No Kings! If these people really thought about what they are pushing, they would abandon their desire for anyone to be (s)elected President, as it is certain that whoever sits in the Oval Office acts as a king–pushing laws, writing “executive orders”, finagling more revenue to spend, fomenting wars to increase their power, etc.
However, the “king thing” doesn’t stop with the president. Every single person, from the top dog down to the most local level who tries to impose his or her will on everyone else, is a wannabe king. There are an incredible amount of people in this world who want to rule, to make their word law, to use force and the threat of violence to show how strong and tough they are. Everywhere, there are kings and most of them have been placed in their position by the “lower-downs” who decided that “our” king is better than “their” king.
Yes, that’s right. No Kings mean no kings except the ones we want to rule over us and every political faction promotes this. So, liberals and progressives are comfortable with Democrat kings, but conservatives and Christians prefer to submit to Republican ones. The reality is, though, that no matter which king or whose king is on top, the rights, freedoms, and liberties of the average American continue to be eroded, degraded, and removed.
There is only one philosophy which is true to the No Kings concept–anarchy. True-blue unbridled anarchy in which every person is his own sovereign, being respected as such AND respecting the absolute sovereignty of all others.
No kings! I agree with that sentiment and, unlike the protesters last Saturday, I try to be consistent with it.
Poor Roger's Almanac 
No Kings! Except For Me
When I was organizing with leftists and communists in Missoula, many of them referred to themselves as “libertarian communists.” Later, after noticing how much influence libertarianism also had within Montana’s conservative movement, I decided to dig deeper. What I discovered is that, taken to its logical conclusion, libertarianism leads to the same place you mention—anarchy built on a utopian idea called the “non-aggression principle.”
This shared desire for libertarian anarchy—from both the communists and from this particular strain of conservatism—struck me. Both claim man can build a perfect society through his own effort. Both seem to deny the reality of sin and reject the need for redemption. Both promise salvation without a Savior through ideological means. In that sense, to me, they are two expressions of the same anti-Christ impulse: man trying to be his own god.
The “No Kings” slogan sounds appealing, but it misses a deeper truth: every man is already his own king, his own sovereign. When everyone rules himself, we don’t get freedom—we get chaos. True anarchy doesn’t eliminate tyranny; it spreads it evenly across every individual will.
The answer isn’t the absence of authority but submission to righteous authority. Christ’s kingship alone liberates. Every “no kings” creed that excludes Him simply enthrones the self, repeating the oldest rebellion in human history.
The organization of power through the U.S. Constitution isn’t perfect, but it acknowledges human nature in a way utopian ideologies never do. I’ll take a flawed system built on checks and balances over fantasies that pretend sin can be wished away.
No king, but King Jesus!
No presidents, no legislators, no biblically unqualified judges either – all of whom are consequences of the constitutional framers spurning the Bible’s immutable/unchanging moral law as government and society’s standard.
They all need to be sent packing! Until then, the Swamp (aka the biblically egregious Constitutional Republic) continues to breed both species of Crocodiles – disguised as Donkey and Elephants.
For more, see Chapter 3 “The Preamble: We the People vs. Yahweh” of free online book “Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective” at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/blvc-index.html
Then Chapter 4 “Article 1: Legislative Usurpation.”
Then Chapter 5 “Article 2: Executive Usurpation.”
Then Chapter 6 “Article 3: Judicial Usurpation.”
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the sidebar and receive a free copy of the 85-page “Primer” of “BL vs. USC.”
Roy, it is good to hear from you. We should sit down over a cup of coffee some day soon.
Your response deserves close attention as you raise many important points, which I will try to answer in the best way I know how.
There is not, nor can there ever be, a “libertarian communist”. The term is contradictory on its face. Libertarianism deals with individual human freedom, while communism tries to squelch that in favor of the collective, destroying the individual in the process. “Libertarian communism” and “libertarian conservatism” may not be exact matches, but both seek to override the individual right to self-determinism and subjugate him to an order–either that of The People or that of The Dictator. Neither affirms nor supports sovereign individual freedoms, therefore both are illegitimate.
