Our bread and circus society, sedated by sport and soap operas - opinion, by Chuck Baldwin.

 Many westerners are, like the Romans of old, carelessly frittering away their God-given liberties, foolishly
clamoring for government handouts and never-ending entertainment. Millions of Americans, British and others (especially males) are intoxicated with sports. Sports are no longer a great pastime; they are now a great obsession. ALAN adds: I spoke on this once and a young man asked me if it was all right to follow or play sports. I said it was fine - as long as it was kept in perspective. Sport mustn't be the most important thing in your life...

Women are not immune: in their case many spend many hours a day following mind-numbing soap operas. We are nations sedated by sport and soaps, diverting our attention from many things, including the fact that our liberty is fast being taken from us while we are distracted and amused. We should wake up, wise up, get up and join the battle. The Lord is coming back, time is short and the world is sin sick and sad. It's our responsibility to made disciples of all people.

America’s Bread And Circus Society

By Chuck Baldwin


The Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 A.D.) wrote regarding the way
latter-day Roman emperors retained power and control over the masses
that were seemingly more than happy to obsess themselves with
trivialities and self-indulgences while their once-great-and-powerful
empire collapsed before their very eyes. He wrote:

“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People
have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed
out military command, high civil office, legions--everything, now
restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and
circuses.”

I submit that a good many in America are, like Rome of old,
carelessly frittering away their God-given liberties, foolishly
clamoring for nothing more than government handouts and never-ending
entertainment. Millions and millions of Americans (especially males)
are literally intoxicated with sports. Sports are no longer a great
American pastime; they are now a great American obsession.

Mind you, this writer has been a sports fan all of his life. I began
playing organized basketball in the fifth grade; I was on the high
school wrestling team; I played football in high school and college;
and I ran track. Still today, I enjoy watching a good NFL game (yes,
I’m still a Green Bay Packers fan), a good college game when the
Gators are playing, a good NCAA men’s basketball game (especially
during the tournament--even more so when the Hoosiers are in it), and
any NBA championship series between the Celtics and Lakers (I root for
Boston). And I even like to watch a round of professional golf once in
a while (it helps me go to sleep when I’m trying to take a nap). But
none of the above will interfere with anything that is important, and
I am not going to plan my whole universe around any of it. If it is
convenient, I will watch. If it’s not, I will read about it in the
sports section of the newspaper. And I’m certainly not going to
spend my hard-earned money following any sports team (even those I
like) all over the country like some rock band groupie.

I am not talking about sports in general; I am talking about the way
many American men have allowed sports to control and dominate their
lives. With many, sports are not just a hobby; they are a religion. I
cannot count the number of conversations between men that I overhear
in restaurants, airplanes, boardrooms, and, yes, even church houses,
in which every man in the circle is literally consumed with all sorts
of sports facts, information, and opinions. In many such discussions,
these men will talk about nothing else. To these men, there is
absolutely nothing in the world more important than the latest sports
score, announcement, or trade. NOTHING!

And there is also a very real psychological pitfall associated with a
man’s intoxication with sports. I submit that an obsession with
sports gives men a false sense of masculinity and actually serves to
steal true manhood from them.

For example, it used to be when men stripped their shirts off and
painted their faces, they were heading to the battlefield to kill the
tyrant’s troops. Now they are headed off to the sports coliseum to
watch a football game. A man’s ego and machismo was once used to
protect his family and freedom; now it’s used to tout batting
averages and box scores. The fact is, if we could get the average
American male to get as exercised and energized about defending the
historic principles upon which liberty and Western Civilization are
built as he is in defending his favorite quarterback or NASCAR driver,
our country would not be in the shape it is in today.

The sad reality is that much of today’s masculinity is experienced
only vicariously through a variety of sports teams and personalities.
Instead of personally flexing our muscles for God and country, freedom
and liberty, or home and hearth, we punch the air and beat our chests
over touchdowns and home runs (even though we had absolutely nothing
whatsoever to do with them ourselves). Instead of getting in the face
of these would-be tyrants in Washington, D.C., who are doing
everything they can to steal the American dream, we get in the face of
the poor umpire who makes a bad call or the Little League coach who
doesn’t play my son enough. Our happiness, well-being, and mood are
not determined by anything personally achieved (or lost), but by what
others accomplished (or didn’t accomplish) at the ball park. Whether
our children inherit a land of liberty and freedom does not seem
nearly as important as whether they make the starting lineup on the
football team.

Add to an epidemic obsession with sports the demand for more and more
handouts from Big Brother and the outlook for liberty is not good.
Everywhere we turn, we seem to hear people clamoring for government to
give them more and more. They expect government to supply their every
need and meet their every demand. They then have the gall to turn
around and say, “God bless America: land of the free”?

Ladies and gentlemen, one cannot have it both ways. If we expect
government to be our supplier, we cannot expect that it will not
become our master. Always remember this: government has nothing to
give except that it first takes it from someone else. Every dollar and
every job that government gives is first taken from someone else.
Furthermore, every job given to government is another freedom--and
another dollar--taken from the citizenry. Every government job brings
with it a restriction, a prohibition, a regulation, an inspection, a
fee, a tax, an assessment, etc. As government grows, freedom shrinks.
As government spends, wealth shrinks. And as government hires,
opportunity shrinks.

Most historians agree with Juvenal that the mighty Roman Empire
collapsed from within due to a morally reckless, selfish,
pleasure-crazed, sports-obsessed, bread and circus society that
willingly surrendered the principles of self-government to an
insatiable central government that, through perpetual wars and
incessant handouts, destroyed a once-great republic.

By all appearances, the bread and circus society has reared its ugly
head in America. And make no mistake about it: if the people of the
United States do not quickly repent of this madness, the consequences
will be just as destructive for our once-great republic as it was for
Rome.

P.S. Let me, again, remind readers that my family and I have now
relocated to Kalispell, Montana. Last Saturday evening, over 100 local
Montanans assembled for a “Welcome Baldwin Family To Montana”
party. It was a wonderful introduction to our new hometown, to be
sure.

Let me remind readers, too, that our new ministry is called
“LIBERTY FELLOWSHIP.” For those who live within driving distance
of the Kalispell area, we are searching for a meeting location and
will let you know the location and times of our services as soon as
possible. Please also be assured that we will begin livestreaming my
Sunday messages just as soon as we can purchase the equipment and get
it all functional.

Obviously, our move to Montana and the subsequent costs to establish
this new work are extremely expensive. At 58 years old, my wife and I
are starting all over again. Needless to say, we knew this was going
to be a step of faith at our age, but we had no idea how much so.

Therefore, I am appealing to my friends and readers to make either a
one-time contribution or a monthly contribution to LIBERTY FELLOWSHIP
to help us establish this new work. LIBERTY FELLOWSHIP is an outreach
of ChuckBaldwinLive.com and gifts made are NOT tax deductible. If you
can help me get this new work started, please send your check or money
order (we do plan to accept credit cards in the very near future) to:

Liberty Fellowship

P.O. Box 10

Kila, Montana 59920

Thank you very much for reading my columns and helping us fight the
fight for God and freedom!

P.S.S. Let me remind you, too, that we will begin shipping our
Christmas printing of THE FREEDOM DOCUMENTS soon. Go to the following
web page to pay now and guarantee you are among the first to receive
your copies:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=279

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these
editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be
made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=19

 Chuck Baldwin




11/11/2010

 
 
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Revelation 21:2

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