I'm a God Supremacist

There, I've said it. Perhaps I’m a little giddy penning my first column in retirement. More likely as the so-called ‘Cold Civil War’ gets hotter, I recall those of Antonin Scalia’s Spirit, intellect and understanding on issues of supremacy, sovereignty, power and authority. Witnessing Justice Scalia’s courage to be a more explicit fool for Christ helps, given his station and “originalist” reasoning. Long time, regular readers of my column will not find this opening surprising. A decade ago, when I began as an Alabama Gazette writer, I offered explanation on why the First Commandment was put first and how most ‘miss this mark’ by making something else, usually government(s) their god.

Little surprise we’re at another high-watermark of extremist discourse on national socialism, State’s rights, white supremacy, etc. in our over-centralized result as more distance themselves from God to embrace greater government control and power. Sadly, most cannot (or denial/refusal) identify government(s) as the source of their problems over the ages. This often results in efforts to further champion yet another iteration of increased power ceded to the destroyer of justice and their domestic tranquility. The seemingly infinite regress impedes their desired end, like ‘battered spouse syndrome’ - i.e., continuing to return to someone in your compelled relationship irrationally expecting them to change and repair damage their mate caused.

No shortage of Scriptures, from Acts to Zephaniah, asserting God’s supremacy and sovereignty throughout time:

Psalm 135:6

Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. (Reiterated in many others Psalms)

Isaiah 46:10

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.

Daniel 4:35

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand.

Job 42:2

I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

(Reiterated many times in the Old and New Testament)

1 Samuel 2:10

Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.

2 Chronicles 20:6

and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

Acts 5:39

but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.

1 Chronicles 16:31

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns.

Jeremiah 10:7

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

Zechariah 14:9

And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.

1 Timothy 6:15

…which He will bring about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Revelation 15:3

And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

Ephesians 1:11

…also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.

Revelation 19:6

Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Deuteronomy 4:39

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

Joshua 2:11

When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

1 Chronicles 29:11

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

Nehemiah 9:6

You alone are the LORD You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.

Luke 10:21

At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

Psalm 45:6

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Lamentations 5:19

You, O LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.

Ezekiel 1:26

Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.

Matthew 19:28

And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Hebrews 12:2

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Chronicles 25:8

But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down.

Luke 1:51-53

He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. "He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed.

God’s will be done. He gives each individual their free will to follow His will. Those who do not follow (esp. the simplest of commandments and the so-called golden rule) do poorly in the end. He gave us Jesus to show us the path. It is not easy at times, but the long-run result is worth the effort. I was blessed with parents who put me on God’s path and didn’t suffer to find it. Understanding God’s supremacy as my Sovereign was set as the cornerstone of my life’s foundation, it is the greatest inheritance from my grandparents and their generations before them. It appears today we have a generation increasingly more divorced from God - I may not know why, but nonetheless suggest we look into the mirror.

I find the ‘greatest generation’ nomenclature for the WWII era an insult to many prior generations. The US tipping the balance in WWI to get the even more virulent result (as we continue to do in many regions today) of WWII may be most difficult to overcome. It seemed a generation willing to fight national socialist and race supremacists abroad, but didn’t have the courage/effort to discipline it home to avoid the same path as Communist China, National Socialist Germany, Fascist Italy, Soviet Russia. The lost millions of Jews last century, a bulwark of allegiance to God over government(s) is difficult to overcome - little doubt why Jews of this Spirit were and will be attacked, taken from and murdered by any nationalist socialist political unit not wanting to be disciplined by God. It is foolish to think this sort of death and persecution will not be suffered by the righteous again in my lifetime.

Hard not to despair at the ‘fill in the blank’ supremacist/nationalist resurgence. Beatle John Lennon warned of ‘isms’ scores ago to no avail. Does anyone honestly think pigment plays a role? After teaching thirty years in a subject (if taught positively instead of normatively) which has unambiguously correct answers from profit maximising quantities, equilibrium v. disequilibrium results, etc. I’ve seen little difference driven by colour, gender, race… In full disclosure I would post class grades where all could see the results. I must say it was delightful to see the black female student with the highest grade in the class - often too shy (or perhaps wise?) to share with others she was the one proving how well it could it be done. I’ve seen those of privilege (earned or mandated) live up to the blessing or squander it. In retrospect, I’ve found those of good Spirit (Greek or Jew, Barbarian or Scythian…) as the greatest indicator of doing well in life.

