Political Apostasy

Man's most ancient heresy is humanism, and we first encounter it in Genesis 3:5; its essential faith is in man as his own god, knowing or determining good and evil, law and morality for himself. Very often man has expressed this faith by making himself, very openly, his own god; at other times, man objectifies his own goals and makes images which he calls gods. Very commonly, man has expressed his self-worship collectively in the state. In fact, the oldest religious institution in history is the state. The worship of the state has sometimes meant that the state has been seen as divine; at other times, its rulers; and at still other times, its offices. In modern thinking, the voice of the people is held to be god, and democracy is seen as divinely right.

Although the early church, and then the councils, notably Chalcedon in 451 A.D., fought against this re-divinization of the state, it returned in full force after a time. At first, it bore a Christian facade; then it became increasingly anti- Christian, covertly or openly.

As a result, especially in the twentieth century, we have seen a re-paganization of the state and of society, a trend strongly supported by the media. The U.S. Supreme Court, since c. 1952, has furthered this trend, as in Roe v. Wade, and, more recently, in the case of a Colorado state constitutional amendment securing special legal rights for homosexuals as a class. Only Justice Anthony Scalia opposed it, calling strong attention in his Romer v. Evans dissent, to the specious character of the majority opinion. There are, currently, more radical cases in process attacking the very life of the church. Our political candidates for offices high and low maintain a facade of piety with an absence of faith. Christians are treated as idiots who can be easily placated with meaningless gestures, as indeed too many are. However, a growing number of Christians are deeply disturbed over these trends, and at the tendency of prominent churchmen to act as chaplains to our modern Caesars.

On the one hand, we have churchmen using 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2 wrongly, as though we are to pray for our rulers to be blessed. But the goal of the prayer is to be “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty,” i.e., that they may leave us alone! We should pray for political rulers “and for all that are in authority” that they may be converted or judged or whatever is required. How can we ask God to bless our modern equivalents of Nero?

On the other hand, we have many who want to fight over everything, or resort to arms. Assuming for a moment the very unlikely prospect of winning, what difference would it make, given our current population? The old proverb is still true: You can't make a good omelet with rotten eggs. History shows us how ridiculous such efforts are, as does the present political scene.

The change we are required to make is by regeneration, not by revolution. Nothing short of that will satisfy our Lord. Since the French Revolution, the political heresy has strongly emphasized revolution as the true means of change. Such a view is a return to paganism, to a belief that external conformity is the key to a good society; it is an echo of Plato's insane Republic.

Politics must be an area of responsible action. Our Lord stressed patience and gradualism in the work of the Kingdom: “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mk. 4:28) in other words, we cannot expect the full ear of corn when we have only just planted the seed! God warned Zechariah against all who have "despised the day of small things" (Zech. 4:10), for to do so is to despise the future. The gigantic starts are much noise and show but empty of results. It is political apostasy to trust in them, and a departure from common sense. Mark 4:28 should be our premise in every area of life.

Chalcedon's premise has been “first the blade.” In our area of endeavor, as in all, we believe that this is what God blesses.