Part One: The Biblical Purpose of Government
Chapter 1: Foundations of Law
Foundational Questions
We begin our discussion of the Biblical principles of civil government by asking three questions that will guide our quest to determine the foundations of law: (1) What is law? (2) Who determines law? and (3) Why do we have civil law?
What is Law?
Sir William Blackstone, one of the great legal commentators of English history, defined law as “a rule of action dictated by some superior being.”[2] 2. William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, http://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/blackstone/cle.int.s02.html. These “rules of action” appear in two domains within our universe—those rules that pertain to our physical world, such as gravity and thermodynamics, and those that pertain to our spiritual and emotional world, such as consciousness, and our sense of purpose. In this discussion, those rules of action that apply to the physical world will be referred to as the “laws of science.” The spiritual/emotional rules of action will be called the “laws of humanity” since these are unique to our race, distinguishing us from the rest of creation.
It would seem that the presence of the laws of humanity in a universe otherwise governed by the laws of science would lead to a certain tension. How can two different categories of laws coexist, particularly when science is seemingly predictable and guided by the principle of the survival of the fittest, while humanity is unpredictable and often influenced by motives entirely unrelated to survival? Blackstone’s definition above requires that these rules of action come from a “superior being.” Blackstone’s rules of action need a law giver and that provides a leeway into our second foundational question, which resolves the dichotomy.
Who Determines Law?
The process of elimination can be helpful in discovering the determiner of law. Below we will examine the impact of individually or corporately rejecting the laws of science and humanity, and how the best solution to the stated question is accepting both laws based on a unifying source external to our observed universe.
First of all, the laws of science cannot be rejected. Rejecting the laws of science leads to the adoption of mysticism as a worldview because it rejects the realities of the physical world and reason as delusional, thereby rendering our intellect, bodies, and surrounding natural world as obstacles that must be minimized in order for us to experience the ultimate reality. Without reason, there is no basis for determining laws, which in turn leads to confusion and self-destruction. This option has no place for consideration in our discussion because it rejects reason, which in turn renders proof impossible.
The laws of humanity cannot be rejected either. This option leads to
naturalism. Naturalism rejects the reality of the emotional and spiritual
aspects of our being, and therefore denies that we are unique from the rest of
the universe. In this worldview, man has no purpose or meaning— he is simply a
machine, and his emotional and spiritual dimensions are nothing more than
illusionary weaknesses that must be pacified and suppressed in order to minimize
their interference with his physical dimension. Law is therefore determined by
what man, through his own reasoning, perceives as best contributing to material
prosperity. This idea is captured and promoted by the philosophies of
Darwinism/social Darwinism (“survival of the fittest”) and nihilism
(“might makes right”). Those who reject any kind of divine revelation fall into this
group. Though accepted by many due to the seeming consistency, simplicity, and
assurance that come with accepting only those things that are observed with the
five senses, naturalism ultimately fails to unify all of reality.
To reject all laws is to deny reality itself and thus defeats the purpose of this discussion. Therefore, this option will receive no more consideration.
The last option requires a force external to our observed universe that is able to both reveal itself and resolve the tension between the laws of science and humanity. In order to do so, this revealed law must be the ultimate truth and reality of what is, and therefore the dominant force that governs action. In this worldview, law is determined by examining both the laws of science and humanity, using reasoning that is based on the unifying presuppositions of the revealed law. The source of the revealed law is therefore the highest law of the universe and the determiner of law. Those who accept divine revelation fall into this category. Those who accept the Bible as the only truly sovereign and infallible unifying law have a source of law that unifies all of reality.
Also in this group are those who believe in other forms of revelation (the Koran, the Book of Mormon, etc.), and those who have an unorthodox method of interpreting the Bible or accept the sovereignty of the Bible but not its infallibility. However, their revealed law does not accurately reflect the truth of what is and is therefore not truly unifying. Though they may live in and support a society whose laws agree with the teachings of Biblical Christianity, there is no secure basis for their laws.
Blackstone goes on to say that “Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws … .” According to God’s revelation, the Bible, God is the source of all that is good, perfect, and true (James 1:17-18), including law. God communicates His law to us through the laws of nature (laws of humanity and science) and the law of revelation (the Bible). The laws of humanity exist because man was created in God’s image with a spirit and emotions, just as God is a Spirit and has emotions. Therefore, we can have unique fellowship with a personal God and a deeper appreciation of His universe and its purpose (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Psalm 139:13-14; Isaiah 46:9-10). Regarding the laws of science, we are equally bound to these with the rest of creation (Job 42:1-6; Psalm 139:6; 145:3; Romans 11:33-36), for, in the physical dimension, man is no closer to being God than the rest of nature since he is finite and God is infinite. However, humans are the masters of the physical dimension of creation because God created us to have dominion as the first fruits of His creation (Genesis 1:28). This explains our superior reasoning ability over the rest of creation.[3] 3. The general ideas for this section came from The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer and The Divine Challenge by John Byl.
Why Do We have Civil Law?
God’s power does not necessitate an internal obligation to submit to Him. Rather, it is His power in conjunction with His wisdom and goodness that create an obligation to submit to His authority (2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalm 84:11; Ecclesiastes 2:26). God ordains civil law to serve His purpose of goodness (just like His creation) for His glory and for mankind’s benefit (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). This contrasts with those who reject the notion of revealed law—their only incentive to obey the state is because it can force them to.
Summary
In this chapter we learned that (1) law is a rule of action dictated by a superior being or force; (2) only two types of laws are observed in the universe, but a third type of law is necessary; (3) without revealed law, we have a choice between mysticism, naturalism, or a complete rejection of all forms of reality; but with the Word of God, we can have reality.
↩ 2. William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, http://www.laits.utexas.edu/ poltheory/blackstone/ cle.int.s02.html.
↩ 3. The general ideas for this section came from The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer and The Divine Challenge by John Byl.