In "The Kingdom Of God Is Within You," by Leo Tolstoy, the book that made M. K. Gandhi into the Mahatma (Great Soul) of India, we learn that the primary function of Jesus Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" was to free people from the state conception of life in favor of the Kingdom conception of life; a stateless society drive by conscience. Yes, Jesus Christ was the original anarchist.
While some could understand that I might follow the literal instruction, "swear not," they could not understand why I would also "affirm" not. It is not that I could not affirm, it is that I choose to be free from the state conception of life in accordance with the wisdom of one of the major religions of the world. I internalized that being free from the state conception of life is a move toward Truth Only, who is God.
Truth moves in the ways of Love, and Love moves in the ways of Freedom. Therefore, I knew that anything that willfully brings me into submission to temporal law is not the path of Truth, for temporal law is of man, and the ways of man's laws are violence, not love or freedom. Violence is illegitimate to Truth, for that which comes from Truth is Peace.
In Matthew 5:37, we learn that anything that is from more than a simple "yes" or "no" is from evil/ violence. Evil and sin are violence in Gandhian Philosophy. So when I am asked to either "swear" or "affirm" in a legal context, as in this legal document on the Internet on the Texas Secretary of State's website, I am being coerced away from Truth and into submission to evil/ violence. Violence is illegitimate to Truth, for that which comes from Truth is Peace. Therefore, at every opportunity I can, I do not sign legal documents. You would be wise to back away from these things, as well.
If the State of Texas does not respect my 1st Amendment right of religious exception, I will run as a write-in candidate, although, my vote will not be counted under Texas law, as I will not sign an oath or affirm in a legal context even to gain ballot access to be a write-in candiate. It is not the Gandhian's path to make the self compliant with the state; rather, it is the path of the Gandhian to move the state to be more and more compliant with Truth Only, who is God. Give me twenty years to teach these teachings on this matter, and the people will wonder why anyone was ever asked to "swear" or "affirm," and the world will be a more non-violent place.
Gene Chapman,
Tolstoyan-Gandhian Libertarian Candidate for Texas Governor
(Endorsed by Dr. Noam Chomsky, Intellectual of the Age)
ChapmanForTexasGovernor2014.com
gkchapman2012@hotmail.com
