30 September 2022
Someone asked me to comment on the recent Corbett Report about Freedom Cells.
There are plenty of human activities these days that are simply not addressed in the Bible. You could twist some verses to mean anything you like, but my physical fitness efforts are not covered in Scripture. Indeed, what little mention there is of manly arts indicates the Hebrews were really big on walking and running, and never mentioned upper body strength. So far as we can find in historical sources outside the Bible, the entire Ancient Near East held that same standard. It was all about the legs, not the torso or big arms.
An interest in computer stuff definitely has no mention in the Bible. Yet, here we are, communicating online... for now.
Something like Derrick Broze's Freedom Cells is another activity that is simply not addressed in the Bible. You want to join a cell? Go ahead. You don't need my permission. But you should also understand that it has no standing under the Covenant, same as computers or physical fitness. It's just a tool for doing things. If it fits the need, do it. Just don't get lost in something that can never replace a covenant faith community.
And if you read the website linked above, you'll learn that religion is not a part of what they do, same as politics. To be honest, they take their organizational strategy from radical libertarian anarchy. For secular social activities, that's fine. It will work in our context and I'm sure Broze's dream is valid, as far as it goes. The whole point is to withdraw as much as possible from government controls and provisions.
While we do the same thing, our strategy comes from the Covenant, and it's an entirely different game. We aren't radically egalitarian; the Covenant is most assertively feudal. We aren't getting away from government; we are pulling away from non-covenant government. We are giving our real loyalty to a spiritual kingdom that we must manifest on this earth. The Covenant requires that your faith community be organized on feudal lines. Of course, it's not western or Medieval feudalism, but the Ancient Near Eastern kind, where the ultimate treasury is the people, not the property.
Thus, the Covenant presents a body ruled by an elder, who in turn appoints assistants as needed, and they have authority over the rest of the faith family. And for ritual issues, there is the appointed priestly figure normally called a "pastor".
If you stop to think about this, you can easily come up with other differences between the Covenant and the Freedom Cells movement. But if your convictions lead you to get involved, by all means, jump right in. I'm not interested.
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