Biblical Principles to Guide our Political Action

Home

Biblical Principles to Guide our Political Action

Written by Calvin Fox

Friday, 27 February 2009 14:12

Biblical "Individualism" and "Community"

One of the most important values we share in our society is the importance of the individual, especially the individual’s freedom of conscience and choice. However, today’s Western, American understanding of the “Individual” is neither Scriptural nor Reformed. Every of us has infinite worth, not because of our potential, what we may do in life or may contribute to Society, but because of what we are as human beings. That is an extremely important concept with many consequences. We all share the same human nature and that nature images certain attributes of God.

We all image God inasmuch as we are rational, creative, moral and spiritual beings. We are also like God inasmuch as we are communal by nature. We are created with the ability and need to live with others- to live in community, even as God the Father, Son and Spirit do. We were never intended by our Creator to be solitary, autonomous, self-determined individuals. Rather we can find and develop our individuality, our life as a person, when we live in community. We become and fulfill what God created and gifted and called each of us to be, only when we live in relationships with others. That is the absolute prerequisite context for all consideration of “Human Rights”. Our rights are rights only within relationships.

And the relationships or communities are not of the individuals choosing or design. All of us are intended by God to live within social systems or relationships of His design, as part of Creation itself. These social systems or communities are part of Creation or the order that began with creation, hence- “creational” (they are designated as Spheres in neo-Calvinist social thought). They are not meant to be aggregates of individuals who voluntarily associate in ways and times they each deem important to meet their respective individual needs or purposes, rather they live in Covenant with God and each other. The terms of the Covenant are dictated by God Himself.

Living in Spheres

There are three basic creational communities or "spheres" and a fourth derived from them. This is neo-calvinist social theory and I am convinced it is Biblical. Each of these four spheres has specific functions and norms or boundaries. They are permanent inter-relational communities or spheres, even though the forms they take and the actual members at any specific time and place may vary. Each Sphere has its own inner working or system, with members fulfilling various functions or roles.

Marriage and Family

Individual men and women are meant to live together as husband and wife, as “one flesh”, i.e.- in a committed, covenant relationship. They are to be as fruitful as reasonably possible, i.e.- have children and parents and children all together are to be a family. Parents represent God to their children and have the responsibility to teach them about Him and the Covenant and Law. When sons marry, he and his wife begin another family, but these family units are intended to be an extended family, always involved and responsible for each other.

Church (the organization)

Groups of Families assemble and share their lives together as a Covenant Community of Faith (aka church). Scripture provides the purpose and functions of the Church.

Civic Associations

The primary function of the two basic Spheres is to act as God’s agent in the world, obeying God’s mandate to fill the earth, care for it and continue His work of cultivating it for the common good of all. (This is called the Cultural Mandate, an important neo-Calvinist concept). To this end, other Spheres will naturally arise- voluntary associations for work, production and distribution of goods and services (Businesses). Other associations will arise for Education, Communication, the Arts and Recreation. None of these Covenantal Communities, which actually are extensions of the original Marriage, Family and Church Spheres, are autonomous either. They must cooperate with each others and function according to the laws of God, accountable to Him.

Civil Government

Because all the individuals involved in the creational social systems or communities are sinners, there will be injustice- transgressions of God’s Laws. As systems, the Spheres may well malfunction or fail in their respective responsibilities. The main function of Civil Government is to control or stop such transgression wherever it may occur [Law and Order]. It is the civil government’s responsibility to see to it that everyone “plays by the rules”- God’s rules.

Biblical commands apply to marriage, family, property, work, money, care of the poor, care of animals and the environment, criminal justice and civil government. The faith that saves is the faith that obeys the Law of God in all such matters. The Civil Government that is good enforces these universal Laws. It is to pass and enforce legislation and laws based on the Law of God, but specific to our Society.

Civil Government and Human Rights

In general, the civil government of any particular Nation is to pass and support laws that guarantee the following God-given Human Rights-

1. The Right to Worship the Triune God and honor and respect His Name and Day

2. The Right to live. No person has the right to deprive another person of life or of anything essential to living. Conversely, every person has the responsibility to live

3. The Right to work and to periodically rest from work. Everyone has the responsibility to work, i.e.- to work for the development, procurement and equitable distribution of the necessities needed to sustain life, for self and for others

4. All men and women have the right to marry and produce children. Husbands and wives have a right to the mutual fidelity of their spouses.

