A Christian political vision
by Martin Davie, Latimer Trust (published in CEN)
As anyone who pays attention to the news will be aware, we live in a world which is shaped to a large extent by different political visions. Whether these visions are those of American Neo-Conservatives, North Korean Communists or the radical Islamists of Boko Haram, they have a huge effect upon what happens in the world because of the ways in which they shape not only political movements, but the countries in which those movements operate and, very often, the wider world as well.
A political vision is a vision of what it means for human beings to live together in society, and what is often forgotten is that there is a classical Christian political vision, which finds expression in the formularies of the Church of England, and which provides an alternative account of what makes for the flourishing of human societies. The starting point of this Christian political vision is the fact the ultimate governing power in the world does not belong to human governments, but to Jesus Christ. He possesses ‘all authority in heaven and earth’ (Matthew 28:18) and is the ‘ruler of kings on earth’ (Revelation 1:5). Under the authority of Christ human governments exist, according to Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17, to promote the well-being of human societies by performing acts of judgement in response to forms of wrongdoing.
The final coming of God’s kingdom will bring about a state of perfect justice in which all wrongs are put right and the role of human governments is provisionally to anticipate that final state of justice by acts of judgement in the here and now. Such acts of judgement can be either reactive or proactive. They are reactive when they are a response to a form of wrongdoing that has happened already (such as the commission of a crime) and proactive when they seek to prevent wrongs happening in the future by, for instance, seeking to ensure that people will have the possibility of education, productive work, or somewhere to live (the lack of any of these being a wrong that should, if possible, be prevented).
Taxes are necessary to finance government activities, and they can also legitimately be used as a way of dissuading people from engaging in harmful activities and encouraging them to engage in beneficial ones. We live in an age in which many people distrust governments and are cynical about those who are engaged in governing. From a Christian perspective, however, although the exercise of government authority is something that can go horribly wrong, and although politicians, just like everyone else, can be sinful and corrupt, nevertheless governmental authority is something that is God-given. We should therefore see involvement in government as a legitimate Christian calling.
We should honour those in government (1 Peter 2:17), we should pray for them (1 Timothy 2:2), we should submit to their judgements and we should be willing to pay our taxes (Romans 13:1-7). However, precisely because governments have their authority from God there are limits to what they can rightly do. Governments do not have the authority to do whatever they feel like doing, or even what a majority of the population wants them to do. Like everyone else, those with governmental authority are subject to the rule of Christ and they should make acts of judgement that properly reflect God’s will for his human creatures as this has been made known to us through Scripture and natural law.
The Christian critique of the legalisation of same-sex ‘marriage’, for example, is that it is illegitimate because it is contrary to both Scripture and natural law. Proper study of both shows that to permit such ‘marriages’ is to go against God’s will for his human creatures. Christians are called to remind those in government of the fact that their authority is limited in this way and in extreme circumstances this calling may involve refusing to obey specific decisions by government that are unjust because they are contrary to God’s will and then being willing to pay the price of this disobedience.
In this country, the coronation service, the presence of bishops in the House of Lords and the prayers that take place before the day’s business in both Houses of Parliament are important reminders that government derives its authority from God and is therefore answerable to him. In a democratic society like ours it is also important that Christians use their vote and the other means available to them to seek to bear witness to the Christian vision of the God given role of government. They should seek to ensure that governments do act in ways that reflect God’s will, and should work with members of other faiths and with other people of goodwill as and when necessary in order to achieve this.
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