Truth Over Tyranny: Biblical wisdom for defeating the Technocrats.
These are my insights for defeating the Transhumanist Technocracy movement, based on the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, on the weekly Bible portion.
In these essays about defeating the tyrannical technocrats, we have been emphasizing the partnership between people and God. He is the “senior partner” in the creative enterprise that characterizes life on earth, and we are the “junior partners.” We collaborate on issues of life and death; on affairs public and private; and in times of war and peace. Even though God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all, each individual person still has a role to play. God guides us in carrying out our responsibilities with His revealed wisdom; it is up to each of us to follow that guidance as best we can.
So what guidance do we have in dealing with the technocracy? This is a complicated question, because the “enemy” here is not from a foreign country. The attackers are not “outsiders;” they are not invading our shores to conquer us. No: they are very much on the “inside;” among us.
They are our elected representatives placing personal gain over public service.
They are our appointed officials meeting the needs of corporations instead of citizens.
They are our national leaders – in government, in industry, in the military – favoring the interests of other countries ahead of our own.
They are our judges and prosecutors protecting criminals and persecuting victims.
They are our heads of academic, scientific, and media organizations adopting political agendas instead of professional standards.
They are our doctors and lawyers, teachers and clergymen – people we need to care and protects us – promoting beliefs and practices that leave us defenseless; that hurt us; that corrupt our minds; that make us sick; that kill us.
And they are our parents – people in our own family, and in our own neighborhood – that not only allow but promote policies that destroy our children: deadly “vaccines.” Lockdowns. Gender surgery.
These people have laid seige to every one of our American institutions. If they were from another planet – or even a “bad” country like Russia or China – it would be much easier for us to unite in common defense, and rally to destroy them. But because they are among us – in the fabric of our everyday lives – we know we must be sympathetic as we take back our families, communities, and country. Yes, many have broken laws and violated ethical standards. They can and will be punished accordingly. Yes, many have betrayed the trust placed in them by family, clients, patients, and constituents. They now have the lifelong mission of repenting and making amends. And yes, many have committed atrocities, either behind the scenes, or with their own two hands. It will be a very long time before their contribution to human history is seen as anything but evil.
Given that the people who fell into the technocracy movement will eventually pay the price for their misdeeds, it should be easy to have compassion for them, right? When our fellow goes astray, we have to remain ready with an open heart to embrace them with open arms, right? They are, after all, our family. Friends. Neighbors. Long-time business associates. Professional providers. Fellow countrymen.
Not so easy. I personally find it very hard to have compassion for the people who are literally wrecking my world. I want them stopped decisively – regardless of who they are, and their relationship with me. They started the war – so we finish it, right? Many, many people feel the same way.
Justice must be served.
And it will be – but not by us alone. We are partners with God in this endeavor, as we are in every other human pursuit. He is a God of compassion, but also of justice. As the senior partner, He carries most of the load. Because of that, we can afford to be compassionate as well as just.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks talks about this quality of our partnership with the Almighty in his commentary on Parashat Ki Tissa called, “Can there be Compassion Without Justice?”
https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/ki-tissa/can-compassion-without-justice/
He relates that Moses asked God how to react to the sin of the people of Israel in building the golden calf:
“At the height of the drama of the Golden Calf, a vivid and enigmatic scene takes place. Moses has secured forgiveness for the people. But now, on Mount Sinai yet again, he does more. He asks God to be with the people. He asks Him to “teach me Your ways,” and “show me Your glory” (Ex. 33:13, Ex. 33:18). God replies:
“I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your presence … I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.”Ex. 33:20
“God then places Moses in a cleft in the rock face, telling him he will be able to “see My back” but not His face, and Moses hears God say these words:
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished. Ex. 34:6-7
The message was that compassion and justice come together:
“This passage became known as the “Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy.”
“The Sages understood this episode as the moment in which God taught Moses, and through him all future generations, how to pray when atoning for sin (Rosh Hashanah 17b). Moses himself used these words with slight variations during the next crisis, that of the spies. Eventually they became the basis of the special prayers known as Selichot, prayers of penitence. It was as if God were binding himself to forgive the penitent in each generation by this self-definition.[1] God is compassionate and lives in love and forgiveness. This is an essential element of Jewish faith.”
“But there is a caveat. God adds: “Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.” There is a further clause about visiting the sins of the parents upon the children which demands separate attention and is not our subject here. The caveat tells us that there is forgiveness but also punishment. There is compassion but also justice.”
God is reassuring Moses that He holds the guilty accountable. This allows us to be more compassionate as a society:
“It is now clear why, at the very moment He is declaring his compassion, grace and forgiveness, God insists that He does not leave the guilty unpunished. A world without Divine justice would be one where there is more resentment, punishment, and crime, and less public-spiritedness and forgiveness, even among religious believers. The more we believe that God punishes the guilty, the more forgiving we become. The less we believe that God punishes the guilty, the more resentful and punitive we become. This is a totally counterintuitive truth, yet one that finally allows us to see the profound wisdom of the Torah in helping us create a humane and compassionate society.”
I would add this: God was emphasizing to Moses that He and His people are partners in dealing with wrongdoers. In society, we meet out justice in ways prescribed by His revealed wisdom. In His realm, He meets out justice in ways we cannot fathom. But He gets it done. When we fall short, He picks up the slack.
To me this means that those who have helped the technocracy destroy human society will suffer the consequences they deserve, one way or another. God willing.