Thursday Oct 06, 2022

What do gambling and voting have in common? with Paul Varkey

Craig is joined by Paul Parayil for his first-ever podcast appearance. Through his prolific and provocative writings, Paul advocates for liberty, truth, honesty, and the Kingdom of God. His blog and Facebook posts have garnered quite a following. In this episode, they discuss Paul's article, "Do you believe Gambling is a vice? I don't think you do". In the article, Paul grabs the attention of the evangelical right audience and shows how Christians engage in high-stakes gambling on something worse than cards. Fear produces voting, but just like casino gambling, the house (or the state) always wins.

When the church condones the state's violence, it fails to align with people's consciences, becoming a stumbling block. However, the church will find itself more attractive when Christians promote Jesus's basic teachings of self-governance and doing no harm. We use the term Christian Anarchist because a core component of Christianity has been lost. Instead, that which should be an obvious and natural occurrence in the church must be emphasized. Anarchy is implied, and the entire gospel message is summed up in one sentence: No King but Christ.

Since the beginning of the church, we have had one King. Jesus never sought political office! It is morally inconsistent of us to believe we have the right to coerce our neighbors with political power gained through participation in state activities, be they politics or voting. We are more consistent with Jesus's actions when we serve from the fringes of society with love and charity. The beginning of the healing of this world is through peacefully walking away from the gamble that is voting.

Episode Starting Points:

1:15 Introduce Paul

5:45 How did Paul come to Christian anarchy?

10:15 What is Christian Anarchism?

15:35 No King But Christ

20:30 Paul pokes the bear to make people think.

22:46 Read Paul’s Article: "Do you believe Gambling is a vice? I don't think you do."

29:05 What is voting?

31:48 What is the state?

36:00 God alone gives liberty

39:00 Why don't Christians just walk away?

For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-67