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The Conceit of the Anointed
This idea, the "Conceit of the Anointed" is a phrase coined by author Thomas Sowell. It's the idea that a few "anointed" ones know better than the "unanointed". You cannot be trusted. We know better. The anointed keep passing rules. They keep narrowing the field. They love regulation and doing all they can to sanitize their institutions and organizations.
Rules are good. You have to have order and government and organization. Too many rules are not so good. They are counter-productive. For example, did you know that in 1981 the movie industry sued VCR makers and got a court decree making VCR's "an illegal instrument of copyright infringement?" The entertainment industry was certain that people would destroy the movie making business because they would record programs off of their TVs. They even tried to outlaw video rentals. Fortunately for the entertainment industry, a higher court ruled against the decree. Studios now make higher profits from home video and DVDs than they make at the box office.
Freedom of choice brings power to the people. Isn't that what we should seek to teach our congregations, that they have the freedom to choose righteousness, holiness, to choose the things that please the Lord? Isn't that what God did in the garden of Eden? He didn't sanitize the garden of all temptation, he gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose righteousness over sin, life over death. They chose foolishly and suffered the consequences of their actions. Did God at that point sanitize the world of all potential sin? No. He continued to give people the freedom to choose righteousness. It is much more gratifying to God that we choose to please Him, rather than be forced, coerced, or legislated into compliance.
Freedom allows for innovation, creativity, excitement, freshness and relevancy. Look at what hss happened in the Middle East. Afghanistan had free elections for the first time, then Palestine, then Iraq . Now Lebanon is moving in that direction, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are talking about more open societies. Freedom benefits the people: the every day, average, ordinary church members without which there would be no church.
I'm not talking about taking advantage of the liberty God gives us as an occasion to sin. Where the scriptures are clear, there is no compromise. What I am talking about is this tenedency in our churches and our movement to stifle freedom of choice. Outlaw this, regulate that, pass more rules, look for more ways to "protect" us, keep us "safe" because we ordinary Christians cannot be trusted to make those choices for ourselves. It's what the Communists called "central planning"---the "anointed" running our lives better than we can.
The fact of the matter is this: the Holy Ghost is given to us for the purpose of teaching us and leading us into all truth. The police state could not prevent the black market from thriving, illegal products from entering the country, nor the church from preaching the gospel. Police state churches or organizations cannot keep people from sneaking around the rules, privately breaking the regulations or covertly doing what they want. We must teach integrity and character rather than "its not allowed".
The "Anointed" want to create a "nanny state" in the church. As Michael Kelly wrote in the New Republic about big government, "Government has created a brutal system of mandated behaviorism, in which the state uses its immense powers to force targeted citizens and entities to 'voluntarily' accept a violation of thier rights"(emphasis added). When I read that I thought, "Wow---we do the same thing with church government!" We cannot be a "Nanny Church" or a "Nursing Home Assembly"! We must teach and preach the fundamental truths of God's Word and the principles of holiness and righteousness. An authoritarian, dictatorial, regulatory way of leading only keeps people from experiencing the joy of the Lord and the peace that the liberty of the Spirit gives us.
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When a newspaper posed the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton." That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.
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