The issue of power/sovereignty put US on this recent soviet-style path to perdition. The coercive Republicans put US on our soviet path long before Russia, et al. Tyranny and terrorism begets more despotism and plunder. Somewhere these past several score we’ve forgotten God as our ultimate sovereign and that individuals are bestowed with inalienable rights however successful the despot is the short-run thwarting those rights. In my youth, it was common to hear my elders say ‘God & Country” and the order mattered. God was above country. I doubt when our current politburo members evoke allegiance to county they understand I’ve wholeheartedly given my allegiance to three. My first country was Maryland. As more showed fidelity to the federal government as their ultimate sovereign I left for South Carolina.

I began to understand my distain for terms like Southern nationalist and States rights. How can any southerner worth their salt be a nationalist? South Carolina fought and won her independence [1783] from British tyranny and mercantilism to fight and keep her independence [1815] to again fight but lose her independence [1865] to be under federal hegemony/mercantilism instead of the British monarchy. States (or any govt. entity) do NOT have rights! Individuals have rights. In our representative (increasingly less representative under the 435 limit this past century) republic an individual authorises their State as the (earthly) sovereign unit which assigns the federal government supremacy (if I understand Justice Scalia type originalists) over those few enumerated powers to be addressed by the central government according to Art. 1, Sec. 8 of our US Constitution. As the sovereign unit, a State was designed to keep one eye on disciplining tyranny from the local (city/county) governments and one eye on tyranny from the government in DC; this put States in competition to do well at curbing corruption/waste or risk citizens ‘voting with their feet’ - i.e., going to another State in the coalition. Of course, none of this sheltered any geopolitical unit from God’s long-run discipline.

It was clear the hegemonic spirit of reconstruction Republicans had returned to South Carolina with Gov. Campbell minions, so I left for Alabama to find it wouldn’t be long before these same spirited Republicans would be making me homeless, impeding employment, etc. So here’s where we (me and my bride) made our stand in my third and last country. Still amazed at how much more blessed we’ve been as public servants like Butts, Hubbard, Riley, Sewell, Siegleman, Shelby, Thompson, et al have pressed their harm upon us. The ‘Judas rhetoric’ to cloak avarice is as alive and well today as several score ago when Republicans used slavery and later progressives used white supremacy to capture/use symbols toward their end of further empowering governments over God - where merit and good Spirit more quickly advance His will.

No doubt most of my readers have come across self-proclaimed christians of poor spirit - do you reject all Christians? I’ve had to deal with poor administrators, doctors, engineers, lawyers, policemen, priests, soldiers, students, university presidents… that doesn’t prompt me to reject them all but look more closely for those of good Spirit. I’ve observed progressives co-opt the Cross, flags (e.g., battle flag, 48 Star US) etc., which doesn’t make me reject the symbol but to rebuke when I see the burning Cross to advance evil ends. I’ve observed the battle flag and US flag used by progressives to advance false supremacist rhetoric. I’ll never overcome my disdain for misuse of the current US military flag - esp. despotic politburo members in DC wearing it on their lapel like a shield -- where it shouldn’t be flown or the civilian federal flag (purposefully phased out to make the point of DC hegemony) would apply. I nonetheless revel at our flag flown where indeed apropos and what I know is still fundamentally good in those stars and stripes waiting to move us forward again toward liberty and away from leviathan.

In closing, once all the politically incorrect monuments/symbols are cleansed, $15/hr. federal minimum wage imposed, corporate welfare programs established, remainder of the health care economy put under DC control, federal reserve/bonds distorted beyond repose, years of trillion dollar deficits, etc. remember our true Sovereign. This may sound prayerful, but if history is any guide the more quickly our country (Alabama) returns to God’s sovereignty, the less we’ll suffer. The lesson is as old as Nimrod. Forced consolidation to build monoliths convincing fools the despot’s power is greater than God is nothing new. It will collapse into decentralised results so we may try again… There was a time where we understood God & country meant something (my Greek Uncles made sure I’d remember the little countries/States who consolidated to keep their independence from Persian hegemony) and how much stronger we are in a voluntary coalition standing divided instead of in an unwieldy forced monolithic structure.