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MESSAGE OF THE MONTH

(November 2020)

The Democracy of Hell

By Fr. Zechariah Lynch, Archangel Michael Orthodox Church, Pueblo, CO.

Hell is a democracy, the Heaven is a Kingdom
[St. John of Kronstadt]

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There is no area of human life which is outside of the governing principles of Truth revealed by God. Humanity may reject Truth but this does not nullify its potency. Truth remains, believed in or not.

When men attempt to construct a mode of existence outside of God they simply begin to participate in hell. Lucifer was the first to cast a vote against God. He refused, of his own will, the Kingdom freely offered by God. He voted no.

When Christians concede that there is some “mythical” realm of the “secular” world which is somehow “independent” from the Truth of Christ, then they are on the way to becoming savorless salt. Secular government then becomes the government of hell. For it is a principle of hell to be insisting on one’s “freedom” from God. Hell is the place that desires to operate without God.

True Christianity has always viewed every aspect and facet of human existence as under the divine guidance of God. There is no area of human life that is outside of the governance of God.

St. John of Damascus says, Practical philosophy … is concerned with the virtues. It governs manners and shows how one must behave in society. If it lays down laws for the individual man, it is called ethics; but, if for the entire household, then it is called domestic economy; while, if for cities and countries then it is called politics.

In Orthodox Christian thought the totality of human existence must be harmonious. Ultimately there can be no true politics without proper and true ethics. As St. John indicates they are inseparably bound together. Truth and proper social order and government are inseparable. Thus, there is no supposedly “secular” area of life that is unaffected by Truth. The only place demanding autonomy from Truth is hell.

And there can be no true ethics without God. For without God there are no ethics at all. There can be no standards of “right and wrong.” For a denial of God is a denial of ethics and morals. One cannot even speak of them without God.

True governance comes only from God. Humans do not make the rules according to majority vote. Truth is immutable and transcends the limits of fallen humanity. Thus, humanity is not the “master” of its destiny and the maker of its own rules, as vainly as it attempts to be.

The unquenchable flames of the passions become the driving force of freedom from God. They burn all the more and drive humanity deeper and deeper into the pit of anti-reason. The more humanity attempts to vote God out, the more it simply forges the chains of its own servitude. For freedom from God means slavery to hell.

For the True Christian, Truth is the only guiding principle. Truth is revealed by Jesus Christ – The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Without this foundation human society is doomed to hell. For without God one only has hell.

Yet, we are generally arrogant and have vainly believed that we will build a world of equality, freedom, peace, brotherhood, and so forth without Truth, without God. In mass, the modern world is a rejection of the Kingdom of Heaven and a vote for the democracy of hell. We have no king but Caesar! We have no guiding principles but our wandering lusts and passions!

Sadly, even many in the Church (not the Church Herself in Her essential reality) have swallowed the lie that faith is but a “personal/individual” matter. Many have been more than willing to allow the “secular” powers to lead in matters that even touch on the holy things of God. Such is a great tragedy. For such we must repent.

Thus a false reality is presented, “that is fine in the civil sphere but we don’t do that in the church …” “We can’t demand that everyone live by our standards ….” “We just need to follow government guidelines …” Thus, self-proclaimed members of the Church Herself philosophically deny Her potency to the world. The Church, in such a thought, only has relevance for Herself and Her “own” and is therefore irrelevant to the world. And we wonder why the “world” is rejecting it ...

The Church has much more to offer, indeed, She is the only one who is able to, in Christ Her Lord, speak the Truth. When we fail to uphold the Truth as the only guiding factor to any crisis or social issue then we reveal our disconnect with the essential reality of the Body of Christ. In fact, we do great harm to the world around us, for only the Truth of Christ is capable of healing and saving humanity.

The Church is the Body of Christ Himself, the Logos, the Governing Principle and Reason of everything. She is in truth an eternal reality and She transcends every earthly authority, indeed it is by this standard of Truth that humanity will thrive in the truest sense. Although She works with earthly authority She is superior to it. Her laws are eternal and true ones, they are supreme and immutable. Only through this revealed standard may earthly edicts be weighed as “good” or “evil,” “just” or “unjust.” Outside of Truth one cannot even speak of these things.
The Church is an eternal Kingdom, in Her God reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Wherever we may find ourselves, the most profitable thing we can offer to our countries is to hold unabashedly to the Truth of the Gospel. In doing so, you will be the most loyal and faithful citizen. A Christian who sacrifices the Truth of the Gospel to appease the wanderings of civil authority is indeed one who betrays his earthly nation together with the Heavenly Kingdom, which he claims to proclaim.

For all those who choose with Lucifer the rejection of the Kingdom of God, the only place left is hell. It will be freely and self-chosen by all who are there, it will be most democratic.

 

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