing of the very public, very political and very controversial nature of Jesus' ministry.
What this country needs is more pastors like Pastor Baldwin in the pulpits of America and the world who are not afraid to speak out about issues that pertain to the swiftly deteriorating political climate and can also buck the sentiments of fruitless, pamper-patriots whose paranoid delusions make enemies out of allies wherever they go. With God's blessing the Patriot pulpit will live on.
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Psalms 105:15
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