Civil Authority Unbridled

[Rev Dan Prout is a Nevada County Christian minister of the evangelical persuasion, and a friend.  He sent this thoughtful piece to a circle of his friends and congregants.  It addresses an important viewpoint shared by many concerned Christians in the land, myself included, and a call to stand for what we believe.  I post it as received.  gjr]

Rev. Dan Prout

One of Jesus’ most famous statements is, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” The verse has been often referenced when talking about separation of Church and State. Jesus was applying a very subtle but important concept regarding societal authority. It is a concept and distinction largely lost in America today.

It is in our day, today, that we again see civil authority competing for power over everyday life and living. Jesus demonstrated in one sentence that there are two realms of authority simultaneously governing community life. In one statement, he affirmed the legitimate role of civil government while maintaining the religious, moral authority of God and godliness. These twin authorities are to govern in concert, their proper exercise providing a safe and blessed life experience, “that our lives may be quiet and peaceful” as the Apostle Paul put it.

All political issues are based in social issues. All social issues are based in values. All values come from religious precepts. It is, therefore, impossible to separate political matters from faith matters. The laws of a society are based inescapably in moral law. The first written law of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, demonstrates this point. Every one of the Ten – from Worship No Other Gods to Do Not Covet Your Neighbors Goods – establishes boundaries for one’s personal relationships both with God and with one’s neighbors. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness represent the biblical law for our behavior, all standards for our relationships. These qualities are so universally accepted that Paul says there is no law against such things. (Galatians 5:12)

The purpose of Law, as Frederic Bastiat, the French philosopher, points out is not to guarantee justice but rather to prevent injustice. Understanding this reality, the Founders, in developing the U.S. Constitution, worked to bind the reach of government misbehavior by decentralizing powers. They leaned heavily upon the principles of the Bible which call individuals to personally restrain themselves from wrong doing and they expected the generations to follow to do the same. The strength of a nation’s social fabric is directly dependent on the level of individual liberty. Individual liberty is directly dependent on virtuous morality. A nation with liberty unbridled from strong virtue will fail. Daniel Webster wrote in 1823,“If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of this land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.” His words spoken nearly 200 years ago have an inescapably prophetic accuracy for our present social and spiritual condition, and, as predicted, we have a government gone astray.

Civil authority must be informed and restrained by moral authority. It is the role of the Church to be bold enough to advise and even correct civil authority when it goes astray. Dr. Martin Luther King rightly observed, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state. It must be the guide and critic of the state and never its tool.”

The problem today is not that government and its leaders have lost their way; that is to be expected in the absence of vigorous moral argument. Rather, it is the Church, its leaders and its people, which has become complacent and ineffective in providing clear moral guidance in the society. To its great discredit, the Church has expected that civil authority can well function without the tangible presence of moral virtue. To its discredit, the Church has failed to bring preserving, moral salt to society, relegating the nation’s inhabitants to a hopeless life amidst moral and cultural decay.

Let us heed the admonition of Russian historian and philosopher Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spoken at Harvard University, “A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today.” It is time to stand.

Comments

[Rovert Cross]

It is hard to have moral (Christian) leadership from the likes of Jerry Falwell Jr., Jimmy Swaggart, and a host of other pseudo Christians whose actions belie their supposed beliefs. Does a call for moral leadership include the immoral Donald Trump? Can one dismiss the numerous accusations by multiple women against Trump? All they all liars as he claims or is he the liar? Is his reputation for fraudulent activities like the trump foundation and Trump University also easily dismissed as fake news. What about adultery with porn stars and others and the hush money payments..fake news and lies? It seems to me that one cannot call for moral leadership and support trump at the same time. They are mutually exclusive.

[fish]

Posted by: Wine Aunt | 10 August 2020 at 11:18 AM

That is such a Wine Aunt thing to say……so retro too! Well done!

[Scott O]

Looks like poor Booby X didn't even read or understand the whole message.
Rev Prout was not asking us to look to other humans for moral guidance.
I have yet to see a ballot with Jesus of Nazareth running for office. Until then we have to pick a human.
Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

[Robert Cross]

Looks like scotty-o can't understand more than a couple of sentences at a time. My response was in reference to the next to last paragraph which started with "The problem today is not that government and its leaders have lost their way". My statement was a rebuttal to that paragraph. For scotty-o and others who don't get it, my point is that government and it's leaders have lost there way as the reference to trump indicates. I agree with the statement that "it is the Church, its leaders and its people, which has become complacent and ineffective in providing clear moral guidance in the society." as the reference to Fallwell and Swaggert attest as some of the more recent (Fallwell) and famous (Swaggart) failures among religious leaders.

[Bob Hobert]

Excellent post. Thank you.

[Scott O]

Booby X - "For scotty-o and others who don't get it, my point is that government and it's leaders have lost there way as the reference to trump indicates."
Rev Prout made no 'reference' to Trump, Falwell or Swaggart. You did, Booby.
Here is what he actually wrote - "it is the Church, its leaders and its people, which has become complacent and ineffective in providing clear moral guidance in the society."
Falwwell and Swaggart are not the church and I don't know anyone who considers them to be leaders.
I believe (and Dan can correct me if I'm wrong) when he refers to the 'Church' he is referring to a broad and general decline in moral rigor in adhearing to Biblical principles. The Roman Catholic Church is currently under the Papacy of a man who spends most of his time spouting left-wing propaganda and who has shown himself to be worthless as a guide for the millions of Chinese who were hoping he would help them against their cruel rulers.
Other large 'mainstream' protestant denominations in our country are shedding members left and right. Due largely to the watered-down 'Bible-Light' sorta-Christianish bable they now spew.
There are plenty of names of religious leaders from all walks of religion you could name, but that's beside the point. The public has elected or supported these 'leaders'. Because this same public doesn't want any leaders that will tell them to straighten up and act correctly. Rev Prout may or may not like Trump, but it doesn't enter into the conversation. What he is talking about started before Trump and will (sadly) continue on after him.