How To Defeat The Spirit Of Totalitarianism

 


“Totalitarianism is the warm bath in which civilization slits its wrists.  It envelops the people with petty rules, strange dogmas, immoral duties, and forced sacrifices.  It warms its victims with intoxicating promises of the government’s false love.  It leaves the citizen naked — stripped first of his free will, then the thoughts in his head, and finally anything he once called his own.  It slowly dispossesses each person of his personhood, until the population withers into frail, colorless facsimiles of the bleak, omnipresent State.  Without the courage to act, the desire to think, the wisdom to pray, or the conscience to object, human purpose disappears.  Society is exsanguinated of its vitality, creativity, spirituality, and mirth — until it slips beneath the water and stops breathing.” [1]

 
If that is the spirit of totalitarianism, then the spirit and source of freedom is the exact opposite.
 
1.  The spirit and source of freedom does not envelope the people with petty rules but with laws and standards designed for the well-being of all and which provide a reasonable form of governance.
 
2.  It will not impose strange dogmas upon the populace, but its doctrine is always diplomatic, never forcibly silencing its detractors.
 
3.  It will never demand of men to perform duties that go against the dictates of their conscience.
 
4.  It desires sacrifices that are offered up voluntarily instead of forced.
 
5.  It will always be faithful in keeping its promises.
 
6.  Its love for mankind is a pure and perfect love that is not feigned but real and authentic.
 
7.  It does not seek to strip men of their free-will nor the ability to think for themselves because it desires a relationship with mankind and one that is meaningful and which can only be possible if men give themselves over to it willingly.
 
8.  It will always bestow upon a man that which he can regard as his own rather than being lent out.
 
9.  It never strips a man of his identity.
 
10.  It strengthens those who embrace it.
 
11.  It brings in a color and beauty that dispels the bland and a brightness that does away with the bleak.
 
12.  It inspires people with the courage to do what is right in the face of evil.
 
13.  It awakens within them a conscience once drowned out and opens their eyes to things to which they were once blind.
 
14.  It brings meaning and purpose into their lives.
 
15.  It brings and preserves vitality and creativity within any given society that gives itself over to it.
 
16.  There is more joy and happiness amongst those who live under that spirit and source of freedom than amongst those under the spirit of totalitarianism.
 
17.  And it is able to rescue from a slow miserable death and eventual destruction anyone who will call out to it.
 
 
But the manner in which the source of the freedom many claim to long for and preserve seeks to rescue the captive is not necessarily by way of an economic, academic, social, political, or even a military deliverance as most seem to so often look for and place their faith and hopes in.  It begins much deeper than that.  That source of liberty does not merely seek to break the bonds and chains that we can see with our eyes or deliver the captive from the four walls of a prison cell, but instead offers to break from us chains that we cannot see and to deliver us out of prisons and slavery that are invisible to our eyes.
 
There is a bondage and a form of totalitarianism into which all men are born, but it is not one that always comes in the form of despotic rulers although that is one of the manifestations and products of that invisible totalitarianism, but rather the totalitarianism into which we are born can, in many cases be far more subtle, and even invisible.  In fact, it can be so subtle and elusive that they whom it holds captive may not even feel like captives at all, but all the more better for the totalitarian holding them captive for if indeed the eyes of captives were open to their bondage and if they became aware of the end to which that bondage will lead them, they then would seek to break free of that bondage that they might escape the destruction in which it will end and so that they might experience a more perfect liberty because we were not created to be slaves in the sense that slavery is understood, but instead we were created to be free.
 
When God had created the heavens and the earth, the world was filled with light, life, joy, peace, and happiness, and in which existed a perfect harmony between God, man, and all of creation and there was nothing withheld from man except for one thing: a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9) for it was warned of man that in the day that they ate the fruit from that tree, that they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but then, one day, an evil spirit in the form of a serpent crept, into the wonderful world that God had made and caused man to commit that one forbidden act that led him into that bondage and captivity from which has sprung every level, severity, degree, kind, and form of oppression, tyranny, despotism, and abuse of power known and experienced by man and he did so through a lie and it was a lie that promised to the first man Adam and the first woman Eve that if they ate of that forbidden fruit, they would become more enlightened and even divine and even falsely assured them that they would not die as they had been warned by God. (Gen. 3:4-5)
 
That serpent who led Adam and Eve into committing that first transgression was once an angel and more specifically, a guardian of the cherub who served at the throne of God until he was lifted up in pride against his Creator, thinking that he could make himself equal to God and take for himself that which belonged to God alone and as a consequence was, along with those who sided with him, cast from the position he once held in Heaven. (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19)
 
That fallen and wicked angel was called Lucifer and is known today as Satan or the Devil and it was the lie he told to Adam and Eve which led them to eat of that forbidden fruit that has made him the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) because the first lie ever known to be told was told by Satan and it was by a lie that Satan caused not only Adam and Eve, through an act of disobedience, to become subjugated to a bondage and captivity such as they had never before experienced, but all of mankind as well.
 
