INTRODUCTION

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The greatest problem facing American government today . . .

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The President w alked by his secretary as he headed into the Oval Office. She looked up, and handed him his schedule.

"Your list of appointments for today, sir."

He stopped, and took the paper out of her hand, looking it over w ithout comment. She w as about to ask him about a scheduling conflict, but thought better of it. His furrow ed brow , pursed lips, and tired eyes told her that he had other things on his mind. He gave her a brief nod and w alked into his office.

He set his briefcase on his desk, pulling out several reports w hich had been prepared for him by various staff members. He let out a sigh, and after sitting dow n, began looking through them.

One discussed the current proliferation of nuclear and chemical w eapons in the Middle East. Those pesky terrorists w ere at it again.

Another discussed relations w ith China: a gracious but pointed "Mind your ow n business" w as the main theme that seemed to be coming out of Beijing.

Another discussed the upcoming battle in Congress over Medicare. Was anyone in the House or Senate w ith him on this one?

Another mentioned signs of a stagnating economy . . . and inner city strife . . . and a dismal announcement that America's seventh graders had placed "thirty-fourth" internationally in math and science testing . . . and that the Congressional Budget Office had rejected the President's proposed budget as being "fiscally unsound" . . . and . . . that w as it. What? No discussion on the status of America's kitchen sinks?

The President put both elbow s on his desk. Could anything else possibly go w rong?

Hundreds of miles aw ay, in a classroom somew here in the Midw est, a teacher w aited patiently as her students got out a clean piece of paper and a pen. With only fifteen minutes left in class, she could tell that she w as loosing them. When the rustling of paper quieted dow n, she stepped aw ay from the podium.

"You have ten minutes to w rite this essay." She w aited for the groans to die dow n before she continued. "Here's the question I w ant you to answ er. Ladies, I w ant you to pretend that today you found out you w ere pregnant."

A few snickers could be heard in the back of the classroom. She shot a w arning look to the perpetrators of the disruption.

"What w ill you do? Will you tell your parents? What about your boyfriend? Is he going to 5

know about it? Are you going to have an abortion, or are you going to try to take care of it? Make sure you discuss the consequences of your actions."

She could tell the girls w ere already deep in thought. "Boys, I w ant you to pretend that your girlfriend just told you that she w as pregnant."

"Is it mine?" one of the boys asked, appreciating the laughter he received.

The Press Secretary stuck his head in the doorw ay of the Oval Office, not w anting to come closer. The President w as scribbling furiously on a note pad.

"Mr. President, the Press is getting anxious to get a statement from us regarding the accusations of sexual mis--the uh, scandal. I don't think that w e can hold them off much longer."

The President looked up from his w ork, giving him a scow l.

The Press Secretary took a step through the doorw ay. This w as definitely not going to be fun. "I've got a couple of options that you might w ant to review--if now is a good time." He w as more than w illing to put this meeting off to another time, maybe a decade or so from now .

The President motioned him to a chair in front of the desk and began to look over the options the Press Secretary had w ritten dow n for him.

"Yes. It's yours," the teacher responded, just a little bit louder. "So w hat are you going to do about it? How are you going to handle it?"

More snickers. One young man mumbled a vow to dump the girl.

"This is not speech class, Aaron. I w ant you to write about it. So let's get busy. You have less than fifteen minutes."

The students started w riting. Some, how ever, w ere not yet w illing to commit their thoughts to paper. They stared off into the distance . . . thinking. The teacher w alked behind her desk, and surveyed her students. Her hands w ere clasped, held near her chin.

One girl on the front row raised her hand. "Ms. Harper, I don't think I'm going to be able to w rite this in fifteen minutes. I need more time to think about it." Several students offered their mumbled agreement.

The President looked over the options that had been handed him. Slim pickings. He looked 6

up at his Press Secretary.

"Are you sure that w e have to address this today?"

"Pretty much."

"I see. . . . How are my approval ratings holding up?"

The Press Secretary shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"They happen to have dipped dow n into the forties, sir."

The President leaned back in his chair. With more good days like today, he'd be kicked out of office in no time.

The teacher came out from behind her desk before responding.

"Students, I know this is a tough question. This is an exercise in thought. I w ant you to think about this and then express how you feel on paper."

She looked around the room. Some still w ore troubled looks on their faces.

"Look, you don't have to try to persuade me about anything," now she w as in front of her podium.

"There's no right answ er here, OK?"

The President suddenly looked pained. He abruptly got out of his chair, and turned to look out the w indow . The Press Secretary looked at him dubiously. The President seemed to be searching for something out there . . . trying to perceive things that w ent deeper than tomorrow 's headlines.

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The greatest problem facing American government today . . .

. . . has nothing to do w ith government at all. A recent poll revealed that "66 percent of Americans believe that 'there is no such thing as absolute truth.' Among young adults, the percentage is even higher: 72 percent of those betw een eighteen and tw enty-five do not believe absolutes exist" (Veith, p. 16).

Is there a "right answ er" today?

Apparently, many in America do not think so. But teachers in Christian schools all across this country know otherw ise. They realize that God still holds men accountable for their actions, and that nations still rise or fall according to the righteousness of their people.

Therefore, they also know that w hen they teach their students about government, they cannot just mention how the electoral process w orks, or how a bill becomes a law , or how the state governments interact w ith the national government. They have to teach their students more than just the bare facts. They have to teach their students about the sovereign law and w ill of God, and about how these both influence history and government . . . in every nation . . . in every generation . . . w ithout exception.

