If All You Had Was The Bible....

.....how would you set up a government?

Think about it. You've just escaped from the tyrannical rule of Great Britain and you're now on your own in a brand new country...with the daunting task of figuring out how to rule all the people looming over your head. What would you do? Where would you start?

There is a general mold for a Republican government. An executive power (be it a president, a king, etc.) with one or more other powers put in place to act as checks and balances. Obviously, in America, we have the judicial and legislative powers consisting of the Supreme Court, House of Representatives, and the Senate.

But is this the right way?

Most of us in the "Christian, conservative, homeschooled" circle are trying to go back to the Bible in everything we do. We ask ourselves, "if all we have is the Bible, how would we parent?", "if all we had was the Bible, how would we do church?" etc.

So...if all you had was the Bible, how would you set up a government?

My thoughts are in no way settled on this subject, but it has been something that has been consuming my thoughts lately as I read through the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers for school and talk to a friend who is doing the same thing for school.

In the Bible, the government that we see set up is a series of judges. Judges of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands. Yes, Israel dissolved into a monarchy, but that was plainly because they turned away from God.

While reading through the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, I have been really surprised at how little they refer to God as the basis for their government. Of course, I know these men were so Godly, and so Biblically literate, but this struck me as odd. They refer to a Creator and the like off and on, but when they are arguing whether or not an idea will work, it is all based on temporal and pragmatic reasons.

In the Anti-Federalist Papers, Patrick Henry (my newest hero) makes a very interesting point. Before this point in time (about 1788), there had been a very minimalistic government. But the group of men who came together to write the constitution, came together because they believed the existing government was weak and not active enough. Henry's point was:




"The Confederation; this same despised Government, merits, in my opinion, the highest encomium: It carried us through a long and dangerous war: It rendered us victorious in that bloody conflict with a powerful nation: It has secured us a territory greater than any European Monarch possesses: And shall a Government which has been thus strong and vigorous, be accused of imbecility and abandoned for want of energy? Consider what you are about to do before you part with this Government. Take longer time in reckoning things..."






Later, he literally claims that the Constitution could prove a fatal threat to liberty.

That's serious!!

So did "big government" get its foot firmly in the door when the North won the Civil War, or when the Federalists won and ratified the Constitution?

It's a scary question. Especially when many Christians cry "It's Un-Constitutional!"

What if the Constitution is Un-Biblical and a threat to liberty?


"For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." 1 Cor 7:22-23


Your thoughts?!?!?