"The fact is that all law is "religious." All law is based on some ultimate standard of morality and ethics. Every law-system is founded on the ultimate value of that system, and that ultimate value is the god of that system. The source of law for a society is the god of that society. This means that a theocracy is inescapable. All societies are theocracies. The difference is that a society that is not explicitly Christian is a theocracy of a false god. Thus, when God instructed the Israelites about going into the land of Canaan, He warned them not to adopt the law system of the pagans:
I am the LORD your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if He does them; I am the LORD (Lev. 18:2-5).
"That is the only choice: pagan law or Christian law. God specifically forbids "pluralism." God is not the least bit interested in sharing world dominion with Satan. God wants us to honor Him individually, in our families, in our churches, in our businesses, in our cultural pursuits of every kind, and in our statutes and judgments. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Prov. 14:34). According to humanists, civilizations just "rise" and "fall," by some naturalistic, evolutionary mechanism. But the Bible says that the key to the history of civilizations is judgment. God evaluates our response to His commands, and He answers back with curse and blessing. If a nation obeys Him, He blesses and prospers it (Deut. 28:1-14); if a nation disobeys Him, He curses and destroys it (Deut. 28:15-68). The history of Israel stands as a warning to all nations: for if God did it to them, He will surely do the same to the rest of us (Jer. 25:29)" (David Chilton, Paradise Restored).
I wonder if such a system of direct reward and punishment is sustainable in light of actual world history. My guess is that there is always an abundance of sinners to which one could point in any society's downfall, but I'm not sure there's always an abundance of Christians or believers that would account for a nation's rising. If one side of the chain is broken, is the whole system flawed? Well, maybe not necessarily, but its worth thinking about.
ReplyDeleteMy sense is that this sort of a direct reward/punishment system doesn't work anyway. The Wisdom Literature of the OT consists of three books, one of which (Proverbs) lends itself to this sort of orderly interpretation. The other two (Ecclesiastes, Job), however, certainly seem to question the validity of the system. In Ecclesiastes, wisdom brings pain ("For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." 1:18) and we all know what happened to Job. There is a system, the way things should be, in Proverbs and an existential situation which calls the system into question in Ecclesiastes and Job. The system may ultimately prevail, but it certainly doesn't seem to in the details.
Likewise, in the NT, things aren't so simple. John 9:1-3, "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." God is ultimately in control, and these things do happen for a reason, but the system of straight reward for righteousness and punishment for wickedness doesn't seem to play out.
So then, two questions remain. Is this a viable way to view history? And a separate question, even given that this statement in true, how should one pursue legislation in the public realm? Should one seek to legislate "Christian Law" for all those who don't recognize it? The simple fact that God's law is the only true law and other laws can also be termed "religious" in some sense doesn't answer this more difficult question in my mind.
I agree. We can’t boil down God’s blessing/judgment into a math problem (Like, “One of these good deeds plus one of these prayers equals this jolly sum”). God will not be tethered down by man. Chilton isn’t arguing for that. The point he is making is that neutrality is a myth, plain and simple. God is running the show, not “evolutionary mechanisms”, the stars, or whatever else sinful man has fancied. That being the case, we must re-think the way we view the world, and we must do so with Biblical language. Which means, as Chilton said, a nation that isn’t explicitly Christian is a pagan nation. Nor does a nation become explicitly Christian through force; Jesus clearly states the New Covenant will accomplish things through the Gospel being preached. So, no, we should not create "Christian law" and force that onto people...it wouldn't work anyway because God desires true obedience and not phony adherence to a system or law. I think I’ll collect my thoughts on this for an upcoming post. Rather, with the passing of time, people and even the nations will acknowledge Christ as Lord, the earth being made full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That is glorious and it will occur because the Gospel was preached.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am okay with how Chilton is addressing history. And I am okay with the Church speaking prophetically, that is, truthfully. I believe God is very concerned about the details, which means history is not something that “just happens.”
Why was Nazi Germany thwarted at the close of World War II? Was it because of Hitler’s incompetence? Or was it because of God’s judgment? I say the latter without hesitation, not in spite but because of fear and trembling.