The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #611

by John Rhine

 "When is Enough Gun Control Enough?"

I receive many communications advocating that we take guerrilla-like armed measures.
      It sounds to me like some of these people or groups
(however small/big they are) already have plans underway
for lethal defensive measures and intend to implement them.

      Right or wrong, if they were to do so on a large enough scale,
they would escalate the very tyranny they oppose.
Such is the nature of revolution.
You push and the enemy pushes back.

      My question to you all is "when is enough enough?"
Are these people acting prematurely?
How far do the enemies of freedom have to go
before we are considered to be in a state of war
in which armed resistance is justified morally in the sight of God?
According to the writer below, we have already reached such a state.
      (Though he does not explicitly say so, his words imply it.)

      Back in 1990, I helped compose a document called the "Declaration of Restoration"
      which shows the parallels between then and now and basically says,
"We're there again,"
though not going so far as to promote armed insurrection against the tyranny.
      http://www.greaterthings.com/Parallels/Other-chi/DeclRest.htm

      The reason the Jews were so effectively rounded up and executed by the Nazis is
      that they usually didn't decide things had gone too far until it was too late.

            So I restate my question, when is enough enough?

           According to the scriptures,
one should not take armed measures proactively but only defensively.
The enemy must fire the first shot, so to speak.
And on top of that we have the exacting injunction to turn the other cheek.

      With that in mind, we then ask, has the first lethal shot been fired?
Do we just look within our own family or do we look within the community?
Do we just look within our own community, or do we look nationally?
Do we just look within our own nation, or do we look internationally?
In other words, in the spirit of
"mind your own business,"
what is "our business,"
keeping in mind that we are our brother's keeper?

      What about my friend who is imprisoned for his tax protestation stance --
given a more rigorous sentence than a rapist or murderer?
What about Waco?
What about Ruby Ridge?
What about the imprisoned and murdered patriots in other countries?
      What about the string of dead bodies surrounding the Clinton administration?

      Whose causes do we take up? How? When?

      It seems to me that each of these "situations"
has a context and scope of its own,
      though some are intertwined.

      So let me ask again in more specific terms.
Has the United States of America gone too far in destroying and jeopardizing freedom?
Have they fired the first shot?
      If so, what was that shot?
Why does it rise to the level of being sufficient cause
      to impel the entire patriot community
to be justified in rising up in insurrection against the tyranny
that is being gradually placed upon us?

      If that shot hasn't been fired yet, what would be a sufficient "shot" in the future
      to warrant such insurrection or revolution?

      Certainly the imposition of martial law
and the requiring of people to take the mark of the beast by force
would be sufficient cause.
But does it have to get that bad to be bad enough?

      I've long maintained that the rounding up of weapons
would be an act of war sufficient to warrant armed insurrection,
for it takes from the people the last means of defense against tyranny.
It is therefore the last straw.

      But what about the steps leading up to the confiscation of guns --
steps such as required registration of all gun purchases,
which steps enable the confiscation of guns in lightning raids
that preempt the opportunity for armed resistance?
Are not such measures therefore the equivalent of actually confiscating guns?

      So while the confiscation of guns, or equivalent measures,
is a sufficiently tyrannical move to justify insurrection,
is there an act of aggression of a lesser severity
that nevertheless rises to the level of being sufficient to warrant insurrection?

      Have we already reached the point where armed insurrection is justified
and we just haven't realized it,
or is the following post from the American Patriot Friend's Network
premature and therefore out of line?

      For freedom to flourish, God must be sovereign.
God is not honored when rules of righteous protocol are violated.
At the same time, neither is God honored when tyrants flourish.

      Where are we? According to righteous principles,
have the tyrants gone far enough
to warrant our insurrection against their illegitimate rule?

      Perhaps the question is not answered by pointing to one deed in particular --
a singular "shot," per se --
but rather should be looked at in terms of a large number of grievances,
such as were lodged by our Founding Fathers against the tyranny of Great Britain.

      Ten years ago, some friends and I provided such a list of grievances --
a list that has only escalated since that time.
      http://www.greaterthings.com/Parallels/Other-chi/DeclRest.htm

      Back then, armed insurrection was not yet expedient.
The might of the pen was yet sufficient to resist the encroachments upon our freedom.

      Is that still the case?

      We must not wait so long that we are no longer able to act.
But we also must not act prematurely,
for we must have the blessings of God in order to triumph.

      Perhaps the question is not even whether or not the tyrants have gone too far,
      for perhaps they reached that point a long time ago.
Perhaps the real issue is whether or not the patriots are ready to stand with God
sufficient to overthrow the usurpers of freedom
and replace them with people who will uphold principles of freedom.
Maybe God has been waiting on us.

      Some prophecies indicate that the tyrants destroy each other
and the humble followers of God then are all that is left,
having been miraculously preserved.

      Maybe socialist America wants exactly what it has right now
and deserve the attacks from Russian and China
and other Frankenstein nations
that our tyrants have helped to establish and strengthen,
through their treason while American citizens watched on.
But those things are likely to happen regardless
because of how far things have progressed in that direction.

      If the patriots act,
they had better have very strong reasons for having done so,
for otherwise the blame for the ensuing chaos and bloodshed
will be leveled on their heads.
But if they don't act soon enough,
the ensuing chaos and bloodshed will likewise be answered on their heads.

      They must act with strong assurance that they are justified in doing so,
      otherwise their cause will not have sufficient moral rectitude
to inspire the heroism and miracles that will be required
in returning this nation to a nation of freedom
which will eventually fill the whole earth.

      Sincerely,

      Sterling D. Allan - sterlingda@greaterthings.com

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