Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 40

One of the themes of these lessons is that we are all in this together. I have to look far below surface appearances to see people's deepest interests, but at the deepest levels no one has any interests different than anyone else. As Ayn Rand points out, human beings are spiritual beings whose fundamental needs do not vary.

This course has repeatedly pointed out that every person's spirit wants and needs political liberty. Not only my interest but every one's interest is served most effectively if libertarians who happen to love God help libertarians who happen to be atheists, atheist libertarians help God-loving libertarians, and all to work together to produce political liberty.

With this in mind, it can also be seen that the process of creating political liberty will be enormously sped up when libertarians of all stripes enlist the aid of ministers and church people.

A very high percentage of Americans say they either believe in God on faith or have had experiences so amazing or miraculous that they absolutely know there is a higher power at work. This very high percentage of Americans is more deeply influenced by spiritual arguments than the arguments of economists or philosophers.

If the truth spreads among this very high percentage of Americans that their God wants them voting for and working for political liberty on earth, then political parties who want to rely on government for solutions will soon be relics of the past.

If this very high percentage of Americans becomes convinced that their getting into heaven is enhanced every time they direct attention to the Libertarian Party or support a libertarian-leaning candidate from another party, it's not going to take too long for bureaucrats to start scurrying to obtain job skills that are salable in a free and honest market.

But to achieve this goal, libertarians need ministers and church people working for them. This requires three steps:

(A) Set Up Churches

Those libertarians who are more spiritually oriented should consider setting up churches which specifically teach that God wants political liberty on earth so that men and women can learn to make their own moral choices without some government trying to "save" them from mistakes and make their choices for them. The cause of liberty would be enormously enhanced if there were churches which specifically teach "Liberty in earth, as it is in heaven."

(B) Support Libertarian Ministers

Many intellectually inclined libertarians who don't like to think in terms of spirit could at least serve liberty's cause by recognizing that libertarian ministers are allies and deserve good will and moral support. There is no logical reason why even the most sinless Objectivist cannot cease throwing stones for awhile and say, "We are all in this together. Let's work together."

(C) Help Ministers Teach Liberty

Intellectually inclined libertarians have the intelligence to shift their thinking just enough to understand the language of ministers and then teach ministers in ministers' language why God would want people taking responsibility for themselves instead of having government assuming responsibility for people.

This week the goal of my lesson is to call upon libertarians to join with ministers and do what it takes to help ministers work for political liberty. I make this call by taking the first steps myself, leading by example.

My assignment for myself this week is to conduct a letter writing campaign. My goal is to write several letters each day, as many as my time will allow, to ministers of churches in my region. In these letters I will talk to ministers about freedom in general and ask them about political freedom specifically. I might write something like:

As you are well aware, Jesus taught freedom, promising his disciples, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." There seems to be the implication throughout the teachings of Jesus that the state of being he calls "heaven" is indeed total freedom. In light of the prayer given by Jesus, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," I find my mind constantly asking a question which maybe you can help me with: Should we be teaching that God wants us to have liberty on earth ... political liberty?

Ministers will usually respond to questions that sound sincere and humble, asking for help. The goal of these letters is not to convince ministers of anything, but only to plant seeds in their minds. Perhaps these ministers have never thought much about what their God wants for people politically. More likely, they have purposely avoided thinking any thoughts different than "mainstream" thoughts about politics in order to not alienate their congregations or bureaucrats who might be inclined to tamper with their church's tax-exempt status. Regardless of how they have thought in the past, my lesson to myself in this is that seeds planted DO tend to grow.

If some of the ministers respond to my letters by saying something like, "Yes, God wants us to have political liberty on earth," I might write a follow-up letter suggesting that a course on freedom be offered some evening at their church. I would emphasize that the course is non-denominational and non-partisan, just something everyone in the congregation could benefit from if they are interested. Ministers are always looking for course ideas to fill their church calendar.

But who would be the teacher of such a course? How about myself? I haven't lived until I've taught a course in a church, right?

If I myself am not ready for this kind of stretch, then perhaps such a course can be taught by one of the local libertarians who is not widely known to be affiliated with any particular political party.

But the best teacher of all would be the minister himself or herself. People often respect and revere their minister like no one else. I would only need to be artful in my suggesting to the minister that a course on the spiritual reasons why God wants political liberty would be best taught by the minister.

It might not seem by surface appearances that influencing a little class to start in a church would aid the cause of liberty very much. But who can judge these things? What if such a class lit a tremendous fire in just one person and that one person went on to be a great orator, a Martin Luther King, so to speak, for the libertarian movement? Then my efforts would seem worthwhile, yes?

My final step, as I retire each day this week, is to imagine in my mind that my letters are going out and planting seeds which eventually are growing to influence future great champions of liberty. As I visualize someone arising from a dormant state and awakening, I might say aloud, "Liberty's champion has awakened!" Feeling brave I might also add, "If it turns out to be me ... so be it!"






The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.




Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"I create liberty by joining with others."