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The Christian Social Mandate: A Biblical View Of Lots Of Stuff

This thought-provoking article introduces the reader to various applications of the Christian worldview to a host of political, social, theological and economic issues. Seat belts are required for this ride.

The issues chosen represent a selective sample from Carson's studies. The Mandate aims to provide something of an overview of what a Christian nation would look like; for "righteousness exalts a nation," and "blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord." Boy, is this going to be controversial or what.

1. National Covenanting.

The Law of God requires the conjoining of U.S. churches and citizens into a National Christian Covenant with Almighty God, to honor the Person, Redemptive Work (Gospel), and Law, of the Lord Jesus Christ -- as the only proper foundation of law for this land. All other religions [meaning false religions] are thereby to be banned from the public realm; yet they may be practiced privately without hindrance from the civil authorities. Although it is sinful at all times to practice false religion, yet not all sins are to be outlawed. Thus, although it be detestable idolatry, yet the Word of God permits that any person may legally practice PRIVATELY whichever religion(s) he will in his or her own home. Nevertheless, none may publicly promote any religion other than the faith of Jesus in any way, nor attempt to provide any good or service to aid and abet the unlawful promotion of false religion.

2. National Sovereignty. Because the divine law recognizes nations and their leaders as ordained of God's providence, nations therefore possess legitimate authority with the right of self-government, and all those other rights necessary for the establishment and maintaining of good order in society delineated in the holy Scripture.

Consequently, this mandate rejects the alleged authority of any proposed international CIVIL government -- whether formed by way of contract, covenant, league, or other means -- as an attempted usurpation of the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ the Lord. For it is written: "but the Lamb shall overcome them, for HE is Lord of Lords and King of kings." Therefore, multi-national empire-building is unlawful under the New Covenant, to all but the Lord Himself, to whom the nations were given by God (Ps. 2: Matt. 28:18)

3. Public Reverence for God.

3a. In accord with the second commandment, no business should be allowed to produce pictures, movies, films, statues (or images of any kind) which aim to portray any false deity [idols], nor of any one of the three Persons of the most holy, Triune God of the Bible [the One True and Living God].

3b. No business may lawfully import such products (idols of any kind) to offer these for resale to the public in this country. For it is written: "You shall make for yourselves no carved image, nor any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God...".

3c. Lawful Oath-taking. All oaths must be taken publicly, in the Name of the God of the Bible, as in "God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," (or some approximation thereof approved by the Christian Church) and in that most holy Name only. No oath taken in the name of any other so-called "god" should have any legal authority to oblige others to any belief or act; indeed, any such a blatant attempt to promote false religion should be punished severely by the civil magistrate. As it is written: "You shall take your oaths in the Name of the Lord." And again, "Let not the name of other gods be upon your lips."

4. Sabbath-Keeping. No person or business may lawfully perform commercial labor on the New Covenant Sabbath Day (Sunday), except for the causes of mercy or necessity. But all persons must work diligently (as unto the Lord, and as God enables) on the other 6 days, to meet their own needs, and those of others. For it is written, "Six days shall you labor and do all your work." And again, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."

4a. No professional sporting event should ever be held, or be permitted to transpire, on the Lord's Day (any Sunday). No professional sporting event that requires, or deliberately promotes, violence against others may lawfully be held at any time, including boxing, American football, kickboxing, the type of melodramatic "wrestling" popular on TV, or other like "sports." No for-profit television programming may lawfully transmit on the Lord's Day, nor any commercial, nor any advertisement for any goods or services.

4b. Environmental Responsibility. The law of God requires that the land be allowed to rest fallow 1 year in 7 (whether done on a rotational basis or all at once). Moreover, the Bible commands all men to manage wisely the resources God has placed under their authority. To that end, this Mandate supports environmentally sound projects, the clean up (and prevention) of environmental damage, the preservation of wildlife, smog reduction, and biofuels (and/ or clean fuels) as a replacement for the use of fossil fuels. For it is written: "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

4c. Charity. The Bible requires that we seek to bless, protect, and help the weakest members of society: the infirm or injured, the elderly, the poor, widows, immigrants, orphans, the handicapped, and the very young. For it is written, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

5. Biblical Child-rearing.

Parents ought to catechise their children with the standards given them by the Church, as well the Scriptures. Moreover, parents must (when necessary) enforce their God-given authority by either sharply reproving their children, or by spanking them aggressively on the butt until those so disciplined acknowledge their sins, apologising for them as directed by father or mother (or both). God regards failure to do so as the hatred of children, which he strictly forbids. As it is written, "He who spares the rod hates his son." Moreover, it is the duty, both of the elders of the Church and of the civil magistrate, to aid and abet parents in the sacred duty of discipling their children, insofar as each office permits, and with the permission of the head of the household only.