Instead of becoming more enlightened, Adam and Eve only became aware of the consequences of their disobedience that began to set in, starting with their eyes being open to a nakedness of which they were embarrassed and ashamed (Gen. 3:7) and instead of becoming divine, they were reduced to a status inferior to that in which they were first made, and instead of avoiding death, the sentence of death came upon them as they had been warned and eventually, they both died. (Gen. 3:19)
 
But the sentence of death did not end with just Adam and Eve, because when they had eaten of that forbidden fruit, something entered into them that resulted in their eventual deaths and what resulted in their deaths is a condition that entered into them that changed their nature into something that it was not before they had committed the transgression and opposite in nature to what God created mankind to be and that corrupted condition which transformed their inward person is what the Bible calls sin and it is sin that not only brought death to Adam and Eve, but it also brought death to the rest of us who are descendants of Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12) for since we all descend from that first man and that first woman, we have also inherited them that same corrupted nature which causes us to all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and as a consequence die, for as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and what must be understood about sin is that it is not just an act of evil, bad behavior, or ill-spoken words.  It is far more than that.  It is the inward corrupted nature of mankind that doesn’t just influence our behavior, actions, or even our speech, but it also perverts and darkens our thoughts, hardens our hearts, corrupts our motives, and produces within us wrong attitudes which is why it is written that man is not defiled by that which is from without, but only by that which resides from within us because it is that which resides within us that produces the manifested evils that we witness and even experience firsthand. (Mt. 15:11, 18-20)
 
But the effects of sin have not been confined to just man, but have extended to all of creation which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this very day (Rom. 8:19-22) because every type, sort, degree, kind, and severity of grief, misery, sorrow, suffering, pain, adversity, and hardship are due to the curse brought upon it because of sin.
 
Furthermore, the disobedience of Adam diminished the dominion over the earth that God had initially given to man as his disobedience gave Satan justification to claim lordship over the nations and kingdoms of the earth (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world. (Jn. 12:31, 16:11)
 
So by a lie was man subjugated to the totalitarianism of sin and with it death, thus making Satan who led man into the eating of that forbidden fruit which brought sin and death into the world not only a liar, but also a murderer as well. (Jn. 8:44)
By that lie did Satan also usurp the dominion that was initially given to man which is why he is called a thief (Jn. 10:10)
And by that lie was all of creation also subjugated to every kind of misery, grief, sorrow, pain, hardship, adversity, suffering, and evil known to man and not only that but also to a slow decay and death which is why Satan is also called a destroyer. (v. 10)
 
So just as Satan infiltrated a once wonderful and beautiful world with lies and has ever since built upon it a machinery of death, so, as Shurk observed, “Totalitarianism infiltrates society with lies and builds nothing but the machinery of death” [2] and that is because the spirit that brought humanity into the bondage of sin and death is also that same spirit responsible for every kind of totalitarian system that there ever has been.
 
But if totalitarianism begins with a lie, then freedom begins with truth which is why it is written that the truth shall make you free. (Jn. 8:32) And what is that truth which sets free?  It is the truth that liberates us from the very thing from which totalitarianism begins and that is sin.  It is the truth that liberates from within and after the soul has been liberated and cleansed of sin so eventually we will experience social, academic, economic, creative, innovative, and eventually political liberty as well because the liberty that begins from within is one that redeems and transforms and it is a freedom that is offered to man continuously by a God who is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) for the totalitarianism of sin doesn’t just hold man captive, but it keeps men estranged from their Creator and the spirit who led men to be held captive by it seeks to drag as many as he can to eternal damnation because it is not enough that they should be separated from their Creator in this life, but the author of totalitarianism seeks to go further and see all souls separated from God for all eternity in the fiery torments of Hell itself because sin is so pervasive that it stains, taints, defiles, distorts, twists, perverts, corrupts, and eventually destroys all that it touches which is why the God who made all things cannot allow sin or they who are in their sin into His Kingdom or into the new and better world to come lest the Kingdom of God become like this present world because the touch of sin affects more than we can comprehend and for they who remain their sins, there is nothing for them to look forward to but an eternity of unimaginable torment that never relents and so, in his war against God, it has always been the intent and goal of Satan to prevent as many souls as he can from entering into the Kingdom of Heaven and so he does all in his power to shut the Kingdom of Heaven in the faces of men who might otherwise enter in and just as he did with Adam and Eve, he falsely assures, by way of many elaborate lies and deceptions, that there is no danger of judgment and blinds them to their need of redemption, suppressing anything that might possibly lead them to the truth that sets free and as for those who embrace the truth that sets free, he will attempt to discredit their testimony and defense in the hearts and minds of those they who have this truth seek to persuade and win over to redemption and salvation, and when that fails, he will attempt to silence the preaching of that truth through threats and various forms of persecutions including bloodshed.
 
