Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
How much do you trust your government?

How much do you trust your government?

Last updated on: March 7, 2015 at 11:35 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

How much do you trust your government? 2015-03-07T11:35:35-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How much do we trust our government?

This is a practical question for a Christian whose answer will determine how we will answer some important questions related to government and power. We might let a good, trustworthy government have more power if the track record were good. We might not let a bad or unstable government have nearly so much latitude in action.

Here are some examples: Can government (state or federal) be trusted on racial issues? Can our government (state or federal) be trusted with the power to kill citizens without a trial? Can we trust our government with the power to torture human beings? Can our government be trusted with the death penalty? Does it need the death penalty? Can our government be trusted with deciding what is moral or immoral related to sexuality? Can our government (local, state, or federal) be trusted with power over education?

The good news? We have one of the most trustworthy and transparent governments on the planet, though that is praising us with faint damns. Still, for most Americans (though not all) it is better to be tried in American courts, be protected by American arms, and live our lives with American freedoms than almost any other place on the globe. Any other place on the globe that might be better generally has shuffled off the duty of self-protection on the USA and so has fewer chances to make errors.

Why? As our Founders knew: military power and abuse of power often go together. That Norway need not fear Russia is solely due to the United States and our power. A militarily impotent Norway has fewer chances to sin because it has less ability to sin.

The bad news? On issues of race, the federal government has proven somewhat trustworthy in the past while state governments have failed at protecting civil liberties for racial minorities. When it comes to sexual morality, our present elites are not trustworthy having embraced various forms of vice as virtuous.

Some of our behavior is a blend of good and bad. American government has a mixed record of pursuing justice during wartime . . . sometimes justifying horrific abuses of military power (the wars against Native Americans) but often acting as a liberating power in the world (much of World War II and much of the Cold War).

Secret government actions in particular have often been abused. A good case can be made that the United States of America has had more military power than any other state in human history and has abused it much less than any other state with great military power.

Presently the United States could conquer the globe, incinerating our foes, and we do not. Does anyone doubt the Romans would have done so? The Aztecs? The Imperial Japanese of 1940? Our virtue in this area makes me willing to extend trust to our military.

As always our government is a combination of proclivities…some to virtues and some to vices.

Americans citizens are reasonable to extend little trust to state governments to protect civil rights, little trust to the government on sexual moral issues, mixed trust to protect us against the abuse of power by the rich, and some trust in our ability to conduct an open war.

As a result, I would not trust most state governments to police civil liberties, leaving that role to the federal government.

What of military issues? I would not trust the government with many secret police powers (an area where abuse has flourished in the past). I think torture is always immoral (so I would always oppose it), but if I did not, I would still not trust the government with this power since torture will most often take place in secret.

Government does not need the death penalty since we are wealthy enough to afford “life without parole.” State government has applied the death penalty disproportionally to minorities. Therefore, I would not trust our state governments with the death penalty except in rare cases (murder done in prison) and the federal government only in other extreme cases (treason in wartime). Since Christians are never eager to see anyone die, I would gladly trade all forms of the death penalty for restrictions on abortion.

Our elites have lost a Christian ethical framework on many important issues, sexual/gender issues most prominently. I would not therefore trust the federal government to decide any issues in this area or in education or trust most state or local governments with the education of Christian children.

Some actions a government should never take: Jackson’s murderous Trail of Tears stains our national honor. There is no right to vice or power given by God to do evil. Some powers the citizen can give a government only to take them back when the the society seems unable to use them well.

Issues of trust are why it is sensible to be conservative about big changes in government and culture.

My conclusions are mostly matters of prudence: good Christians certainly will disagree! No Christian as a Christian can call evil good or good evil, but the amount of power we give to a particular government to do good will depend on our judgment about the morality of the government. If you disagree with me ask: Do you trust the Obama administration to do the right thing? Do you trust a future Walker administration to do the right thing? Do you trust the Clinton administration with this power? The power I give the government I favor today will be hard to get back tomorrow.

This is why I am a conservative. I would not give a President Walker powers for good that someday would be in the hands of a moral cretin like Woodrow Wilson.

Christianity has taught me to be skeptical of the goodness of humankind in itself, but has not left me in despair either. I believe people are created in the Image of God and are good by nature, but that nature has been shattered in each of us. Power is dangerous in human hands and the fewer hands it is in the more dangerous it can be, but in some cases, even democracy is no solution.

I would not wish to live in a democratic Libya. Perhaps there is no “best” form of government for Libya. Cultures can break so badly almost nothing can help.

So we must be careful when we make big social changes, assuming that they will not corrupt us and leave us incapable of exercising moderation. Change, if change we must, should be slow. Cultures do not come with “save game features” if we are wrong. As a result, I am not in favor of ceding more power to government in a time when moral consensus on so many issues is either breaking down (there is none) or moving away from the truth, goodness, and beauty.

Let’s be conservative.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

March 6, 2015

"Have a (nearly) Cheerless Lent!" He said thoughtfully.

Next Post

March 8, 2015 Ferguson Police: The Conscience of a Conservative Christian Soul

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul tell Timothy to do with myths and old wives' tales?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Have nothing to do with them Refute them Correct them Ignore them

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »