God is not a tyrant

My motivation in starting Freedom Matters Today was, to proclaim, declare, and promote Christian freedom, in an age and society that opposed this freedom. Christianity without freedom, is spiritual tyranny, and something so distant from the character of God. God is not a tyrant, and he is not presented as such in the Bible.

We have made him a tyrant because this suits the society we have, the people we exalt, and the values we hold. Over the centuries, organized religion has often been a way for government to enforce social, political, and sectarian control, and this even happens today in various places.

The ‘creed’ of Freedom Matters Today

I was convicted of the need to proclaim freedom and so I decided to come up with a basic creed, a list of several freedoms given to us by God. God brings us freedom from fascism and tyranny, from fear and despair, from sin and death, from guilt and shame, from past and prejudice, and from war and conflict.

These themes, for me, sum up God’s great concern regarding freedom, and they anchor my writings, and my way of thinking so that I do not stray from the New Testament but seek to apply what I believe are insights that enable us to see ourselves more clearly by viewing God more clearly.

Not surprisingly, there was plenty to write about, and once the lockdowns came to an end, and the nightmare of Covid-19 evaporated, other issues came to light. My first book was published in November 2022, and my last was published on 1 November 2024. These are all available through Amazon.

Three temptations: covid, conspiracy, and culture

Since that time, I have been at a crossroads. Many people I know have continued to talk about Covid Hysteria, while others prefer the conspiracy theory rabbit holes, and yet others are convinced the future lies with the culture wars in America, Canada, Britain and Australia.

In some ways, an exclusive obsession with Covid Hysteria reflects perhaps some form of mental illness, as the world has moved on, and we are in the early days of WW3 with Russia, Gaza has been levelled, and we in Australia, are preparing for war with China over Taiwan. and many other important need to be addressed.

The conspiracy theory rabbit hole is more of a rabbit warren these days, and I have discovered in my academic research on Christian Nationalism in America, that those on the left side of politics are just as susceptible to conspiracy theories as those on the right. Many people have gone, to be plain, quite loopy and nuts. These are intellectual, educated people, on all sides of the political spectrum who have given leave of their senses and stuck their head down the rabbit hole, only to find darkness, rabbit droppings, and, not surprisingly, lots of rabbits. The conspiracy bandwagon too, is a form of mental illness taking form in the mind, as anger, anxiety, and uncertainty take the place of reason, common sense and pragmatism.

The culture war is not about Christianity

For most Christians however, the only thing that matters for them is the culture war, the war on abortion, the war for Israel, the war on gender, and women and migration, and the law, and so on. Everywhere is different. Once again, many of these people, though not all, are completely nuts, they have lost their marbles, they are completely bonkers.

The litmus test for the culture war is simple. They will come to you with their issue, and it doesn’t matter what it is. It could be abortion, or alcohol, or sex, or gender, or Israel and you don’t have a choice. You must agree with their political position, or you are not a Christian.

This absolutism is not Christianity, and none of it comes from the Bible, but it is a product of the latest culture war, which is really, the war on public morality, or national civic virtue, and for those in societies with the façade of Christendom, it has to do with how everyone should be forced to behave, under the sword of the state, rather than anything about personal piety or Christian fidelity.

These days, abortion, Israel, and gender will divide Christians like a knife through butter, though Jesus himself had nothing to say on any of them really, certainly not in the way we talk about them, or say that he did. It is a temptation to take one of the three because they are paths to popularity, profit, and power.

The Hidden Road of faith

I have decided to take a hidden road, and start a daily private podcast called ‘Jesus for Busy People,’ a five-minute private podcast reflection on the person, the power, and the presence of Jesus. It will be available for a small fee, either paid monthly or yearly. If you are a current subscriber, you will receive an email in early August telling you how you can subscribe to JFBP. The focus will be on four themes that I think resonate with the world today: freedom, authenticity, identity, and spirituality.

Jesus for Busy People is an antidote to the mental illness of post-Covid obsessions, conspiracy theory addiction, and culture war distraction.

Remember, freedom matters today, because you matter to God.

Michael J. Sutton