Making it Real

Democracy in this country is supposed to be a system where the people choose one or a few people to have authority to make decisions on behalf of everyone else.  But when there is so much corruption and dishonesty everywhere, it seems impossible to have a truly democratic system that works fairly for everyone.   And historically, when a political revolution overthrows one bad government, often the new government is no better than the old one.

 

But having no government, leader or power structures with no system of control at all (anarchy) is thought of by most to be a worse state of affairs with fears that the whole structure of society would fall apart into chaos with the worst kind of people wreaking havoc.

 

We desire utopia but how can it be achievable with the imperfect and often seriously unjust world that we live in?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religions claim that following their rules and their leaders is the closest thing to following their idea of God, the creator of everything.   But with religion there continues to be the same if not worse abuses of power, corruption and dishonesty as there is within the state.

 

Religious authorities lord it over others and abuse trust.   They take more than their fair share of resources from those they are supposed to serve, at the same time they claim to represent a loving God.   How many religious leaders live more simply than their congregations?

 

And their followers can’t seem to think through the issues for themselves but blindly and lazily have faith in and trust whatever their religious leaders teach.

 

So why don’t leaders just teach people to follow God or truth instead of following them and all the hierarchy they set up for themselves?

 

Authorities that claim to be Christian will defend their use of hierarchies because they, like others, want to keep their positions that give them power, wealth and status.   Christians claim that the God of the Bible ordained such hierarchies and has given them these positions of authority.   But this is not so.

 

What do hierarchies do to people?

 

According to the Old Testament, 2,900 years ago before there were any kings of the people of Israel, the people demanded from their prophet that God should give them a king to rule over them “like the other nations have”.   God apparently replied (through the prophet) saying the people had rejected HIS leadership.   The prophet warned what even the best king would do…

 

“He will make soldiers of your sons; some of them will serve in his army, others in his cavalry, and others will be his personal  security. He will make some of them officers in charge of a thousand men, and others in charge of fifty men.   Your sons will have to plow his fields, harvest his crops, and make his weapons and the equipment for his vehicles.   Your daughters will have to make perfumes for him and work as his cooks.   He will take your best land, and give it to his officials.   He will take a tenth of your food for his officials. He will take your workers and your animals, and make them work for him.   He will take a tenth of your wealth.   And you will become his slaves.     (1 Samuel 8)

 

Jesus taught an alternative to this that became known as “Christianity”.   But now the word Christianity has become co-opted by the same leaders and turned into the same dirty bathwater.

 

To justify hierarchies religious leaders teach that Jesus himself set up a hierarchy with his twelve apostles as an example of the supposed political structure or system Jesus had planned for this new religion named after him. Peter is claimed to be the first leader of that hierarchy because Jesus said to him “on this rock I will build my church”, and Catholics believe the Pope holds that same infallible position today. However the “rock” or “stone” was not Peter but Jesus and his teachings!

 

“The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.”      (Matthew 21:42 )  

 

“Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, is like a wise man which builds his house on a rock.”    (Matthew 7:24)

 

If you look at how these religious builders or leaders treat the people they are supposed to serve, you will see the same pattern of behaviour as what the Kings (see above) do to their people.
 
Some of the New Testament writers wrote of “ordaining elders” and what qualities “bishops” and “church leaders” should have. Religious leaders quote these passages to justify their hierarchies of power claiming titles like “Bishop”, “Elder” , “Reverend”, “Minister”, “Pastor” , “Father” etc for themselves. But there is nothing in the teachings of Jesus that suggest having hierarchies or using titles for leaders. In fact Jesus taught the opposite.

 

“The kings of the people of the world exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But among you it shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that is a servant.” (Luke 22:25-26)

 

And when Jesus was blasting the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and teachers of his time, saying how much they loved their positions of importance and respect, he told people…

 

“But don’t be called Rabbi (teacher): for only one is your Master, even Christ; and all of you are brothers and sisters. And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be made low; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:8-12)

 

Most religions supports both the state and their own religious hierarchies of power by teaching members to give their time and allegiance to them in the form of obeying every state law, supporting the military, working for money, paying taxes and tithes and being obedient citizens to both the state and their own religious hierarchy.   They go so far as to teach that obeying their leaders is the same as obeying God.   Yet when Peter was challenged to obey the leaders of his time he told them

 

“We must obey God and not man” (Acts 5:29)

 

Peter was beaten up by these leaders who wanted to kill him. They were afraid of losing their control over the people.

