[When Volume
1 of
First the
Gospel, Then
Politics...
(Only
Genesis),
© 1999-2008
John C.
Rankin, is
updated and
republished,
a section
will be
included
here as an
outline of
biblical
theology; in
the
meantime,
here is the
Introduction
and Chapter
One of
The
Six Pillars
of Honest
Politics:
The Biblical
Nature of a
Level
Playing
Field,
© 2007 John
C. Rankin,
which has an
abbreviated
section on
Biblical
Theology
101]
____________________________________________
Introduction
Is it
possible for
biblical
theology to
address
politics in
such a way
where most
people would
be grateful?
I believe
so.
What
about church
and state
issues? What
about
citizens who
do not share
a biblical
worldview?
Here I want
to submit
four ideas
for
consideration:
-
First,
the six
pillars of
honest
politics
start with
our unique
national
identity
and
foundation
–
unalienable
rights
which
belong to
all people
equally –
life,
liberty,
property
and thus,
the power
to pursue
happiness.
-
Second,
these
pillars
serve a
level
playing
field
for all
ideas to
be heard
equally.
-
Third,
these
pillars
serve
checks and
balances
on power
in
government,
according
to the
consent of
the
governed.
-
And fourth
is the
sharp
application
of
Occam’s
razor,
to “reduce
needless
redundancies,”
or to
“keep it
simple”;
here I
propose a
model for
a
simplified
state
constitution
and
likewise
for the
U.S.
Constitution,
to cut
state laws
and the
U.S. Code
by well
over 99
percent.
I start
with my home
state of
Connecticut,
and this
proposal is
well suited
for a
Constitutional
Convention
which the
voters have
the right to
call for in
the 2008
election.
Other states
can emulate
the same,
and all of
us together
can reform
federal law.
A biblical
definition
of a level
playing
field is
rooted in
the reality
of first
being
“pre-partisan”
so that all
honest
partisan
ideas can be
expressed.
As a
minister of
the Gospel,
I do not
want one
inch of
greater
liberty to
say what I
believe than
the freedom
I first
honor for
those who
most
strenuously
disagree
with me.
We all
have our
partisan
convictions
on a range
of
theological
and
political
issues –
ideas we
hold with
conviction,
ideas which
differ
strongly
from the
partisan
ideas of
other
people. How
do we
communicate
across such
barricades
of
difference?
The very
language of
being a
“partisan”
is viewed as
negative.
Yet I
believe it
is a good
word, if by
being
partisans we
agree to be
pre-partisan
first,
desiring all
partisan
ideas to be
equally
heard,
confident we
are in
pursuit of
truth.
But at
the same
time, we
cannot
pretend to
be
“objective”
observers,
to try and
keep our
“subjective”
perspectives
at bay. It
is not
possible to
be
“non-partisan”
unless we
also want to
be
non-human,
and the same
is true with
the notion
of being
“bi-partisan.”
As honest
participants
in political
life, we
should
openly put
our deepest
partisan
beliefs on
the table up
front, and
clearly for
all to
examine.
This simple
act then
allows the
most crucial
question to
be posed of
all
partisans in
a free
nation,
namely, do
our partisan
ideas
provide for
the freedom
for other
partisan
ideas to
challenge
ours? To say
yes to this
question is
to express
confidence
that we are
truth
seekers.
Part of
such
confidence
lies in the
power of
being
proactive,
or positive.
For example,
how often
are
theological
or political
ideas merely
reactions to
other ideas,
which are
reactions to
prior
reactions,
tracing back
to a litany
of prior
injustices
into distant
memory?
Reactions to
reactions
only produce
an
increasingly
toxic soup
in which we
will all
miserably
drown
together,
unless the
cycle can be
broken.
To be
truly
proactive is
a question
of origins,
and it sets
the table
for reality.
In terms of
reality,
first is the
proactive
then the
reactive,
first is the
positive
before the
negative can
exist, and
first is the
light before
the darkness
is defined.
The
biblical
worldview is
unique in
its
proactive
starting
point, our
common
historical
origin, and
against
which all
reactions
are
measured.
Here I will
sum up most
briefly the
six pillars
of biblical
power, of
which I
write about
in
theological
detail
elsewhere.
Then I will
seek to
translate
them into
the six
pillars of
honest
politics. In
so doing, it
will not be
formal creed
or doctrine
which is my
focus, but
ethics which
prove to be
universal.
These ethics
are both
pre-partisan
and honestly
partisan at
the same
time.