Is it any wonder then that in every totalitarian system that there should be active efforts to suppress anything that challenges the official doctrines, philosophies, and preferred narratives propagated by such systems?  It isn’t just about censoring or banning challenges and dissent from a preferred narrative on subjects such as immigration, climate change, COVID, or electoral integrity, and it isn’t just about eliminating political opposition.  It is about so much more because the age-long war between the spirit of freedom and the spirit of totalitarianism is a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of men and where this warfare must be fought is not just in the realms of science, academia, or even in the economic or political arena, but in a realm much more critical and which affects all the rest and that is the spiritual realm because that is where either freedom or totalitarianism takes root and the Lord God Almighty who created all things offers to us freedom and salvation from sin, but not by our own efforts and not by our own goodness, because even our own goodness and our own righteousness is tainted by sin which is ever present within us because no matter how much good we attempt to do and no matter how morally upright we may try to live, we still sin every day in some form or fashion and not just in our words or actions, but also in our thoughts, motives, and attitudes as well which is why we can never earn this freedom which delivers us from what would otherwise be an eternity of torment beyond comprehension but instead, it is a gift offered to us by the grace and mercy of our Creator who has purchased this gift on our behalf because He takes no pleasure in judgment or punishment but instead would rather show love and goodness to mankind and the greatest act of love that He has shown us is this in that He sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son into the world, to take upon Himself the demanded penalty for the sins of the world which He did through the shedding of His blood upon the cross on which He was crucified for since He was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) He was able to be that perfect and unblemished sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) needed to take away our sins and after having offered Himself up to be put to death on our behalf, He was raised again from the dead so that we by faith may be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will, in sincere faith and repentance, call upon His name for the forgiveness of sins so that we may be saved from what would be an everlasting damnation. (Rom. 10:13)
 
And it is the forgiveness of sins that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) and along with it, a spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven, (Mt. 6:33)
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, (Jn. 14:6) no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt. 6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
 
This is that spiritual change that, if embraced by enough people, will eventual result in all the other liberties and freedoms that we are afraid of losing and which many seek to protect and defend and it is such freedoms in which the Gospel of salvation is able to flourish best and reach the most people and it is for the purpose of hindering the spread of this Gospel that the spirit behind totalitarianism attacks those external freedoms, but in order to maintain those external freedoms, we must work every day at maintaining the inward spiritual liberty that we receive in Christ Jesus because if we neglect to do so, then we will eventually be robbed of the liberties that rest upon our inward spiritual freedom and a day is coming when the author of totalitarianism will face his final defeat and receive his final sentence (Rev. 20:10-15) for the totalitarianism that afflicts and brings misery to so many will have no part in the better world to come and as that day comes ever closer, the more desperately and aggressively will Satan fight against the Gospel message which brings salvation and hope to those willing to receive it because not only does it deliver us from the wrath to come and bring us peace and assurance about the life after this one, it also instills in us an unfailing hope and fills our lives with meaning and purpose that we never had before.
 
And just as our souls are liberated from judgment through the cleansing of our sins, so one day, we will be made free of bodily death as well when our bodies which were born into sin are changed from that which is corruptible and in which sin dwells into that which is incorruptible and in which dwells no sin (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for in which dwells no sin, dwells no death and finally, creation itself will be liberated from the curse by which it is afflicted when it is made anew for when it is made anew, it will be a place in which there will be no sin, no death or decay, no evil, nor any curse, nor any grief, suffering, misery, sorrow, pain, hardship, or adversity, but only peace, contentment, joy, happiness, and harmony before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
 
You do not have to be bound in tangible chains in order to be a captive.
You do not have to be confined to the four walls of a cell in order to be a prisoner because we are all born into this world to the totalitarianism of sin and made captives of death which will only end in an everlasting imprisonment in the torments of Hell unless you are willing to call upon the name of Jesus who offers the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from eternal damnation.
 