Anarchy (the word strikes fear into people’s hearts because it is misunderstood) means nothing more than self-rule without the need for a power or authority to govern behavior on the personal level. Self-rule is actually the same as self-control. (See Galatians 5:22-23) “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, AND self-control. Against these, there is no law.” Anarchists, those who really understand what it means, control themselves so that no one else needs to, which means they need no government, no law. Against self-control, there is no law. Let me repeat that. Against self-control, there is no law.
Where most people err is in thinking that anarchy means uncontrolled chaos, as you have alluded to, and this, of course, means that something stronger than the individual MUST exercise power to bring situations under control, that is, under law. To keep people safe and to assuage their fears. Strong man, dictator, Comrade, Protector of the Poor,…it doesn’t matter what you call him (them) as long as the masses are assured that they are safe and kept secure from the “chaotic” impulses of the anarchist. Or the rioter. Or the J6er’s. Or the Russians. Or the anti-Semites. Or the Venezuelan boat people. Or the…well, you get the point.
In reality, though, true anarchists exemplify the Gospel as they exercise their love for others. If the NAP (non-aggression principle) teaches that each person must be valued for who he is and respected as his own sovereign ruler, then this is nothing more than “…loving your neighbor as you love yourself…”, which is exactly what Jesus taught. In order to live as an anarchist, one must be willing to allow his neighbors to live in the same way, that is, to determine for themselves what is best for them, not what is best for a System which strives to bring all under control.
I have never advocated for salvation by my own efforts nor have I ever said that Man, humanity, can reach a state of purity by embracing a “live and let live” attitude. I recognize that sin is rampant, not only in the world around me, but also in my own life and spirit. It is my responsibility as a believer in Jesus the Christ to acknowledge that and to allow the Spirit of God to change me from a selfish person into one who cares for those around me more than I care for myself. This understanding is not antagonistic to anarchism, but instead supports and buttresses the philosophy, because as I learn to love myself and those around me, I realize more and more that they, also, must be as free from my control as I seek to be from theirs. There is not, nor can ever be, a “perfect” society this side of Heaven, but we can and should practice in our own daily lives what the Master taught. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, AND you shall love your neighbor as you do yourself.” Which basically means that we don’t do to our neighbors what we don’t want them to do to us.
Try telling that to a progressive, liberal, or conservative audience. You’ll get booed and laughed out of the room.
“When everyone rules himself, we don’t get liberty–we get chaos.” Your words ring true as far as they go, but if you add the qualifier that everyone rules himself in subjection to the Spirit of God, the result is quite different. People who practice love toward others as an outgrowth of personal surrender to the Spirit, resulting in self-control, do not need to have others control them. They do not create chaotic scenes, rather they bring peace to situations. It is only when power, force, and violence (threat of violence) are brought to bear that chaos erupts.
I do not need government. I do not need a ruler, or rules, for that matter. I know what is right and as long as I am in tune with the Spirit of God, Who is Truth, I will not need to have someone else control, or attempt to control, me. I am a sovereign being who is controlled by the very nature of God, which is righteousness, and seek to influence my world according to my beliefs, i.e., that everyone, every single person, is worthy of my love regardless of who they are or what they have done.
You spoke correctly. “Christ’s kingship alone liberates.” This is why no earthly political system will ever succeed in liberating people, because all of them are geared toward gaining power. They are not interested in liberty. It is, as you say, “submission to righteous authority” which brings about freedom. Everything else, including a belief in conservatism and the Republican Party, enslaves.
This is anarchy from a Christian perspective. I have never seen anything better and it is unlikely that any political persuasion, no matter how righteous, will ever convince me to change my mind. Far from being a utopian fantasy and ideology, this is the only way to live.
Thank you, Ted, for your comment.
No king, but King Jesus! To which I say, “Aye, and aye, forever.” We need nothing else. Love, pure love, working with and in subjection to the Holy Spirit is enough, is totally sufficient to meet all our needs and blesses us beyond measure.
Roger,
I’d be happy to take you up on that coffee.
I think you are making the same error you rightly identified in “libertarian communism”: yoking contradictory terms. Christians are not sovereign. We belong to Christ, under His authority. When you prescribe how people “must be valued” and “should practice love,” you’re imposing a moral framework. A true anarchist would reject that. Your “Christian anarchy” is just another system of oughts.
