Wow! Pastor C.L. Bryant is calling Americans who are black to reconsider what he views as a commitment to a modern form of slavery known as government dependency.

Call it political. Call it courageous. Call it gripping.  It is all of that and more.  Above all, it’s truth.

While Pastor Bryant is speaking directly to blacks, he is doing a service to all Americans by shining light on the darkness of collectivism.

When a culture begins to depend on government …

… to care for the sick and elderly
… to provide for the poor
… to teach our children right and wrong
… to determine what beliefs are acceptable and which are not
… to manage the size of population
… to decide how much success is appropriate for each person
… to ensure equality of outcome

…well, when we allow the government to make these determinations, to take these actions and to control these decisions — we become worse people.  It discourages excellence and benevolence. It makes personal responsibility meaningless.  It deteriorates personal character.  Ultimately, it transitions the central unit of society from the family and to the state.

Why should I care for my neighbor? The government will do it for me.  Or at least, they’ll do it in a manner they see fit.

Why should I take risks and aspire to reach great heights? I will be rewarded in the same manner as anyone else.

Can I teach my children about my faith, my beliefs, my values…? As long as they don’t conflict with what the government tells me is ok.

In a government-led quest for fairness and social justice: our liberty is placed on the altar of sacrifice.  The size of government is nearly always at odds with the liberty of its citizens.

The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

The bigger the government, the smaller the freedom of thought.

The smaller the religion.

The smaller the family.

The smaller the innovation.

The smaller the civil rights.

The smaller the passion.

The smaller the arts… and it goes on and on.

When we yield our rights and responsibilities to the state, it is then that the cultural deterioration begins.

It is this unique focus on liberty that has given the United States a singular place in history.  It is a country founded in principles and values that provide hope and opportunity to people around the world.  It isn’t that there aren’t great places to live all over the world — and it certainly isn’t that America is in any way perfect — but it is the values that shaped American society that embody the hope and opportunity that people around the world yearn for.

If you look at the most prosperous, safe, tolerant, harmonious societies around the world you will see that they more closely embrace these same types of values. The further you get from a society focussed on liberty and move towards so-called equality … the more you find oppression, poverty, social-class resentment, multiculturalism, etc.

I’m not an idealist.  I don’t believe the United States Constitution, capitalism, democracy and the melting-pot society are flawless.  But liberty allows for these flaws to exist — and liberty allows a society to resolve these flaws how it sees fit.

The more we depend on government to be the answer, the more we embrace personal irresponsibility.  We turn over our responsibility to care for ourselves, our responsibility to care for our family, our responsibility to care for our neighbors.

It is these responsibilities that make us better people. And better people make better societies… and better governments.

Saying we “hate religion, but love Jesus” is foolishness.

Religion has preserved our faith throughout history. Religion has given us the Bible. Religion has defined our beliefs and doctrines.  We know the very identity and story of Jesus — because of religion.

What is the basis for claiming Jesus came to abolish religion? You could argue He wished to abolish bad religion (not the band, mind you), but religion as a whole is an ignorant claim.  If, as this video claims, Religion is “man-made”, then that standard should apply to the Bible as well.  The Bible wasn’t sent down from heaven in a vacuum-sealed capsule. It was put together and affirmed by the Church — and when I say Church I’m not talking about an invisible union of people around the world.  I mean an established, organized Christian religion called the Catholic Church. Call religion man-made if you’d like, but don’t forget about the Bible.  

Jesus was a practicing member of a religion. In fact, the Last Supper — an absolutely essential moment in the life of Christ — was a Passover Seder.  A ritual feast of man-made religion that Jews have been partaking in for thousands of years. These types of traditions should be honored!  We should be privileged to partake in these traditions that honor God and remind us of our place in the grip of his grace!  If religion was good enough for Jesus…

In a postmodern world where so many believe whatever “me and my bible” feel is truth, people make pronouncements with little to no accountability. Religion provides this accountability. This is likely one of the main reasons people prefer to make their personal relationship with God the final arbiter in all matters of faith and doctrine.  Man-made religion preserves and corrects what God has entrusted. Personal relationships prove to be unreliable and inconsistent from one person to the next.

So let me go on the record: I love both religion and Jesus. They are inseparable.