The Temptation

Government is made up of individual people who have been given special privileges and special authority to act in ways no one outside of government may act. These individuals act together to maintain a monopoly of authority within a geographic boundary, agreed upon by like-minded individuals in other governments.

There are two methods used by government to maintain this monopoly of authority:
1) Brute force or the threat thereof
2) Wealth taken from some then used to appease others

There's a story in the Bible, where Jesus was tempted by Satan.
The high point of that temptation comes when Satan shows Jesus all the governments of the world. He shows Jesus the empires, the kingdoms, the city-states, all the glory of power and authority that man can give to men.
And in this story Satan says, "This is all mine, and I can give this all to you."
But Jesus declined the offer.

Was it a temptation if it wasn't a viable offer? It had to be a viable offer otherwise there would be no temptation.
If it was a viable offer, then governments, be they kingdoms, empires, dictatorships, democracies, republics, or any other union of select humans who exercise special privileges and special authority over other humans, is the realm of Satan.

Government is made up of individual people who have been given special privileges and special authority to act in ways no one outside of government may act.

Every act of every member of government is financed through a process that uses deception or the threat of aggression. All government activity is funded through theft and the overbearing threat of incarceration or death.

Every light bulb in every government building is purchased and illuminated with stolen money.
Every pencil and every pad of paper that any politician uses to scribble his next speech, is paid for with filthy lucre, immorally extracted from productive people.

Every penny spent by government is a penny taken from productive individuals, and used to maintain the monopoly of power enjoyed by those who make their living from the sweat of someone else's brow.

When a dollar is stolen from the till of a productive business and distributed by government to select recipients, be they unemployable protestors filling the streets, demanding more dole; or the baton wielding cops sweeping the streets clear of those same protestors, that dollar is stolen wealth redistributed for the sole purpose of maintaining government's monopoly of authority.

When electrons excite a magnetic field, and a politician's words vibrate a filament inside that magnetic field, we may perceive the result as an amplification of the politician's voice through a microphone. But in fact we are witnessing a robbery in progress. And when those words we hear tickle our ears with promises of reduced spending and smaller government, we should view that promise with the same skeptical eye that we would view the promise of a heroin addict, swearing that this will be his last ride on the white horse. The difference between the politician and the junkie is that the politician is actually robbing you as he tells you that lie. But no matter if the politician or the junkie actually believe the lie they tell you, the fact is that the chemical utopia that distorts the mind of the junkie pales in comparison to the allure of power that sways the mind of that politician.

Knowing this fact, Jesus rejected Satan's offer of State power.
Jesus rejected the mind altering allure of power that causes otherwise sane men to drop bombs on cities filled with innocent men, women, and children, under the guise of war.
Jesus preferred a system where each individual, voluntarily chooses to follow Him or not to follow Him.
By rejecting Satan's offer, Jesus rejected government.
Later in the story, Jesus was taken by soldiers and forced to stand in the presence of politicians, where He was judged, and sentenced to death. During that judgment process, all the charges were laid out and the governor offered Jesus the opportunity to participate in the functions of government that would decide His fate. But the Bible tells us that He stood silent and refused to take part in the unjust and evil deification of man that we call government.

So Jesus was first tempted with the offer of State power if only He would participate. When He refused the temptation, He was threatened with death if He again refused to participate in the workings of government. And so to end our story, Jesus was murdered by the command of individuals in government and by the hands of soldiers who were obeying lawful orders. Government workers, doing their job, tortured Him to death.

Government is made up of individual people who have been given special privileges and special authority to act in ways no one outside of government may act. These individuals act together to maintain a monopoly of authority within a geographic boundary, agreed upon by like-minded individuals in other governments.

There are two methods used by government to maintain this monopoly of authority:
1) Brute force or the threat thereof
2) Wealth taken from some then used to appease others

To believe government is a tool that can be used for good, is to believe aggression and theft can be used for good. And to believe that government is a legitimate function of a civilized society is to believe that some humans are superior to others, therefore should have privileges and authority not enjoyed by others.