Here’s the deeper issue to me, however: Is the non-aggression principle fundamentally Christian or fundamentally liberal? The NAP says “don’t initiate force or fraud against another person or their property.” That’s Enlightenment philosophy, passive and negative. Christian morality is active and positive: Love your neighbor. Pursue justice. Lay down your life. Under the NAP, you can refuse to help the suffering, hoard while neighbors starve, and turn away the vulnerable, all without violation, as long as you don’t initiate force. That’s not Christian love. That’s “do as thou wilt as long as it doesn’t touch me.”
And the NAP can’t answer this: How is justice pursued and enforced in anarchy? Justice requires authority to define violations, judge disputes, enforce verdicts, and restrain the unrepentant. Without authority, “justice” is vigilantism or mob rule. Romans 13 says governing authorities are “God’s servant” and “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer,” established by God for a world where sin remains active, even among believers.
Your vision describes Christian fellowship beautifully, but that’s the church, not a political philosophy. And this is where the utopianism shows: you’re building a system that requires near-universal sanctification to function. It works if everyone is Spirit-controlled and self-controlled, but we don’t live in that world yet. Until the Kingdom is fully realized, God has given authorities because transformation isn’t universal and justice requires enforcement.
Amen, Roger!
Roy,
No one, and I stress, no one is absolutely sovereign except God, the Father, Who rules everything and is ruled by nothing. Even Jesus Christ, His Son, and the Holy Spirit are subject to His authority. This means that there are no completely independent and sovereign persons on Earth, or as Bob Dylan said, “You’re going to serve somebody.” This, of course, includes Christians, who are in subjection to the Word and the Spirit of God and cannot exercise power and authority on their own. I do not contest this at all.
I do not see any difference between Christian teaching and the NAP. One is positive and says love your neighbor, pursue justice, lay down your life, while the other says don’t harm your neighbor, don’t tolerate crime against him. These, to me, are flip sides of the same coin, and are not mutually exclusive. Does it really make any difference that one is positive and the other negative?
How is justice pursued and enforced in anarchy? Read the book of Judges which details the rise and fall of individual societies within Hebrew culture and the emergence and disappearance of various leaders (judges) and the way that those societies prospered or failed. Of course, there is the eternal sticking point in this: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” — Judges 21:25, which people today are scandalized about and demand that a “government” be empowered to prevent such behavior. Yet, in 1 Samuel 8, we have the story of the people (We, the People) demanding a king, a centralized authority, to rule them and something they can identify with. However, through the prophet Samuel, God Himself warned them that this was a bad move, i.e., a refusal to trust God and a desire to trust an earthly king, nevertheless, the people persisted and God gave them what they wanted–a king, a government, which would treat them as slaves, abusing them because he could.
As to your last paragraph, yes, I describe Christian fellowship and, yes, it is the church, but I don’t care one bit about a political philosophy which is man-centered and man-controlled. Utopianism! If I am building a system which is utopian, then how do you explain that Jesus Christ declared that He would build His Church and the gates of Hell (Marxism, socialism, democracy, totalitarianism, extreme Left or extreme Right and anywhere in between, fascism, monarchism, etc.) would not stand against it. If I am working to build a utopian society based on sanctification, then how is that going against the claim that Jesus made? Just because everyone is not yet Spirit-controlled and self-controlled does not mean that the principle is not working, rather it only shows that we still have room to grow. Just because we don’t live in that world yet (universally) does not mean that we cannot exercise its power now.
The Kingdom of God (Christ) on Earth will not happen because of political machinations and raw power assumed and exercised. It WILL happen, gradually and progressively, as more and more people surrender the violent, selfish sides of their lives to the Authority and Kingship of the only One Who can make it happen–Jesus Christ. Compared to this, the worship and adulation of Donald Trump (or any other would-be king) resembles a flyspeck on the wall. No amount of political posturing can ever begin to resemble the freedom and liberty found in submission to the only true King. Everything else is a comical farce.
Thanks for responding, Roger. This is a good discussion.
In Judges 17 and 19, the chapters open with “In those days there was no king in Israel,” and then proceed to describe chaos, murder, and rape. At the end of chapter 21, after the Israelites massacre an entire town, kidnap the virgins, and then abduct more women during a festival, the book closes with the very phrase you quoted: “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This isn’t presented as godly order. It’s the horrific result of people ignoring God’s law and following their own passions.