NOTE: the use of “men and women” here is based on the Biblical definition of Marriage, which is the prerequisite for being "fruitful". By that Biblical definition (Genesis 2:18-24, Matthew 19:4-6), homosexuals do not have a God-given “right” to have either marriage or children. Society may legalize "Gay Unions", but there can not be "Gay Marriage".

5. Parents have the right to be honored, respected by their children and obeyed by those who live at home. Children have the right to provision, protection and education from their parents. Parents who become elderly and incapacitated have the right to be protected and provided for by their children in those years.

Extended family members have the right to receive shelter and support from other family members in times of disaster or hardship

6. Property owners have a right to their property (including intellectual property, skills and capital goods)

7. Neighbors have a right to their privacy (which extends to the use of their property)

8. People have a right to "due process" (a fair and honest trial) if and when they are accused of any crime

Civil Government and Freedom

These are the most fundamental Human Rights, according to the Bible (particularly the Law of God). Fundamental Responsibilities are the converse of the Rights. Rights and responsibilities are “inalienable“. In order to have a realistic opportunity to actualize them, there is a logical, concomitant Right: Freedom. All human beings must have political and economic and social freedom, opportunity and security to enable them to exercise thall their rights and responsibilities. It is the responsibility of Civil Government to see to it that they do have that freedom.

Civil Government and “sphere sovereignty”

There is another neo-Calvinist Principle that is extremely important. Each Creational social system has its own authority (known as “sphere sovereignty” to neo-Calvinists), but none of them are absolute or autonomous. They cooperate and must not interfere with each other’s responsibilities. That especially applies to Civil Government. It is not to usurp or curtail the responsibilities of the other Spheres. There are serious consequences of this Doctrine of Sphere Sovereignty. For example, the education of children is the right and responsibility of their parents. The State can never rightfully (in God’s eyes) claim that children belong to it or that it is the State’s right and duty to educate children against the will of their parents. Parents are not to acquiesce to this claim by the State or relinquish their privilege and duty to educate their children or their responsibility to see to it that they are educated by the State in a way acceptable to them, the Parents.

This Doctrine should lead Christian parents, at the very least, to become involved on local school boards, in the selection of curriculum (subjects taught) and text books. It should lead many of them to become professional educators, who will promote and seek to teach Biblical values in State schools. This Doctrine could also lead some parents to support of Home Schooling, Parochial Schools or the use of Vouchers (tax money) for school choice.

The Family, as part of their duty to educate their children, has the responsibility to teach (or see to it that the State teaches) work or vocational skills. People who can, but do not work, do not eat; that is Biblical, but more than that, working is a God-given duty, a commandment, laid upon all to support themselves and their extended family, including the truly poor in it and to help fulfill the Cultural mandate.

The State has no business to interfere with the responsibility of all able people to work and be self-supporting or to care for those who refuse to do so. This Doctrine of Sphere Sovereignty gives the responsibility for welfare and the care of the sick, the widowed and orphaned, the unemployed and the homeless to the Family and Faith Community (Church) and to the local civic community. The State has no business to interfere with or usurp these God-given responsibilities nor to take money (taxes) from citizens for programs that do. Calvinists oppose the concept and common practices of what is commonly known as the “Welfare State” and they are very suspicious of all entitlement programs and oppose the popular entitlement mentality.

The voluntary Civic Associations are not to forego their independence and look to the civil government for support. These groups, whether for business or the arts, are extensions of the Family and Church. The State has no right to interfere with them in any way. In practice, this Doctrine leads to a rejection of many “tax breaks”, as well as much government funding and most subsidies. In our Society, it means advocating for privatization (or at least, the localization) of just about everything.

The Faith Community or Church also has its God-given privileges and responsibilities which include public corporate worship and evangelism, as well as its ministries of charity. The Civil Government has no lawful right to abridge or interfere with the Church in these duties. Conversely, the Church has no business seeking to get the State to do the work of the Church, such as enforcing morality (all of this is the original intent of the First Amendment).

The only legitimate, God-given responsibility for Civil Government is enactment of Law (laws in harmony with the principles of Biblical Law), Law enforcement, Courts and a legal system guaranteeing due process- all to maintain peace and to protect citizens (and the Nation) from injustice, physical harm and danger from any quarter. The latter includes maintaining and using Armed Forces. Taxing the people for this is not theft. It is the obligation of citizens to pay for such services.

The preceding has been a simple treatment of key neo-Calvinist concepts that I believe are Biblical and offer a reasonable approach for Christians to use in trying to address issues currently being debated in our Nation (Spring 2009).

Comments

Add New