In this episode, Thabiti and Nick provide an overview of an age-old question of politics: what is the role of government? We trace the development of our modern ideas about this to the 18th-century Enlightenment - noting that while it wasn't a Christian phenomenon, Enlightenment thinkers had an uneasy alliance with the church that papered over some of the fault lines we're beginning to see emerge today. We talk about different reasons for government to be bigger or smaller, but note that this specific question is beside the point. The real question is: is government doing what it should do?
Biblical references:
Genesis 9:5 - God's words to Noah after the flood, establishing that government is ordained by God as a coercive force, with the power of the sword.
Romans 13:1 - the governing authorities - all of them - have been established by God. And, with a few limited exceptions, we are to submit to them.
Genesis 41:46-57 - Joseph, in his service to Pharaoh, is just one example of a God-ordained role of government (in this case, a very statist, interventionist one!).
Isaiah 1:16-17 - God's commands to Judah set the tone for what a people and its government should do: seek justice, correct oppression, plead the widow's cause.
Proverbs 31:1-9 - God's commands to King Lemuel are a further manual for what it means to govern wisely.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 - we should pray for our leaders in government - all of them!
Other references:
The West Wing, Season 1, Episode 12: Toby Ziegler on whether "The Era of Big Government is Over"
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." Self-interest is the engine of capitalism; we shouldn't be surprised when it sometimes produces bad results.
Max Weber's much more strident take on Genesis 9:5 - that the state has a monopoly on the use of force.
Produced by Ben Brophy.
Photo in Artwork Credit: John Brighenti via Creative Commons. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Microphone Icon Credit: Designed by Freepik from www.flaticon.com
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