Are You Ready for Religion in Politics?

Dr. D asked a question to any takers about religion and politics the other day on his Charismatica blog. He had no takers, and wound up starting the discussion himself. I appreciated his thoughts, but I thought it best to address the issue here from my own, unique (read: outrageous/extreme) point of view.

Biblically, I see the only purpose of government under God as protecting the innocent from the evil doer. This is an absolute secular necessity if life amongst sinners is to continue until Jesus comes back. In the best of worlds, we wouldn't need it, in ours (even in the Millennium) we desperately do. We are told that government doesn't bear the sword for nothing, and we should cooperate with its purposes in ensuring justice. Of special note in all this is the conclusive fact that government bears the sword, not the key. Government is not in place under God to tell anyone what to think, how to run his or her life, what to do for retirement or education, what to do with private property, what to do medically, and certainly never to enforce a belief system (though it did in ancient Israel). Government, at its most fundamental, is there simply to keep the powerful and the violent from doing harm or oppressing the rest of the population (I think the this aligns with the OT prophets as well).

With that Biblical and worldwide mandate in mind, let me suggest a few policy positions a politician who actually brought biblical religion into the realm of politics might take:

Concerning the Use of Deadly Force

• The Death Penalty should be enforced, without pity or mercy, upon anyone who willfully or callously takes another life.
• No other government or body should be allowed to kill or oppress the citizens of this country while they are in their own lands, without incurring the response of the sword (which requires a strong, ready and able military).
• Abortion should be illegal, unless the unborn child is causing immediate, physical distress that realistically threatens the mother's life. A practitioner, or anyone else, who performs an illegal abortion should be sentenced to death.

That will be sufficient for now. If this has legs under it, I'll add some more. If not, que sera sera!