The repeated refrain “no king in Israel” isn’t celebrating anarchy. It’s lamenting it. The entire book is a cautionary tale showing the progressive moral collapse when there’s no governing authority. Do you really believe the events of Judges 19-21 represent your vision of Christian anarchy working well?
Even in 1 Samuel 8, where Israel’s motives were wrong in demanding a king “like the nations,” God still established kingship. He brought Saul, then David, under whose reign Israel experienced unprecedented peace, prosperity, and God’s favor. The biblical trajectory moves from the chaos of Judges through human kingship toward Christ the King—never back to anarchism.
Hi, Roy. I agree with you on one thing at least, this is a good discussion and I appreciate your part in it. You are a worthy sparring partner in this business of “iron sharpening iron”. We really must get together soon.
The entire book of Judges, as you say, is the horrific result of people ignoring God’s Law and following their own passions, resulting in a moral collapse. I do not dispute this. Can you explain to me how this is substantially different from what we are experiencing today in America and around the world, even though governments have never been larger, stronger, and more intrusive? It is true that God gave Israel a king because they demanded it, but condemned them for it.
In Judges, during the Israeli kingships, and down through the corridors of history since, the lack of a government or the presence of one has not changed human nature at all. People will/do follow their base sinful natures regardless of law. We could talk about violations of said law forever, but the reality is that unless a person is surrendered to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and transformed by the Holy Spirit, no amount of law or government is going to make him “good”. Consider Jeffrey Epstein, the most current of “kidnappers of virgins”. Or John Wayne Gacy, who killed people and kept them in his freezer and ate them. Or the myriad ways in which presidents through the entire history of America have not hesitated to kill and slaughter others, not out of a sense of self-defense, but because they had the power to do so and did. Trump, blowing up small fishing boats with Hellfire missiles on his word alone, is only the latest example of this sort of behavior. Righteousness and salvation do not come about by legislation or the lack of it. They are products of a personal and individual deliberate intent to adhere to God’s moral law and nothing else.
There are only two reasons that I can think of as to the reason why people need (or think they need) government:
1. They are afraid and look to a king, a ruler, a government to keep them safe and secure from possible harm.
2. They need something greater than themselves to identify with, as in, I’m an American as opposed to being a Russian or a Rwandan.
In the process, though, they give up their rights and freedoms to that government which only has one goal in mind–gaining power. Power, more power, all the time, along with all the perks and benefits which accrue to it. Those who control government are rewarded greatly while everyone beneath them suffers and the ones at the bottom suffer the most of all.
As Christians, we are instructed to trust in God and God’s Word alone. We are told not to put our trust in Man and Man’s rules, laws, and edicts. Neither are we to have faith in Man’s “justice”, which is in many (most) cases, unscriptural. The problem is, though, that we do not want to trust God for our protection and provision, but would rather make our own way and conjure up all sorts of reasons why this is best. The inevitable result, which may be decades or centuries in appearing, is disastrous and harmful to the average person. Certainly, this is not the Christian way.
As I said earlier, “I do not need government. I do not need a ruler, or rules, for that matter. I know what is right and as long as I am in tune with the Spirit of God, Who is Truth, I will not need to have someone else control, or attempt to control, me. I am a sovereign being who is controlled by the very nature of God, which is righteousness, and seek to influence my world according to my beliefs, i.e., that everyone, every single person, is worthy of my love regardless of who they are or what they have done.”
You call it utopian, I call it far-sighted. Granted that most people are not at this point, but that does not take away from the truth of this issue–to the extent that one trusts in God’s Word, he does not need to trust in government. Perfect love casts out fear and the promise is that God takes care of His own, thus eliminating the “need” to produce a false god in which he can believe and take refuge in.
“The biblical trajectory moves from the chaos of Judges through human kingship toward Christ the King—never back to anarchism.”
Au contraire! The biblical trajectory moves from the anarchic sovereignty of Adam under the authority of God through ages of sinful chaos until the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ as King, restoring mankind to the status of Adam, sin-scarred to be sure, once again ruling himself as an anarchist, this time completely aware, under the rule of Almighty God.