As we examine the 2 Kingdoms in these e-mail notes, I believe our intention is not to be another news outlet, trying to wake up the Church with new facts of astonishing rebellion against God occurring in our nation. Instead, I believe our hope is to provide thoughtful and prayerful actions the Church should take in our day. These actions should occur not only to affect the State (Left-hand Kingdom), but also actions necessary to continue the effective work of the Church in our day (the Right-hand Kingdom).

Rod Dreher, the senior editor at The American Conservative, and a devout Christian, has written two compelling books for today’s Church; “The Benedict Option, A strategy for Christians in a post-Christian nation”, and more recently,  “Live Not By Lies, a manual for Christian Dissidents”. In the latter book, Dreher describes how the Church continued to make disciples, baptize, and teach the gospel despite Soviet Communism that was determined to exterminate the Church, the family, and all moral authority outside of the state.

Perhaps the greatest Christian philosopher to survive the Soviet terror was  Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn wrote an essay in 1974 when he was finally expelled from the Soviet Union. The essay was also titled “Live not by Lies.” In it he declared the Soviet totalitarianism was allowed to exist because the “people feared challenging the lies of the Soviet State.” He went on to say “No totalitarian system is so powerful that ordinary men cannot challenge it.” Solzhenitsyn concludes his essay saying “Never knowingly support lies.” “Live in the dignity of truth.”

There are many lies being forced upon the American people today by what Dreher call “Soft Totalitarianism”; a combination of State, media, arts and academia. Soft totalitarianism is exercised by State and corporate coercion and consumer capitalism. These lies, are anti-Christian, anti-family, and anti-liberty. They must be confronted by the truth. Jesus said:

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:32)

But this freedom only is experienced when we live and stand in it. Dreher describes how lies should be confronted in the family and the Church. He summarizes this confrontation as, “See, Judge, Act.” An example was provided in last week’s 2 Kingdoms Messenger, where I reported on the evangelical Church in Washington is taking the lead on a state-wide referendum to overthrow anti-family legislation. We have much we can learn from the Church in Russia and Eastern Europe, which survived the worst anti-Christian totalitarianism; survived to spring back to life as Soviet Communism, a wicked and murderous empire collapsed under the truth that exposed its terribly anti-Christian, evil totalitarianism.

Rev. Calvin Willard
Calvary Lutheran, Everett, WA.