5a. Male Headship. The Law of God charges that only men may hold public office, whether civil or ecclesiastical, and that the husband is the head of the wife in each family. The Bible thus opposes the holding of any public office by any woman, regardless of her intelligence, skills, or alleged fitness for office based on the appeal to some other attribute. Both women and men may vote at the age of 20 years, if they do and can prove that they own real estate in the U.S.; this is the same age at which men may enter military service. The military may not impose any draft to induce unwilling participants to fight for a cause of which they disapprove. No woman may serve as a combatant (soldier) in any branch of the military, but she may serve the military in a medical capacity, or in some other needed support role. For God has appointed men to serve women as protectors and leaders. Just as it is written: "But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God."

6. The Right to Life for Infants, and All Other Innocent Persons.

This Mandate stands opposed MOST EARNESTLY to the detestable execution of prenatal infants under the guise of "abortion rights," or "embryonic stem cell research," or under any other guise. For it is written: "You shall do no murder."

6a. Just Foreign Policies.

Nations may lawfully wage defensive wars only, and only against those directly responsible for acts of war. The U.S. has cause against Al-Qaeda operatives and conspirators, whose involvement in the "9/11 attack" can be proven in a U.S. court of law. Saddam Hussein has not been implicated by any such evidence to date. Iraq thus falls outside the proper domain of U.S. jurisdiction. The Bible implies therefore, that the President of the United States, the honorable George W. Bush should order an immediate, yet orderly and convenient, withdrawal of the U.S. military from Iraq; publicly apologize to God, the world, and the people of Iraq for this sin; and to repay the Iraqi people double the market value of the damages caused by the recent U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. For it is written: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin disgraces any people."

6b. The Death Penalty for Heinous Crimes.

The law of God condemns to death some 30 kinds of criminals, after a full investigation and jury find the suspect "guilty as charged" by the testimony of 2 or 3 credible witnesses [The witnesses cannot themselves be guilty of the crime in question.]. No suspect of a capital crime may be convicted upon circumstantial evidence only, nor acquitted by reason of insanity.

Upon conviction, the magistrate must carry out the penalty stipulated by God (stoning) or its cultural equivalent (firing squad), immediately and publicly. In a few cases (such as adultery, or kidnapping where the victim survives), the law of God allows the victim to waive or mitigate the stipulated sentence, depending on the nature of the crime.

6c. Just Criminal Punishments (Judgments). In the case of lesser crimes, those who commit them should either be fined, or beaten with stripes (whipped in public), or both, as the magistrate shall determine (but never exceeding 40); both the amount of the fine, and number of stripes should be determined by judges upon conviction by a jury. In the case of capital crimes, the death penalty is warranted. In no case should anyone ever be sentenced to an extended stay in a prison.

Prisons only punish innocent taxpayers for the offences of criminals and dehumanize those so incarcerated. The prison system is inherently unjust and inhumane, therefore, and ought to be abolished altogther, except for cells used as temporary detention devices for suspects awaiting trial, or for those convicted of capital crimes who await execution. For it is written: "...that you should not go beyond what is written."

6d. Personal Medicinal Liberty. The law of the Lord permits no government to ban the sale or purchase of any pharmacological substance or medical equipment of any kind, except those used to promote any sin (such as "birth control"). Nevertheless, anyone found guilty of killing another human being -- even though accidentally -- while intoxicated or inebriated, because of the effects of some induced substance upon the killer's faculties -- the guilty party shall face the death penalty for negligent homicide, which is the same as premeditated murder in the eyes of God. As it is written: "You shall take eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life."

6e. Biblical Medical Practices.

The psychiatric industry, based as it is upon so many counter-biblical (false) assumtptions that it offers no real help, and does much harm, to persons of all sorts -- should be abolished by law -- as ought also alleged professional counselors and psychologists.

Most "mental problems" are in fact secondary effects of real physical conditions improperly diagnosed (or undiagnosed) by medical practitioners. Those in genuine need of sound counseling should seek the advice of the wise elders of a church adorned by sound doctrine and good works. The Bible is sufficient for all matters of faith and practice, such that he who understands it well, and obeys it, is fit to counsel others. The wicked do not meet these qualifications -- even if licensed by some board or other -- and are therefore not fit to counsel anyone. It is written: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked..." (Ps. 1:1).

7. The Holiness of Marriage as a God-given Institution.

This Mandate stands opposed to all sexual sin, including birth control (except in cases of undue health risk to one's wife). It especially repudiates the detestable practices of sodomy, adultery, and the unlawful making or annulling of marriage vows. For it is written: "You shall not commit adultery," and again, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."

