Freedom

"Let My People Go", so they may worship the Lord

Freedom

Religion and Freedom are Inseparable

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them free. They had complete dominion over the garden with the exception of eating from one tree. But they did eat of that tree. In that moment, they became slaves to sin. Humanity lost its self-control and shortly thereafter God instituted human government to control disorder. Genesis 9:6 Since then government control and individual freedom have been in conflict. In Exodus, we find God's people had been sold into Egyptian slavery. The first record of national freedom was when God used Moses to rescue His people so they could worship the Lord in a free land.

"Let My people go, so they may worship Me"

Exodus 9:1

Freedom is inherently religious and freedom has a purpose. Freedom is not slave labour building a pyramid. Neither is freedom unrestrained liberty. Freedom has a higher purpose and it contrasts with individual lasciviousness. God is not about ‘whatever floats your boat’ type freedom. He wants people freely worshipping Him. That freedom is not just permission to attend church. Rather, it is the freedom to fully live out God's calling to worship Him with your whole life, time, thoughts and finances ('first fruits'). Romans 14 protects each believer's freedom of conscience to choose the manner in which they practice their faith.

In the last few hundred years, western nations have sought to expand freedom by eradicate legalised slavery and promoting all types of freedoms around the world. Ironically, they even started wars to advance what they termed 'democratic freedom. The modern notion of democratic freedom as represented by two political parties - one from the left wing and one from the right wing - had is origins in the French Revolution. Politicians aligned themselves on the left or right side of the French parliament based on whether they wanted to overthrow or conserve the existing ruling system. It is from this alignment that we derive the left vs. right spectrum (liberal vs conservative) to categorise politicians, political parties and ideologies.

But the notion of whether being liberal or conservative is a good or bad thing can only be determined based on a reference point. One person's view of where centre is could be very different to another's viewpoint. At a social level, the Overton Window is consistently shifting, to the point where classifying something as left or right is now often meaningless. Therefore a better model to evaluate ideologies would be a circle with God's unchanging truth as the north star.

Freedom

Economic and Social Systems

Ideology is not a linear spectrum. Ideology is a battle between God's worldview and Man's worldview. There are multiple paths to fall away from God, a left leaning path and a right leaning path, but ultimately, both those paths end up in the same place in opposition to God. The Ideology Wheel represents the human pattern of the falling away from the Christian worldview

Because we live in a post truth world, some definitions are required as to what each of these words and labels mean:

Freedom (as defined by God): "Let My People Go, so they may worship the Lord" - Redeemed Virtue
Libertarianism: Subjective personal virtue and no shared standards.
Progressivism: Redefined personal virtue aligned with 'social justice'.
Capitalism: Economic system which slants wealth towards corporations.
Socialism: Economic system which slants wealth towards identity groups.
Public/Private Partnership: An economic marriage between the state and corporations.
Fascism: An economic system of redistribution by authoritative decree.
Marxism: A surveillance system that replaces God with the State and demands total allegiance.

There is a close connection between religion and money. Jesus says that the love of money is the root of all evil. That is because how we use money exposes the desire of our hearts. This is true at both the individual and social level. When we give generously, we are reflecting selflessness. We we enter unsustainable levels of debt, we are reflect greed and selfishness. Economic systems are not theologically free zones. On the contrary, a financial analysis will determine which gods we worship.

In terms of economic systems, God does say that hard work should be rewarded and that societies should seek justice; but to declare that God is a capitalist or a socialist, is to try and fashion God after our own image. The 10 commandments teach us that a healthy economy and society is one that values both private property and the welfare of our neighbour. In the Old Testament, God instituted a Jubilee system. In this system, economic freedom meant a man could reap cumulative benefits of the labour on his labour, while also ensuring economic balance across society every 50 years so that capital was not hoarded.

In the New Testament, God calls believers to hold the cross as their north star. We are to work with our hands to produce wealth to provide for our families and also voluntarily share with those in need. A society or nation founded on Christian values will honour an individual's productivity and generosity. This is both an individual and social benefit. All other worldview frameworks fall short of the religious and economic freedom and flow on blessings that are found through Christ.