The purpose of this resource book, then, is to enable Christian school teachers to communicate to their students w hat those vital Biblical principles of government are, and how those principles, w hen implemented, can save our nation. Therefore, the starting point in this resource book is that the people of a nation--and therefore their government--must acknow ledge the sovereignty of God. Righteous government cannot be instituted unless the people themselves are first righteous.

Who Is Sovereign Determines Who Governs.

The Individual vs. the State.

The reason this resource book takes such a "personal" view of preserving government can be further supported by explaining how a person's view of sovereignty inevitably leads to the type of government to w hich he is bound (Burtness, p. 62). First of all, government can be succinctly summarized into three types: 1) one w hich produces anarchy (the absence of government); 2) one w hich produces tyranny (the over-bearance of government); and 3) one w hich produces liberty (the presence of government w ithout the over-bearance). Obviously, it is this last type of government w hich w e are trying to achieve.

Regarding a person's view of sovereignty, it can be said that if a person view s himself as sovereign, then serving himself is the highest end of his life, and nothing else really matters. The result of a nation full of people living this w ay is painfully clear: anarchy. People do not care for one another, or abide by the law , or sacrifice for the common good. If a person view s the state as sovereign, then he lives for the state, and subjects himself to

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the state's control (or he is forced to subject to the state). Obviously, tyranny can result from this situation quite easily.

Anarchy vs. Tyranny.

Which of these view s do the American people espouse? Based on the signs of moral decay in today's society, it appears that Americans tend to view the individual as absolutely sovereign, and that therefore there are no "absolute morals" by w hich to live, much less an absolute government. But the problem w ith this belief in the absolute sovereignty of the individual is that it can lead to anarchy and the disintegration of society. Furthermore, if anarchy occurs, then it is very likely that tyranny w ill occur, because if a person is not capable of ruling himself, then someone else will rule for him. That is w hy "the greatest problem facing American government today" is not the threat of w ar from abroad, or the danger of economic instability from w ithin, but the moral decay of America's people: a people w ho apparently "believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth," and therefore feel no reason to be bound by the Word of God.

Liberty Comes from Acknowledging the Sovereignty of God.

This therefore brings us to the third view of sovereignty. If people view God (and therefore His Word, the Bible) as sovereign, then liberty results. Why? Because a person w ho view s God as sovereign learns to control his sin nature and to love others. He no longer craves unrestrained freedom, and so he is no longer bound by uncontrolled sin. We as Christians know this is true liberty, and w e thank God for the saving w ork of Jesus Christ on the cross that made this liberty possible. Therefore, once a person is able to control himself, he is no longer w illing to have an arbitrary, tyrannical state controlling him. He does not need other people to tell him how to find fulfillment; he does not need someone else to provide for him; and he does not need anything from government but the protection from evildoers and injustice. To this government--a government w hich protects his freedom instead of stealing it--he w illingly submits. It is this type of person and government that this resource book is devoted to forming, by communicating the Biblical principles that can bring about this type of person, this type of government, and therefore, this type of liberty. A major assumption of this resource book then, is that if society and government are going

to be preserved and set free from the bondage of sin and its deadly influences, then

change has to occur first of all on a personal level. There is no w ay around this important truth.

So w hile this resource book deals w ith government and historical trends of government, the principles discussed here can also be used for classes besides government, such as classes dealing w ith Bible, history, current events, and philosophy, because they address the foundational problems of the nation, in the context of the individual in relation to government, rather than specific, institutional problems of government.

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Structure of the Resource Book.

Book I.

This resource book is divided into tw o books. Book I discusses the Biblical principles of government needed to preserve society. These principles are divided into five sections: I) the importance of acknow ledging the sovereignty of God as the basis of government; II) the need for justice in government; III) implementing covenantal relationships as the basis for society; IV) maintaining a proper relationship betw een church and state; and V) understanding the proper means of resisting tyranny in government.

Section I discusses the follow ing principles: 1) acknow ledging God as the absolute source of truth, pow er, and authority; 2) the importance of humility in government; 3) the importance of acting under authority; 4) the importance of being accountable to the truth.

Section II addresses the follow ing principles: 1) government is to be just in every aspect; and 2) justice is secured by protecting the inalienable rights of the people.

Section III addresses the follow ing principles: 1) government is formed by a covenant of the people; 2) just government is achieved by w illful concessions of pow er; 3) just government is upheld by mutual obligation; 4) just government is protected by rule by consent; 5) just government is protected by separation of pow ers; 6) just government is established by a constitution; 7) just government can only function properly w ith selfgovernment; and 8) just government can only function properly w ith loving fulfillment of covenant obligations.

Section IV discusses the follow ing principles: 1) church and state have separate functions; 2) the church should not be endorsed by the state; and 3) separation of church and state does not mean a separation of the state from Biblical principles.

Section V discusses the follow ing principle: the people have a right and duty to resist an unjust government.

Each of these principles are explained in detail and supported w ith Biblical evidence as w ell as historical evidence. As w ill be seen, the discussion of principles in Book I becomes more and more specific from section to section.

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Book II.

Book II (the beige-colored pages) presents a collection of key documents of government and history--w ith brief commentary and historical overview--w hich have played an important role in bringing about the implementation of the Biblical principles discussed in Book I into society and government. This resource book is in no w ay intended to provide an entire survey of w orld history, or even American history. But historical documents and examples w ere included in order to convey the relevance and applicability of the Biblical principles of government.

The exciting aspect about this w ork has been the realization that America, for all of its shortcomings, has produced a government w hich is in many w ays the culmination of all of these Biblical principles. Hopefully, this resource book w ill be one more step in the direction of bringing America back to these principles, and therefore back to the liberty before God that comes w ith it.

 Back to Table of Contents

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