In 2004 there were 72 million registered Democrats, 55 million registered Republicans, and 42 million registered independents. The independents were made up of .37 million in the Constitution party, .31 million in the Green Party, and .2 million in the Libertarian Party. Throughout the history of our nation, politics have been dominated by two parties. Because of this, we often do not know much about what third parties stand for. They exist because they believe that neither of the two dominant choices we have are satisfactory. There are collectively a large chunk of independents, so it is important to know what they are looking for. I assigned my Discourse in Politics and Religion class the following third party web pages in order to learn more about them: Constitution Party Platform
"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed,given medical care, and so on. The only thing lacking...is freedom."
— President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Strive Against the Wicked
“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,but those who keep the law strive against them.” Prov 28:4
Once again, the righteous do not simply mind their own business carrying out righteousness in their own lives. Righteousness includes striving against the wicked around us. But what exactly does this mean? Stopping them from harming others? Not allowing it to spread by exposing its wickedness? Trying to get them to stop? On what basis does a righteous person do this? Does he use law and government? Personal persuasion? Community pressure? Prayer? Does he attempt to convert the wicked? I suppose a righteous person would strive against wickedness by any righteous means available. I am reminded of Gao Zhisheng, the lawyer in China who was working against the oppressive Chinese government and is now in prison, probably being tortured (because he already has been several times). The bottom line is that the righteous do not stand by while the wicked work their evil unchecked.
Discussing Morality in a Pluralistic Culture
How can Christians engage in fruitful discussions within our culture about issues of morality? One may also ask how anyone may do so in our current pluralistic context. There seems to be a great deal of confusion about what ethics are and how one may establish or argue for a particular ethical framework. We have some in our culture who think they are ethical relativists. However, this belief mysteriously disappears when it comes to establishing civil law or protecting their own personal rights. Others may have a sense of “right” and “wrong” but don’t really know where they got their moral standards. There are also Christians, who even share the same authority for ethics, but still cannot agree on what the Bible says. Many times engaging in a discussion of morality provides an opportunity for people to identify the basis for their ethics or to think clearly and consistently about them. Beyond this it is important to think clearly about the relationship between law, ethics (morality), and religion. For example, where do appeals to religion fit into a discussion concerning public policy in a system that requires freedom of religion? I hope to explore these dynamics in future posts.
For now, it may be helpful to identify how a Christian basis for morality fits into the overall study of ethical theory. There are relativistic theories, command theories, utilitarian theories, deontological theories, and virtue theories (see Ruble, Critical Thinking, 144-151). A common version of command theory is “the divine command theory, according to which only God has the real power to create morality. What God has commanded is moral, and only because God has commanded it” (Ruble, Critical Thinking, 146). The basis for Christian morality is whatever God has said is moral. This is unique from the other theories because it inherently includes religion as a part of the discussion.
As a proponent of this view, I would make one important modification. Righteousness is not established only because God said that it is righteous; righteousness is established because God is righteous. Right and wrong are not established by his whimsical set of rules, as if he could have just as well established a different set. Righteousness flows from his character and it will not change. Other command theories end up being another type of relativity theory since the standard is relative to whoever is in command (Ruble, Critical Thinking, 147). The Christian divine command theory, however, is unique in its claim that the character of God is the basis for righteousness for all humans.
Policy and Reality
To the extent that social directions and goals are built upon an incorrect understanding of the way the world works independently of the desired directions society may wish to travel, these social directions are doomed from birth, no matter how disappointing this may be to their proponents. - Raymond Ruble, The Theory and Practice of Critical Thinking
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." — President Thomas Jefferson