Episode 199 - Spirituality and Government

If we were to begin with a blank slate, how would we organize ourselves? What society would we establish that would meet our needs for protection and services while honoring spiritual principles and non-aggression? In this episode Rev. Carol and Mark Gober have a conversation about these questions. It may be a bit of a mind bender, but you are invited to come along for the ride and rethink some fundamental premises that we have inherited and accept by default - maybe even start imagining a new world. Mark was a guest on The Spiritual Forum podcast – Episode 178 – An End to Upside Down Thinking. He is quite a prolific writer having published five books in five years including An End to Upside Down Liberty, which is the focus of this episode. We cover quite a range of ideas including:

·       How mutually agreed upon contracts work via consent

·       The way we do government is not aligned with spiritual principles

·       The left & right argue over ways to control

·       History/scripture about the consequences of seeking a leader who “will lead us and fight our battles”

·       The human propensity to off load inner authority to experts

·       Voluntaryism versus statism/applying spiritual principles to how we organize ourselves

·       The non-aggression principle, Natural Law and the Golden Rule

·       Our failure of imagination

·       Taking steps in line with our divine evolution

·       Non dual volutaryism 

Mark’s website: https://markgober.com/ 

NOTES:

Rev. Carol shared this scripture, 1 Samuel 8: 10-22:

“Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.  Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said. ‘We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.’

When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, ‘Listen to them and give them a king.’”

Mark’s concluding words speak of nondual voluntaryism. Here is a graphic depiction of what he shared:

Mark Gober