As Christians, it isn’t always easy to disentangle our cultural beliefs from our faith. We bring to our understanding of the gospel certain presuppositions and perspectives that we assume to be gospel truth when, in fact, some of these are cultural views that we unknowingly superimpose over the truths of Scripture. What often seems like gospel truth is sometimes nothing more than a cultural artifact, handed down to us a part of the moral fabric of the societies to which we belong, be they Christian or not.
For example, surely our western value of punctuality is part and parcel of our Biblical heritage that has biblical basis in God’s order; or in honesty and letting our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’; or at the very least part of our proud American work ethic handed down to us by our Puritan fathers. However, having lived in the East most of my life, the eastern Christian who is often late is not late because of his spiritual immaturity or failure to fully apply the gospel to his life; his concerns are no less Christian, but focus on other things such as reciprocity and the quality of relationship.
Perhaps one of those areas where our American values are tacitly assumed to be biblically derived is with the idea of “democracy”. After all, isn’t the democratic system, more than any other, built upon notions of human dignity, civil liberties and the rule of law? Didn’t American heroes of the faith that were motivated by religious freedom and a solid commitment to the Word of God draft our Constitution?
The question at hand is not whether or not democracy is a decent or noble system; it is not even whether or not there is biblical basis for it. The point being made here is that it is often assumed by most American Christians to be an essential, irrefutable part of their Christian faith. It is easy for us to unconsciously conclude that the best of what it means to be American germinates from the same source as what it means to be Christian.
I would argue that the basis of value for any system is the degree to which it corresponds with the eternal truths of Scripture, and that any human system can do this to a greater or lesser extent, albeit some better than others. In other words, to the extent that a monarch places himself under the authority of God’s rule, a monarchy gains in value. To the degree that a society places itself under the rule of Scripture, be it socialism or democracy, it reflects God’s higher standard.
In his prefatory address to Francis I, King of France, John Calvin wrote, “The characteristic of a true sovereign is, to acknowledge that, in the administration of his kingdom, he is a minister of God. He who does not make his reign subservient to the divine glory, acts the part not of a king, but a robber. He, moreover, deceives himself who anticipates long prosperity to any kingdom which is not ruled by the scepter of God, that is, by his divine word.”
If the Word of God is indeed true, than it reflects more than just one opinion, idea or value system that is just one equal among many. Granted, we find in the Bible a range of systems that are actualized in history as part of God’s progressive revelation, but the eternal truths that form the eternal background to those are as real as the ground we stand on. It is that Moral or Absolute Law of God that gives any human system its value, to the extent that it conforms to those principles.
The implication of this is, when American democracy drifts away from God’s Absolute Law and establishes as its basis of authority society itself, then we deceive ourselves if we think it will continue to prosper.
Calvin anticipates this when he says, “To make every thing yield to custom would be to do the greatest injustice. Were the judgments of mankind correct, custom would be regulated by the good. But it is often far otherwise in point of fact; for, whatever the many are seen to do, forthwith obtains the force of custom. But human affairs have scarcely ever been so happily constituted as that the better course pleased the greater number. Hence the private vices of the multitude have generally resulted in public error, or rather that common consent in vice which these worthy men would have to be law.”
It is a fact that in our postmodern mindset, Western culture has long since left its Judeo-Christian roots and is adrift in a non-committal quagmire of relativity. The only standard is, there is no standard except that which wins in the court of law. And when the basis for that law no longer finds its deepest connection to God’s Absolute Law, might becomes right (if not physical might, legal might).
It is no wonder that other nations that have not entered the postmodern era look over at Western culture with skepticism and scorn and that various theocracies around the world are beginning to seem like an appealing alternative to the democratic experiment.
As Christians living in the pluralism of the global village, our task is not to promote “democracy” per se, but to stand for the Absolute Values that are reflected in the best of democracy. “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:13,14). As Christians, we are to live our lives as members of the kingdom of heaven, as citizens of God’s kingdom, giving our highest allegiance to the sovereign rule of God in our lives, lived out in service and gratitude towards others.
