Royal Baby

Last updated on: July 22, 2013 at 3:49 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

Royal Baby 2013-07-22T15:49:20-04:00 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.

Excitement about the new heir to the British throne reminds Americans of the strength of monarchy. Britons swear allegiance to a human, Americans to a piece of paper. The human being, the Queen, is, some British republicans whine, just a woman, but those some people probably think the flag is just a piece of cloth. One need not even go as far as to say that Elizabeth receives her rule from God, if humans give rule to her then it is real.

The British monarchy carries the hopes, dreams, fears, and doubts of generations of human beings and when this idea is invoked only a mere animal misses it. To the Queen’s corgi’s, she is a master, but to any historically informed human she is the heir of a long train of associations. She gives personhood to the idea of Britain: she does not represent the British people, no one person could do that, but she incarnates the idea of Britain.

Americans have never been able to love their piece of paper with the same devotion and so we have long sneaked the same sort of reverence to our President. The British are open and consistent in their bowing the knee, we are not, but as my head of state, President Obama is America to the world.

God save him.

But soon President Obama will be gone and our votes will elect a new symbol for our state and there is something artificial about this process. It is good to elect the head of government, but isn’t it more natural that the head of state be born in the human manner? Kings and Queens can be fools and so can elected Presidents, but at least the King or Queen has no confusion about how he or she got the job. The Queen cannot believe she deserves the job, she is there by the grace of God through the providence of her birth.

Even if Americans, as our ancestors did, believe that the republican solution is the better one, and there are good arguments for it, nobody should begrudge the happy focus of a good part of the human race on new birth. It is more wholesome than most of our pop culture and as real as life and death.

Any birth is a cause for celebration: the renewal of the covenant between God and people.

This much we know about the Royal baby: the heir will be human, the gift of life divine.

As a child of the Royal Family, the baby has an immense human heritage, more important (though not greater) than any my own children or grandchildren could receive. As a person, however, the baby is created in God’s image and so shares the same divine possibilities as any other human. God became man so this little baby could become God, not in essence, but in attributes.

In this sense the Founders of America were right. The royal baby will be endowed by his Creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the same gift all of us have received and it gives dignity to every man and woman greater than any human institution can bestow.

God save the human race!

John Mark Reynolds

Previous Post

July 18, 2013

Immigration Reform: Can the Bible Help Us?

Next Post

July 31, 2013 Reza Aslan on the Move

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abortion adoption Africa Aging AIDS America Worship American history Americolatry An Open Letter to a College Freshman animals Apologetics art Atheism Authors Barack Obama Bible Biblical Scholarship Billy Graham Blogging Bono Book Review Books That Change Lives Breakfast Links Bulletin Board Business Children Christian Approach to Politics Christian Media Christian Right Derangement Syndrome Christianity and Homosexuality Christians in Government Christmas Chuck Colson CLS v Martinez Comic Creation Creativity and the Arts Cross Examinations Cross Investigations Daily Fragment Daily Trinity Death debt Deep Thoughts on Fatherhood depression economy education Election 2012 entertainment Environment Epistemology Erik Campano Euthanasia Evangelicalism Evangelicals and Gays Everyday Transcendence evil evolution Facebook Jesus faith Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics faith and reason family Feminism foreign affairs Franklin Graham Future of Evangelicalism Galen D. gay marriage George W. Bush Guest Posts Guns Gymnastics Harold Camping Heaven Hell Holidays Hollywood Homosexuality iam2.org Illegal Immigration immigration Immigration Reform Injustice Inspiration Interviews Islam Jeremy Lin Jesus jesus christ John Mark Reynolds Johnnie Moore Judgment Day Just War Theory Killing Osama Link of the Day Lists of the Week Mark Goldblatt Marriage Military Missions Mitt Romney Modern Western Thought Monastic wisdom Mormonism Morning Hash Morning Report Motherhood Movies Obamacare Old Testament Orphan Care Palin Parenting Pastoral Resources Patheos Peace Between Religions PEPFAR Persecution Peter Wehner Peter Wehner Philosophy Political Quotes of the Day politics Politics and Economics Pornography Prejudice Prisoner Rape Question of the Week Race Radical Faith Rapture Ravi Zacharias Rick Santorum Russia Salvation Sarah Palin Scandals Science Science and Faith Separation of Church and State Series sex sex slavery social justice Social Justice Ministry Spiritual Disciplines sports Steven Tyler Suffering Suicide Sunday Funnies T. Dalrymple Tea Party Technology terrorism The Christian Media Files The Daily Trinity The Electorate The Ethics of Rhetoric The Future of Seminary Education The Middle East The Obama Presidency theological Theological Renewal Theology Uncategorized Understanding Evangelicalism Vocation war War and Peace With Distinction Word to the Wise Writers

Select a Month October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 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 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz