Print
The Breeding of Anarchy and Destruction of a Nation
Exodus 22:28 declares, “Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.” This verse, once a cornerstone of our cultural and theological heritage, held deep significance.
The Hebrew word “Elohim,” often translated as “gods,” is here contextually understood to mean judges, authorities, or rulers—those entrusted with power under God. Christ Himself affirmed this interpretation in John 10:35.
This commandment, rooted in the Fifth—“Honor thy father and thy mother”—extends to all forms of lawful authority: parents, civil magistrates, church leaders, and teachers.
The world we live in dismisses this standard. We see this in the breakdown of family structures, the rise of autonomous individualism over community values, and the increasing disrespect for authority figures in almost all spheres of life.
Why? Because the family—God’s foundational authority structure—has been systematically undermined by state education, bureaucratic intrusion, and a cultural philosophy hostile to any external restraint. The result is not liberation but an escalating descent into lawlessness.
Family: The Root of All Authority
The home, the cradle of a child’s first experience of government, education, church, and vocation, is where the seeds of authority are sown. The father and mother, as initial lawgivers, providers, and teachers, lay the foundation for understanding and respecting authority.
To honor parents is to learn the principle of authority itself. Destroying this early training ground and all other spheres—church, state, school—will likewise lead to rebellion.
Historically, obedience to civil authority was classified under the Fifth Commandment because all rightful rule imitates the structure established in the home. As theologian Meredith once observed, to a child, the parent stands in the place of God—lawgiver, protector, judge. Rejecting parental authority is a rejection of authority altogether, and the results are dire: schools overrun with chaos, streets filled with riot, and a generation intoxicated with rebellion.
Permissiveness Breeds Anarchy
The modern student revolution, with its demands for control of universities, destruction of property, and contempt for tradition, is not about freedom—it is about power divorced from responsibility. The rebellion is childish, not in the sense of innocence, but in the sense of immaturity and rage. It demands paradise now, instant gratification, and lashes out at any delay or denial.
Rushdoony compared this mentality to the behavior of infants: they cry when hungry, void themselves without restraint, and rage when their wants are unmet. Likewise, permissively raised youth and adults today cannot bear frustration, structure, or discipline. Their behavior is not the fault of institutions—it is the result of a cultural revolution that denies the legitimacy of authority itself.
Years ago, John D. Rockefeller III’s suggestion that we should “sustain” the youth revolution is emblematic of this madness. These protesters aren’t looking for any real reform but a total overthrow—what they call a “clean sweep” and a “reset.” Their goal is not order but amoral power—anarchy “masked” as progress.
The Philosophical Assault on Authority
This rebellion has deep intellectual roots. John Locke’s notion of the mind as a blank slate encouraged educators to strip children of inherited religious and cultural beliefs. Rousseau, Darwin, Marx, and Freud each added fuel to the fire, promoting a view of the past—and those who embody it, especially parents—as oppressive. Authority came to be seen as a relic to be destroyed, not a gift to be honored.
Education became revolutionary rather than formative. Instead of disciplining the mind, it sought to erase and rebuild it. The results are all around us: a generation that despises the past rejects the law and is crippled by its own immaturity. Public schools function more as engines of social deconstruction than learning institutions, severing children from their families, faith, and moral compass.
Discipline Produces Freedom
Contrary to modern psychology, the best-functioning mind is the disciplined mind. A child taught obedience becomes an adult capable of self-governance. Historically, children were trained early and expected to mature quickly.
In Colonial America, boys plowed fields and managed farms before they reached high school. Philosophers like Montaigne urged training children in logic and philosophy before reading and writing. Pascal and d’Aubigné wrote mathematical treatises and translated Plato before the age of ten.
Yessiree, we were once a civilization of early maturity. Now, adulthood is delayed indefinitely. College graduates shrink from work, calling responsibility “drudgery.” Employers struggle to find any workers, let alone “civilized” workers whose only job preparation is emotional indulgence. This regression is the fruit of a culture that cut its roots and now wonders why the tree is dying.
Authority Is God’s Structure for Order
Biblical law insists that all authority—though exercised by sinners—must be honored under God. We are not to revile or curse our rulers. God’s judgment, not man’s rebellion, removes wicked leadership. When we honor authority rightly, we uphold God’s order; when we cast it off, we reap chaos.
The state, church, and school do not share the role of parent—they share only the principle of authority. But the modern state has made a fatal error: it acts in “loco parentis,” a Latin term meaning ‘in the place of the parent’. It feeds, educates, and disciplines as though it were family. This is tyranny disguised as nurture, and it usurps the role God gave to parents alone.
Without God’s authority, nothing can stand—not the family, not the economy, not the nation. Authority is the backbone of civilization. Tear it out, and society collapses into the madness of the “No Kings” mob, an existential fantasy land where individual desires and actions reign supreme, always leading to chaos and disorder. As Jesus said, a house divided cannot stand.
Today, the house is literally on fire—not because we had too much authority, but because we destroyed the very concept of it. Now that’s a problem for all of us!
