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Christian View of Politics, Gov. Social
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Mind Games Survival Course Manual |
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A Christian View of Politics, Government, and Social Action
Kerby Anderson
- Civil government
- Civil government is necessary and divinely ordained by
God (Romans 13:1-7).
Government is ultimately under God's control. It has been given
three political responsibilities: the sword of justice (to punish
criminals), the sword of order (to thwart rebellion), and the sword of
war (to defend the state).
- As citizens, we have been given a number of responsibilities.
We are called to render service and obedience to the
government (Matthew 22:21). Because it is a God-ordained institution,
we are to submit to civil authority (1 Peter 2:13-17) as we would to
other institutions of God. But we are not to give total and final
allegiance to the secular state. Other God-ordained institutions exist
in society alongside the state. Our final allegiance must be to God.
We are to obey civil authorities (Romans 13:5) in order to avoid
anarchy and chaos, but there may be times when we may be called to
exercise civil disobedience.
- We find a number of examples of civil disobedience in the Old
Testament.
For example, God ordered Samuel to deceive King Saul (1 Samuel 16).
Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego defied the order of Nebuchadnezzar
(Daniel 3). In the New Testament, we find the apostles preaching even
when they were commanded to be silent. In situations when a major
conflict arises between biblical absolutes and governmental policy, we
are to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). However, in many cases,
we may be able to find a creative alternative which avoids a conflict
and allows us to be obedient to the Lord and the government (Daniel
1).
- We should be involved in government
Many Christians have mistakenly felt that since government is made
up of fallen individuals, we are to only give it limited involvement.
Yet we must recognize that government is part of the creation order.
It, like other institutions, has fallen into sin, but that does not
limit our involvement with it. We are to be salt and light (Matthew 5)
in the midst of the political context.
Although governments may be guilty of injustice, we should not stop
working for justice or cease being concerned about human rights. We do
not give up on marriage as an institution simply because there are so
many divorces, and we do not give up on the church because of many
internal problems. Each God-ordained institution manifests human
sinfulness and disobedience. Our responsibility as Christians is to
call political leaders back to this God-ordained task. Government is a
legitimate sphere of Christian service, and so we should not look to
government only when out rights are being abused. We are to be
concerned with social justice and should see governmental action as a
legitimate instrument to achieve just ends.
- Interest groups can have a negative effect on government.
One of the greatest flaws with the American form of government is
the tendency to assume that the public good is the sum total of all
special interests. In this regard, we have been excessively influenced
by utilitarianism. We have focused too much on pragmatic policies and
questions of majority rule and not enough on public justice.
Interest-group politics dominates the political landscape. Each
special group of individuals in society has a desire to see its
competitive interests represented in public policy. As a result,
interest-group politics often predominate over the just and moral
action that should be taken. Rather than consider the normative (what
should be done), we frequently focus on the strategic (what can be
done with the political forces involved). We focus too much on the
form of government rather than on the moral content of policy. We
should be more concerned with justice than with satisfying public
interests.
- A Christian view of government should also be concerned with
human rights.
Human rights in a Christian system are based upon a biblical view
of human dignity. A bill of rights, therefore, does not grant rights
to individuals, but instead acknowledges these rights as already
existing. The Declaration of Independence captures this idea by
stating that government is based upon the inalienable rights of
individuals. Government based upon a humanistic view of government,
however, does not see rights as inalienable and thus opens the
possibility for the state to redefine what rights its citizens may
enjoy. The rights of citizens in a republic are articulated in terms
of what the government is forbidden to do. But in totalitarian
governments, the rights of citizens are spelled out. In essence, a
republic limits government, while a totalitarian government limits
citizens.
- A Christian view of government also recognizes the need to limit
the influence of sin in society.
This is best achieved by placing certain checks on governmental
authority. By doing this, we can protect citizens from the abuse or
misuse of governmental power which results when sinful individuals are
given too much governmental control.
The greatest threat to liberty comes from the exercise of power.
Our experience in history has shown that power is a corrupting force
when placed in human hands. In the Old Testament theocracy, there was
less danger of abuse because the head of state was God. But notice the
dangers that ensued when power was transferred to a single king. Even
David, a man after God's own heart, abused his power and Israel
experienced great calamity (2 Samuel 11-24).
Abuse and misuse of power characterizes human governments. The
contribution of modern democratic theory was to recognize human
sinfulness and to devise an ingenious method to tame its effects.
Madison and others recognized that since you could not rid human
nature of sinful behavior (which Madison called passions), the only
solution was to use human nature to control itself.
