Unity Is Not Uniformity!

Over the last few years, I've come to recognize that there is a steady and growing movement within our culture to silence dissent.  Never once do I find in scripture the word "uniformity."  In fact, the scriptures teach in Romans 12: 1-2 Do not be "CONFORMED" but be transformed...  I Corinthians 12 outlines the diversity of the body. A foot cannot be a hand. A head cannot be a heart.  We all have different functions, different callings, and gifts that differ.  This diversity, in fact, underlies, the Apostle Paul's perspective which says, "We know in part, prophecy in part, and see through a glass darkly. In other words, no person has a corner on truth.  

It's also rather strange how many people are proclaiming themselves as some oracle of God.  They see themselves as God appointed "word" police.  You can't say that, you shouldn't say this, because you might offend someone. John 6:60-61 gives us some interesting thought, "When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?"  Jesus didn't concern himself with being politically correct. It's also important to recognize that those who charged him with being a "dissenter" were the religious who demanded conformity to their religious traditions.

Throughout the last few months I've become quite alarmed by people telling me I have no right to blog about my opinions, views, or perspectives.  I didn't know that blogging was censored.  Let me state very clearly, "I will not stop writing, I will not stop fighting, I will not stop deconstructing, or fighting for the rights of liberty of conscience, freedom of worship, and dissent."  This is what America was built on. You and I have been ". . . endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights . . ." (Declaration of Independence)  This governmental philosophy is uniquely American. The concept of Man's rights being unalienable is based solely upon the belief in their Divine origin... which means I don't have to agree with you, share your political views, or your interpretation of scripture, worldview, or view of the future.  I can be a democrat (which I'm not), I can love Obama or Newt, and I can give voice to anything and everything you may disagree with... because I am a "person" - not a slave. I am free - not living under Tyrants... and I refuse to live under Christian Tyrants who have made themselves self-appointed spokesmans for God.  I find it especially abhorrent that some "Religious" people  find it okay to demand religious conformity, oppose anyone who dissents or stands up to them and then do exactly what II Pet. 2:10 says "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities." (Unless they are republican of course).

This is the same crowd that will tell us to sit down and shut up, try to censor our voices, and try to cut off our influence with others in order to maintain their control over the kind of culture they want.  Instead of the divine right of kings, they think there is a divine right for apostles... who also coronate themselves as Bishops or Kings. Whatever happened to Jesus' words  You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you (Mark 10:42-43a).  

During the Vietnam War, (and My Dad gave his life for this country during this war) "EVERY day in every way,  as things were getting worse and worse. They were, that is, in the angry eyes of those who disapproved of U.S. policy in Viet Nam. As they see it, the very expression of their dissent was getting more dangerous. So it was that to Senator J. William Fulbright, General Westmoreland's report to Congress signaled nothing less than an onslaught of official repression that might silence dissenters altogether by branding them traitors."  Which means "MY DAD fought for my right to dissent... and stand up against "Suppression" in the face of politicians who just wanted to silence American rights while fighting to stop the communist.  That's a paradox.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843724,00.html#ixzz1mGwpZ1j1  

You have no rights to police my opinions, my views, or try to censor them. I don't have to agree with you politically, live according to your doctrinal views, or be defined as a Christian or not a Christian just because I don't share your fundamentalist views. I am "Free"... who the son has set free - is free indeed. - and you know the beauty of all this is - you're free to disagree too!  Be dissenter... !   William Penn, the cultural architect of our nation, fought for our right to be dissenters.  Thank God I don't agree with the majority most of the time!  Unity is a "code" word for  modern's who espouse "Uniformity" as God's way. I didn't know that the culture of  "Modernist" would fight to maintain their hold as the post-modern world ushers in a new age of "Quaker" values.  Wow. Thank God for that. 


May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.  - President Dwight D. Eisenhower