“WOKE” AND ENSLAVED TO SIN

Fascism and Communism: two sides of the same coin explains that there is little difference between Fascism and Communism. Further, the author of that post, Mel Wild, goes on to explain that the American form of Socialism looks more like Fascism than it does Communism.

pkadams comment reminds us that the “woke” have wedded themselves a dangerous philosophy. Combining Fascism with Communism does not make either ideology less dangerous. Eventually, those who promote any form totalitarianism turn upon and destroy each other.

Apparently, the “woke” are unaware of the tradeoffs.

Galatians 5:13-15 New American Standard Bible

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. ¹⁴ For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

What does “woke” mean? Because the “woke” have a political agenda, the “woke” struggle to define themselves and those who oppose the political agenda of the “woke” struggle to explain the foolishness of that agenda. Hence, we all debate the definition of the word “woke.”

• Definition of woke (merriam-webster.com)
• woke (urbandictionary.com)
• What does ‘woke’ mean? (foxnews.com)
• How the word ‘woke’ was weaponised by the right (theguardian.com)

Is pkadams correct? Will the “woke” be the first to lose their freedom? The answer is yes and no.

The answer is “no” because all sinners are already enslaved to sin. To understand what exactly that means, we each need to read — carefully study — the Book of Romans (biblegateway.com). The Book of Romans (biblegateway.com) helps us to understand how Jesus Christ redeemed us from sin, if we choose to accept His gift.

Consider this excerpt from a Bible translation that is easy to understand.

Romans 7:7-12 New Living Translation

7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” ⁸ But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. ⁹ At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, ¹⁰ and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. ¹¹ Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. ¹² But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

The law (the Mosaic Code, the first five books of the Bible) helps us to know what God deems wrong, but knowing what God deems wrong is not enough. We still cannot resist the temptation to sin. We just know for certain — without a doubt if we study the Bible — we have done wrong.

With that in mind, let’s contemplate the progressive “woke” agenda and the Ten Commandments, and let’s make use of a series I wrote some years back (see THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND GOVERNMENT — PART 1).

• The 1st Commandment, Exodus 20:3 you shall have no other gods before me: The “woke” tend to make government their god. They sin by rendering unto government a degree of obedience we owe to God alone. If God calls something wrong, just because government officials say it is okay does not make it right. If God says we should do something, just because government prohibits it does not make it wrong.
• The 2nd Commandment, Exodus 20:4-6 You shall not make for yourself an idol: The “woke” tend to make idols of sex, stuff, science, state, and self. That is, instead of humbling themselves before God and seeking to do His will, the “woke” use sex, stuff, science, state, and self to get what they want for themselves. Sex is supposed to be something reserved for marriage, a marriage that glorifies God with unselfish love, not fornication. The stuff we own is something we steward as God would have us, not simply for ego or pleasure. Science is supposed to be the study of how our Creator made all things, not a tool for browbeating political opponents. The state is supposed to be the way we come to together to protect each other, not a tool for domination. Our self — our lives — are the main thing we have that we can give back to God, not something to spent in hedonistic pleasures.
• The 3rd Commandment, Exodus 20:7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God: The “woke” tend not to believe in the God of the Bible. So, many have little problem spouting vulgarities of all kinds.
• The 4th Commandment, Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy: The “woke” tend not to believe in the God of the Bible, and they don’t have much respect for freedom the free exercise of religion. We saw that when they tried to shut down churches using COVID-19 as an excuse. Yet they had no problem with the grocery stories and such being open.
• The 5th Commandment, Exodus 20.12 Honour your father and your mother: The “woke” have an old attitude towards authority. If those in authority don’t give them what they want, then those in authority don’t deserve any respect whatsoever. Hence, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, many of the “woke” rioted. That included attacking the police, even killing some of them.
• The 6th Commandment, Exodus 20.13 You shall not murder: Why does the Bible prohibit murder? We each have the right to life. Unfortunately, the “woke” tend to have an odd attitude to human rights. Instead, God giving us our rights, the “woke” see government as giving us our rights. That leads to strange definitions of rights based upon “science.” Therefore, when the Bible specifies capital punishment for murder (Genesis 9:5-6 (biblegateway.com)), the “woke” sympathize with the murderer. And when a mother doesn’t want her unborn child, the “woke” declares the baby not human and not entitled to life.
• The 7th Commandment, Exodus 20.14 You shall not commit adultery: The “woke” tend to regard sex as “free.” Love, which many of the “woke” appear to equate with sex, is good. Therefore, any form of fornication is good because it is “love.” Recreational sex, however, is not what the Bible refers to as love.
• The 8th Commandment, Exodus 20:15 You shall not steal: The “woke” may realize stealing is wrong, but they have no problem using the state to redistribute the wealth. Why? Apparently, the “woke” idolize government. So, they never bother to examine this question: what makes it moral for the government to tax us in the first place?
• The 9th Commandment, Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour: With respect to politics, lying has become a common practice. Has it always been that way? Perhaps, but too many of the “woke” don’t seem to object. To further the “woke” agenda, politicians lie, the news media lies, corporations lie, activists and activist organizations lie, and so forth. What is the good of being “woke” if “woke” requires the “woke” lie about their opponents and their own agenda? What is the good of being “woke” if being “woke” requires the “woke” to bury the truth under a heap of lies?
• The 10th Commandment, Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house: Covetousness is the primary driver for Socialism, for the desire to have a government big enough to take what belongs to my neighbour and give it the victims of social injustice, especially “me.” When are the “woke” going to notice that any such government, any government big and powerful enough to steal from the “rich,” is big enough to enslave all of us.

Government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. — Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford Quotes (fordlibrarymuseum.gov)

What the last of The Ten Commandments helps us to understand is the “yes” answer to that question: will the “woke” be the first to lose their freedom? When we give people the power to steal on our behalf, we also give them the power to steal our freedom. A thief cannot be trusted. What is it about that “woke” that they forget such things?