 

In heirarchies of power, when people rebel, disagree, challenge or sometimes even just question authority they are usually demoted down the hierarchy, labelled a trouble maker, or can even be shuned and punished.

 

People following heirarchies are conditioned to avoid anything that is outside of the system they are part of.  They are afraid of losing the material benefits and security of the system in power. 

 

Heirarchies discourage initiative as people become afraid of stepping out of line and being different.   This is why true leaders have the courage not to simply conform.

 

But are hierarchies really the best there can be for humanity  ? Can we have a smooth running community without hierarchy?

 

Two thousand years ago Jesus taught principles that went right against hierarchies of power.   We consider these principles that Jesus taught the “baby”.   He said that the kingdom of heaven, or this utopian social structure, is invisible. 

 

"The kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation... here... or there...: for the kingdom of God is within you."  

(Luke 17:20-21)

 

In other words, this “kingdom” was not a visible organisation, structure, religion or system.   It sounds more like the conscience we each have within us.   We instinctively know what’s right and wrong and we don’t need anyone to tell us what to do if we submit to that truth. 

 

This “kingdom” was often compared by Jesus to something that was considered worthless by others, or the lowest in the hierarchy of what is considered important or of any value…tiny mustard seeds that people throw away, sparrows, flowers, the little bit of yeast that made the whole batch of dough rise. He taught people to aim for the bottom of the existing visible hierarchies, not for the top…to take the lowest seat, to be a servant of all, to give up everything including your own life, not to be like the rulers of the world who lord it over others.   And as far as all the titles that the political and religious systems give to people in positions of power, he taught that people should not use ANY of these titles, because people are all equal brothers and sisters.

 

We have experienced that refusing to use titles means challenging the very power structures that are established. For example, try calling your parents by their first names instead of using the title “father” or “mother” or “dad” and “mum”, calling them by their names instead, and see what kind of reaction you get from both your parents and your siblings!   Or see what happens when you refuse to use the title “mister” (which means master) when addressing clients in your workplace or teachers at school.  
 
Another way Jesus described this alternative kingdom was that people gave up everything and became poor: the merchant who sold all his wealth to buy an apparently empty field, the poor man who lived off the rubbish of the rich and had dogs licking his sores.  People who were on the bottom of the hierarchical pyramid, the last and not the first… the meek, who would inherit the earth, those who didn’t plan for the future, the homeless, little children, the stone the builders rejected, the non-violent.
 
Once again, Jesus taught the best way to really be free from hierarchies is to simply let it all go to start with.  This is why he said;

 

 “Whoever of you that doesn’t forsake all that he has cannot be a Christian.” (Luke 14:33)

 

When we have let go of our lives, our families and everything we own, these “leaders” have nothing left to control us with.   So instead we can have the freedom of following our own conscience and choosing to serve others in love instead of being a slave to these hierarchies!   

 

 What does the future hold for hierarchies?

 

There is an inspiring prophecy in the Old Testament about what will happen to all the hierarchies or empires of the world.  It was revealed in a dream by the most powerful king at the time, the King of Babylon.   The king dreamt of a huge statue or image that represented all the various world empires, from Babylon right through to future world empires.  The prophet Daniel interpreted the dream to the king saying at the time of the last world empires

 

...“the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.  For as you saw in the dream, the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, broke into pieces the image (all the hierarchies and empires of the world) and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them: and the rock became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”   (Daniel 2:35, 44-45)

 

 

This rock or stone is Jesus and his teachings, the “kingdom” he spoke of or the conscience we all have deep within us, which will destroy all the empires, systems of power and hierarchies of this  world.