The Very Stones Will Cry Out!by
Paul Hein There is, within the Catholic Church, and perhaps other Christian denominations, the beautiful doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ is seen as the head of His body, the Church, wherein individual members, infused with His life via the Sacraments, work with Him, as a single organism, for a common goal. I wonder what reaction I would provoke if I were to announce to a group of clergy that there was another mystical body – the mystical body of Satan – and that its members were the individuals united in government, working as a single body, for a common goal. I don’t think my idea would be well received. Indeed, my church, and no doubt yours, is very comfortable with the concept of government, and not simply because government exempts churches from taxation. Were the government to revoke that privilege today, would the churches resound with cries for revolution, for an end to government? Would there even be any prominent churchmen who questioned the rationale for government, and suggested anarchy? Of course not. All churches accept the Commandment Thou Shalt Not Kill, not to mention Thou Shalt Not Steal. And how about Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness? Yet one organization does these things routinely, on a large scale, and quite openly. That organization, of course, is government, and churches seem to turn a blind eye. Christ’s enemies were offended by the enthusiasm of the crowds as He entered Jerusalem for the last time, and told Him to quiet them. He replied, "If these hold their peace, the very stones will cry out." The stones crying out today could be headstones, millions of them. They mark the graves of those killed in wars, or genocide – both the handiwork of governments. I have in hand a list of the wars of the 20th century, compiled by Piero Scaruffi. There must be 80 wars on the list; the number of people killed: 160 million. That’s just the beginning. We must also remember those killed, not in warfare, but by genocidal assaults by "their" own governments. Scaruffi lists them: Mao killed 49 million in his cultural revolution. Stalin destroyed 13 million Russians in his purges, and Hitler accounted for about 12 million. Tojo could claim 5 million civilians killed, and Pol Pot 1.7 million. Kim Il Sung, Menghistu, Enver, Gowon – each good for at least a million. There are about twenty-five others, each accounting for between 25,000 and 800,000 deaths. Did these deaths serve some useful purpose, which might have justified the killings? We were told our boys were dying in the trenches of World War I to "make the world free for democracy!" Even assuming democracy was worth dying for, did the deaths of 8 million people in that struggle achieve its purpose? Evidently not, for in a mere two decades or so another world war was necessary (over 55 million dead) and even today American soldiers are dying, and Iraqis in vastly larger numbers, as we democratize to death that hapless country. And what about Thou Shalt Not Steal? Is there any more efficient method of mass theft than the issuance of a legal tender fiat currency? Inflation, the inescapable, inevitable adjunct of fiat, effects the transfer of wealth from its producers to the producers of the "money." It may be a process too subtle to attract the attention of the masses, but it’s hardly a secret. Eventually, and the process has already begun, "the worthlessness of the money becomes apparent and the fraud upon the public can be concealed no longer," as Keynes acknowledged. And, to cap the climax, after working to accumulate a rapidly depreciating "money," the worker then has much of it seized under the guise of taxation, ostensibly to provide government services to which he may be firmly opposed. For example, a working person is compelled to subsidize the existence and operation of schools that he cannot, on moral grounds, support. His taxes may be used to subsidize organizations that fly against his religious principles. The truth appears to be that governments have a first claim upon your very body, as well as "your" property. Do we hear any complaints from men of the cloth? It is government, and only government, that brings us wars, revolutions, and genocide. It is government that systematically steals our very sustenance. It is government that compels us to aid and support our enemies. And it is government with which our religious leaders seem to enjoy a very cozy and comfortable relationship. Are they serving God, or Mammon? The very stones cry out! November 27, 2006 Copyright © 2006 LewRockwell.com |