Again, we can see the genius of the American system. Madison and
others realized the futility of trying to remove passions (human
sinfulness) from the population. Therefore, he proposed that human
nature be set against human nature. This was done by separating
various institutional power structures. First, the church was
separated from the state so that ecclesiastical functions and
governmental functions would not interfere with religious and
political liberty. Second, the federal government was delegated
certain powers while the rest of the powers resided in the state
governments. Third, the federal government was divided into three
equal branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
Each branch was given separate but rival powers, thus preventing
the possibility of concentrating power into the hands of a few. Each
branch had certain checks over the other branches so that there was a
distribution and balance of power. In addition to this, the people
were given certain means of redress. Elections and an amendment
process have kept power from being concentrated in the hands of
governmental officials. Each of these checks was motivated by a
healthy fear of human nature. The founders believed in human
responsibility and human dignity, but they did not trust human nature
too much. Their solution was to separate powers and invest each branch
with rival powers.
The effect of this system was to allow ambition and power to
control itself. Each branch is given power, and as ambitious men and
women seek to extend their sphere of influence, they provide a check
on the other branch. This is what has often been referred to as the
concept of "countervailing ambitions."
For example, the executive branch cannot take over the government
and rule at its whim because the legislative branch has been given the
power of the purse. Congress can approve or disapprove budgets for
governmental programs. A President cannot wage war if the Congress
does not appropriate money for its execution.
Similarly, the legislative branch is also controlled by this
structure of government. It can pass legislation, but it always faces
the threat of presidential veto and judicial oversight. Since the
executive branch is responsible for the execution of legislation, the
legislature cannot exercise complete control over the government.
Undergirding all of this is the authority of the ballot box.
Modern democratic systems (whether the American form of government
or the British form of parliamentary rule) function well because they
protect liberty and allow the greatest amount of political
participation. A benevolent dictator might be more efficient, but
would probably be less objective and less keen at adjudicating rival
interests. Each of us has biases, and the potential for being
corrupted by power is very great in a dictatorship. But the greatest
fear would be that a benevolent dictator might be replaced by a
malevolent one. A modern democratic government prevents the unleashing
of human sinfulness which might occur through concentrations of power.
Democracy is a system in which "bad men can do least harm, and good
men have the freedom to do good works."{5} Unlike other political
systems, it takes human sinfulness seriously and thus
protects it citizens from major abuses of power.
- Governmental authority
- Human governmental authority is limited
One of the most perplexing problems in government today is
determining the limits of governmental authority. With the remarkable
growth in the size and scope of government in this century, it is
necessary for us to clearly define the lines of governmental
authority.
At the outset, we must acknowledge that it is often difficult to
set limits or draw lines. The Old Testament theocracy was very
different from our modern democratic government. Although human nature
is the same, drawing biblical principles from an agrarian, monolithic
culture and applying them to the technological, pluralistic culture
requires discernment.
Part of this difficulty can be eased by separating two issues.
First, should government legislate morality? We will discuss this in
the section of this essay on social action. Second, what are the
limits of governmental sovereignty? The following are a few general
principles which can be helpful in determining the limits of
governmental authority.
- There are other institutions besides government.
As Christians, we recognize that God has ordained other
institutions besides government which exercise authority in their
particular sphere of influence. This is in contrast to various
political systems which see the state as the sovereign agent over
human affairs, one exercising sovereignty over every other human
institution. A Christian view is different.
- The first institution is the church (1 Peter 2:9-10,
Hebrews 12:18-24). In the New Testament, Jesus taught that the
government should work in harmony with the church and recognize its
sovereignty in spiritual matters (Matthew 22:21).
- The second institution is the family (Ephesians 5:22-32, 1 Peter
3:1-7). The family is an institution under God and under His
authority (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:20-25). When the family breaks down,
the government often has to step in to protect the rights of the
wife (wife abuse) or children (child abuse, adoption). The biblical
emphasis, however, is not so much on rights as it is on
responsibilities and mutual submission (Ephesians 5).
- A third institution is education. Children are not the wards of
the state, but belong to God (Psalm 127:3) and are given to parents
as a gift from God. Parents are to teach their children (Deut. 4:9)
and may entrust them to tutors (Galatians 4:2).
- In a humanistic system of government, the institutions of church
and family are usually subordinated to the state. In this atheistic
system, ultimately the state becomes a substitute god and is given
additional power to adjudicate disputes and bring order to a
society. Since institutions exist by permission of the state, there
is always the possibility that a new social contract will allow
governmental intervention into the areas of church and family.
- A Christian view of government recognizes the sovereignty of
these spheres. Governmental intervention into the spheres of church
and family is necessary in certain cases where there is threat to
life, liberty, or property. Otherwise, civil governmental should
recognize the other sovereignty of the other spheres of God-
ordained institutions.
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