About this Episode
Craig is joined by Paul Parayil for his first-ever podcast appearance. Through his prolific and provocative writings, Paul advocates for liberty, truth, honesty, and the Kingdom of God. His blog and Facebook posts have garnered quite a following. In this episode, they discuss Paul's article, "Do you believe Gambling is a vice? I don't think you do". In the article, Paul grabs the attention of the evangelical right audience and shows how Christians engage in high-stakes gambling on something worse than cards. Fear produces voting, but just like casino gambling, the house (or the state) always wins.
When the church condones the state's violence, it fails to align with people's consciences, becoming a stumbling block. However, the church will find itself more attractive when Christians promote Jesus's basic teachings of self-governance and doing no harm. We use the term Christian Anarchist because a core component of Christianity has been lost. Instead, that which should be an obvious and natural occurrence in the church must be emphasized. Anarchy is implied, and the entire gospel message is summed up in one sentence: No King but Christ.
Since the beginning of the church, we have had one King. Jesus never sought political office! It is morally inconsistent of us to believe we have the right to coerce our neighbors with political power gained through participation in state activities, be they politics or voting. We are more consistent with Jesus's actions when we serve from the fringes of society with love and charity. The beginning of the healing of this world is through peacefully walking away from the gamble that is voting.
Paul's social media:
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/paul.varkey ,
Episode Timestamps:
1:15 Introduce Paul
Enjoys writing
Initially, to clarify his own thoughts
Found others enjoy thinking outside the box and reading his writings
Often interacting in various Christian Anarchist circles
Family originally from India
A family of practicing Christians
When Paul was three, his parents immigrated to the Middle East (Saudi Arabia) and lived there until he graduated from high school
Christmas holidays were spent visiting family in India
Education
Graduated high school in Saudi Arabia
Went back to India for college
Moved to the US as a graduate student in 2004
Moved to California to work as a software engineer in 2011
Been working in Tech since then
5:45 How did Paul come to Christian anarchy?
Brought up as Christians in Saudi Arabia.
Moved to Chicago at 21 years old
Began thinking about politics
Knew he was pro-life because it's a matter that evangelicals care about
Became a republican quickly
Knew that his support for GOP was tribalism
Heard of Ron Paul and what he had to say about:
The Fed
The Military-Industrial Complex, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/military-industrial-complex
Regulatory capture of the big corporations
Provoked into considering the logical inconsistency of his own beliefs
Began looking into political libertarianism
Kicked and screamed for a few years into anarchy
Was not aware of Christian anarchism
A closet Christian Anarchist
No one to fellowship with
Craig also had a similar experience until he came across the Anarcho Christian Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/645893438920507
10:15 What is Christian Anarchism?
The early church were anarchists
Including Jesus
No title; the word didn't exist
But they practiced it
It was an obvious part of being a Christian
Do you tell people that you are a "virgin birthist"?
There's no need to specify because most Christians believe in it
So it was with Christian anarchy in the early church
A core message has been lost of how the kingdom of God works with nations here
We've lost an essential message of the gospel, so we must use the label to emphasize it
It's okay to disagree with others
Secular anarchists
Or even Paul of Tarsus
It's more important to follow Jesus than anarchy
15:35 No King But Christ
Essentially communicates the whole gospel message
While implying anarchy
How are secular anarchists preaching better moral truths than the church?
Anarcho Christian Facebook group:
Don't all agree on Christian doctrines
They at least agree on the anarchist outlook
More people seem to be latching onto anarchy
Self-rule
Do no harm
Don't take my things
Follow the basic teachings of Christ
Voluntaryism doesn't trigger Christian minds to think of chaos.
In the right-leaning "Christian" culture, there is an identification of patriotism and nationalism as the proper practicing of faith
20:30 Paul pokes the bear to make people think.
The biggest tragedies of the church:
We lost the concept of No King But Christ
Colluding with the state
In both the Eastern Christian and Western church circles
We have compromised our values
22:46 Read Paul’s Article: "Do you believe Gambling is a vice? I don't think you do."
Grabbing the attention of the evangelical right
It's addressed to people who think gambling is a vice or sin
There is a loser in gambling
There is also a winner; it's always the house
In the casino, most of the participants frequently lose
Some participants win big, keeping people hooked
The only one who wins is the house.
Gambling is a vice because you produce no real wealth,
One of us is poorer based on luck
There is nothing godly about this
There is something far worse than gambling
Christians engage in it regularly
This form of gambling has a house, and the house always wins.
When you vote, you wager your own life and liberties and securities.
Cannot recover lost freedoms back from the state through voting
You legitimize the beast through voting
29:05 What is voting?
The state says, "Come along. All of you will lose some liberties, but some of you will have the chance to have less of your liberties taken."
Fear takes over when people vote
There are more than two people to choose from
31: 48 What is the state?
Takes people's liberties
Has never once shrunk
States grow or collapse.
Taking the chance and succumbing to fear keeps the house growing
Yet people vote for candidates they don't like
The idea of your "civic duties" being to vote is ridiculous
"Go vote" is a religious mantra
It doesn't matter to the elites who wins
The aura of the legitimacy of the beast improves when people show up to vote
Republicans are Democrats 2.0
Don't put others in power over your neighbours
36:00 God alone gives liberty
Jesus sets us free, not the US
There may be some good outcomes from voting
God makes good come from evil
Paul's moral analysis of voting is the reason he doesn't
I don't have the right to dominate my neighbour
No coercing them to behave the way I want
Unlikely to bring more liberty
It's still a gamble
Anarchists joining libertarian parties promote the state
39.00 Why don't Christians just walk away?
One solution to the problems of government
Peacefully walk away
Christians should know this and opt out
The empire is falling and we already have a King
Power will corrupt
You will lose while growing the state
If someone is addicted to any addictive substance, they cannot go cold turkey
Voting gives a dopamine hit
If you feel the need to vote, at least vote for a third party
Take other political actions
The Libertarian parties will never take over the state
Their message is good
Paul does more good outside of political processes
Being morally consistent with his beliefs
If anyone was going to change the US system, it would have been Ron Paul
You cannot change the mafia from the inside
The point of the mafia is to be the mafia
Ron Paul changed awakened people https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ron-paul-5118.php
Voting is a risk; why not simply obey Jesus Christ?
When Satan tempted Jesus with authority, He didn't rebuke Satan, telling him that the authority was not his to give. Instead, He said, "No, I'm good." https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204%3A1-11&version=NIV
Likewise, Christians should say, "No, I'm good."
rather than seek power
Seek Jesus as our King
The early church writings show:
They had no interest in the Roman Empire
Tertullian called the affairs of the state foreign https://quotepark.com/authors/tertullian/quotes-about-the-world/
The kingdom of God is a literal Kingdom
Their King did not use a sword against Caesar and Pilot
They expanded the kingdom through love, charity, and service
From outside the system
Christians can enrich anarchism with the teachings of Christ
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