The redemptive work done on our behalf is the beginning of the end of that totalitarianism begun by Satan and it will be brought to a final end one day when all that is sinful and evil is eliminated but when that day comes, that will also require the elimination of all who unrepentantly remain in their sins and sadly, there be those who reject the offer of salvation because they enjoy their sin too much, love the darkness rather than the light, and take too much pleasure in the things of evil and as a consequence, reject that truth with which freedom begins and which is also the end of totalitarianism and that is because the totalitarianism that they are under does not feel like totalitarianism to them and the freedom that is offered to them by Christ Jesus is made out to be the oppression and totalitarianism that it is not but the yoke of Christ is a lighter burden to bear than the burden of sin (Mt. 11:30) and His commands are not unreasonable nor are they grievous (1 Jn.  5:3) but it is the laws and traditions of men which are always hard, unreasonable, and grievous but yet the spirit of totalitarianism always presents itself as offering something better than the current order no matter how God-fearing and principled that current order may be.
 
Totalitarianism does not always arrive in a forceful manner; in fact in most cases, it does not arrive by force but creeps in ever so subtly just as the spirit and author of it crept into the garden where he caused the fall of man.  It quietly enters into our homes and then infiltrates the most principled, honorable, trustworthy, and respectable institutions and entities that are depended on to direct the course of society and to maintain its stability, presenting itself as a diplomat and even pretending to respect the established order, present way of life, and current system and it will even abide by the established laws and standards until it is able to attain a position in which it can overthrow the established system and establish its own and once it has attained to a position of power, it then will attempt to intimidate its opponents, detractors, and any dissenters into silence and compliance and when that fails, it resorts to the use of force through the use of civic penalties, prisons, torture chambers, concentration camps, and bloodshed.
 
As is the common contemporary saying goes as it pertains to a totalitarian system: “You can vote it in but you can’t vote it out.”
 
And as Shurk in his piece pointed out:
 
 
 
It misrepresents itself as just one political party of many before announcing itself as the only party for all.  It seeks to eliminate opponents in stages: first it proselytizes, then it intimidates, and finally it murders. [3]
 
 
 
But the totalitarianism that Christ seeks to rescue us from is not the totalitarianism that kills the body, but the totalitarianism that damns the soul and yet at the same time, the totalitarianism that sheds blood does so in order to keep in place within the hearts, minds, and souls of its subjects the totalitarianism that damns the soul for all eternity and yet both forms of totalitarianism will be done away with when the Kingdom of God is forever established upon the earth and whether or not you choose to embrace the salvation offered by Christ will be determined by whether or not you value your eternity enough to turn away from sin and call upon the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins because this life with both its pleasures and evils is temporary whereas eternity is forever and if you have not done so already but would like to be made anew and know what it is to be free, then I urge you reader to call upon the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins so that you may be set free from the sins that damn the soul to an eternity of everlasting torment and agony and admitted into the Kingdom of God where there is an everlasting peace, joy, and rest before the Lord God Almighty.  It is but a simple sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
“Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen.”
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  J.B Shurk, “WEF Totalitarians Seek to Euthanize the West,” American Thinker, January 29, 2024
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/wef_totalitarians_seek_to_euthanize_the_west.html
 
2.  Ibid.
 
3.  Ibid.
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1. Genesis 2:9
 
2. Genesis 2:16-17
 
3. Genesis 3:3
 
4. Genesis 3:4-5
 
5. Isaiah 14:11-21
 
6. Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
7. John 8:44
 
8. Genesis 3:7
 
9. Genesis 3:19
 
10. Romans 5:12
 
11. Romans 6:23
 
12. Romans 3;23
 
13. Matthew 15:11, 18-20
 
14. Romans 8:19-22
 
15. Matthew 4:8-9
 
16. Luke 4:6-7
 
17. John 12:31,
 
18. John 16:11
 
19. John 10:10
 
20. John 8:32
 
21. 2 Peter 3:9
 
22. 2 Corinthians 5:21
 
23. Hebrews 4:15
 
24. Roman 4:25
 
25. Romans 10:13
 
26. 2 Corinthians 5:18
 
27. 2 Corinthians 5:17
 
28. Matthew 6:33
 
29. John 14:6
 
30. Revelation 21-22
 
31. Matthew 6:25-33
 
32. Matthew 10:28
 
33. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
 
34. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
 
35. Revelation 20:10-15
 
36. Matthew 11:30
 
37. 1 Jn. 5:3