7a. Sexual Purity. All fornication (including prostitution) should be outlawed, including all forms of the public display of sex acts, and sexually suggestive material; all obscene and/ or sexually explicit langauge used in public places, and/ or in print, and/ or by way of any public medium (such as radio or television).

8. Honest Money.

The law of God requires that nations provide 100% collateral against their national currencies, and forbids "fractional reserve" banking, and the printing of paper money "at will." It is written: "You shall not steal." Thus, the United States of America should cancel all unsecured debts incurred against it by debtor nations, returning promptly to a precious metals currency standard.

8a. Lawful Taxation and Payment. This Mandate proposes the abolition of all unlawful forms of taxation (e.g. personal, federal income tax and property tax) and the reduction of all taxes combined to an amount totaling not more than 9% of a workers gross income, just as the divine law says. Minimum wage laws must be abolished, and all employers must either pay their laborers wages daily, or else (if agreeable to the workers) the employer must add 20% to the principal owed for each night he withholds the worker's wage, according to the Law of the Lord.

8b. The Abolition of Entitlements. As God calls civil authorities ONLY to punish evildoers (as defined by His law), the causes of mercy and charity fall to the jurisdictions of the churches, and private enterprise. Thus, the U.S. government (at all levels) should abolish welfare, eliminate or sell the public education system, and cause to cease all other forms of entitlement programs. As it is written: "He [the civil magistrate] is God's servant." And again, "Do not add to the words of the Lord, lest he rebuke you, and prove you a liar." The considerable money thereby saved to the government's budget should be refunded to all taxpayers.

8c. As it is not the proper domain of the federal government, the U.S. government should abolish all tariffs and import taxes. These unlawful taxes only serve to harm U.S. business interests abroad, and tend to cause international economic instability (e.g. trade wars).

8d. As it is not the proper domain of any government to sponsor sporting or cultural events, The U.S. government should withdraw all funding (and sponsorship) of any endowments for the arts, olympic games, and the like, leaving such pursuits to private interests.

9. Antirealism (Instrumentalism) in the Theoretical Sciences.

Unless the central claims of a theory can be tested OBSERVABLY, there is no way of knowing whether or not they "refer" (point to) extralinguistic entities. The usefulness or predictive power of any model has no bearing upon its truthfulness, as utility and veracity are unrelated attributes. Science history affords many examples of successful theories presently judged "false" by their respective scientific communities. This shows that NO scientific way of determining "truth" apart from a biblical warrant for knowledge exists. As it is written: "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Him [Christ]" (Col. 2:3).

9a. Biblical Creationism.

I. No observable evidence exists for the popular-but-silly claims that life evolved from non-life, intelligent life from unintelligent, or that amoral animals evolved into humans. If that WERE true, if things "somehow" become their opposites, this would show that the world is magical, undermining the assumptions that make science possible. Moreover, the interdependence of the organs of organisms and animals renders evolution an "all-at-once" or else "never-at-all" proposition, since changing one organ would require CORRESPONDING changes in the other organs to retain the viability of the organism or animal in question.

Evolutionary theory is therefore: Scripturally false; logically impossible; biologically unprovable, and hostile in principle to the scientific enterprise.

II. This Mandate stands opposed to "scientific creationism," which seeks to turn the infallible Word of God into the fallible (and often false) words of men (i.e. scientific models). This would rob the Word of God of its ultimate authority, foolishly subjecting God's surely-truthful claims to man-made (and erroneous) tests for credibility. It is written: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

9b. Biblical Education. The public education system should be rejected as a competitor to the biblical educational model (discipleship). OGC favors private education offered from a thoroughly Christocentric perspective in: Biblical theology, literature and languages; logic and critical thinking; English; math; history; political science; the physcial sciences; foreign language studies; economics; computer science; philosophy, and all studies preparatory for real-life occupations.

Parents are to play a vitally central role in the rearing of their children in the fear and the admonition of the Lord, and must oversee the education of their children, whether directly or indirectly. For it is written: "Fathers, teach your children;" and again, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it."

10. Fiscal Wisdom.

The law of the Lord permits no form of gambling to the public. This includes all forms of "wagering," or the use of machines or animals to bet upon or put money in; all attempts to generate (or receive) random payments for money wagered should be outlawed. This does not include prize drawings as incentives to purchase goods and services, where one wagers no money or capital for the opportunity to win -- as any person has the right to give away his money or property however (s)he may choose.

Finally, no casino should be permitted to operate, for it is written: "You shall not covet." Nevertheless, all forms of trading and investing are lawful, whether it be the trading of stocks, futures, options or any other lawful product or service -- tangible or intangible -- including all tobacco and alcohol products. Yet all tobacco and alcohol products should display clear warnings on their labels as to the potential health hazards of overconsuming such products, and the magistrate may properly restrict smoking to private places, according to the sixth commandment.

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