“Ethics,”
rooted in
the Greek
terms
ethos
and
ethikos,
is a word
which refers
to how we
treat
people.
Biblically,
ethics are
summed up in
loving God
with our
whole being,
and thus
loving all
our
neighbors as
ourselves.
The Golden
Rule which
flows out of
this, and as
taught by
Jesus, is
proactive –
treat others
as you wish
to be
treated.
The
proactive
also proves
to be
simple, true
and
beautiful,
consistent
with Occam’s
razor where
the simplest
explanation
is usually
the truest
one.
And by
the simple I
do not mean
the
simplistic.
As the
greatest
complexities
of advanced
mathematical
theory
require the
simple
fundamental
equation of
1 + 1 = 2,
so too in
theology and
politics we
can define
one simple
interpretive
handle for
all
possibilities
– give and
it will be
given. The
six pillars
serve this
reality.
In
November,
1994, I
addressed
one in my
series of
Mars Hill
Forums, at
Smith
College in
Northampton,
Massachusetts,
and my guest
was Patricia
Ireland,
then
President of
the National
Organization
for Women
(NOW). Our
topic was
“Feminism
and the
Bible: Do
They Share
Any Common
Ground?” In
this series
I usually
invite lead
skeptics of
my biblical
worldview
for an
honest
discussion
of our
different
ideas in the
face of
debated
topics.
In the
course of
the evening
I spoke
about the
nature of
marriage.
There are
three
possible
equations:
100-0, 50-50
or 100-100.
In the
100-0
option, it
is usually
the man who
demands 100
percent of
the woman
and gives
nothing in
return. In
the 50-50
option, the
man and
woman
contract to
split
responsibilities
and freedoms
50-50 –
income,
housework,
child care,
discretionary
spending,
etc. The
problem here
is that if
one party
takes 51
percent,
trust is
broken, and
there is
war.
In the
100-100
option, both
man and
woman give
100 percent
of their
best to each
other,
rooted in an
assumed
power to
trust. This
is
attractive
to all of
us.
But there
is a catch.
Who
initiates
the first
100 percent
in an act of
giving
which, by
definition,
does not
place
demands on
the other?
If demands
were placed,
we cannot
have a
100-100
relationship.
It would
deconstruct
back to
50-50 or
100-0, where
the reactive
quenches the
proactive.
The only
place in
written
history
where the
100-100
happens is
rooted in
the nature
of the
Creator in
Genesis 1-2.
The Creator,
Yahweh
Elohim
(“the LORD
God” in the
NIV),
initiates
the power to
give, then
teaches the
same to his
image-bearers,
to man and
woman in
marriage.
So I
spontaneously
quipped to
Patricia and
the
audience:
“We have two
choices in
life – give
and it will
be given, or
take before
you are
taken.” When
I said these
words, I
immediately
wondered if
they could
stand the
test of time
and
scrutiny,
for they are
so very
simple. They
have so far.
100-100 is
give and it
will be
given. 100-0
and 50-50
are both
take before
you are
taken. The
simplicity
of trust
versus the
increasingly
more complex
world of
distrust.
My goal
is to define
and create a
level
playing
field for
all partisan
ideas to be
heard
equally, in
order to
distinguish
the
proactive
from the
reactive. I
can only do
this if I am
truly
proactive,
giving 100
percent of
my best with
no strings
attached,
held
accountable
to being
proactive by
all others,
and able to
define and
test simple
interpretive
handles for
an open and
honest
political
life.
American
political
life is
presently
drowning in
a sea of
increasingly
complex
laws. Can we
take Occam’s
razor,
rooted in
the
proactive,
and cut out
all the
reactive
elements?
Can we
overcome
distrust
with trust
throughout
our common
political
life? In
mathematics,
1 + 1 = 2,
and
interprets
all. In
theology and
politics,
“give and it
will be
given”
interprets
all, and the
six pillars
serve such
life-giving
simplicity.
____________________________________________
Chapter One
The Six
Pillars of
Honest
Politics
If
political
life were to
be
influenced
by the six
pillars of
honest
politics, I
believe the
positive
transformation
would be
remarkable.
__________
-
The
power to
give
affirms
that the
unalienable
rights
given by
the
Creator
belong to
all people
equally,
and
leaders in
human
government
should
serve such
a gift.
-
The
power to
live in
the light
means
leaders in
human
government
at every
level
should be
as fully
transparent
as
possible.
-
The
power of
informed
choice
is rooted
in an
honest
definition
of terms
in
political
debate,
providing
a level
playing
field for
all ideas
to be
heard
equally,
apart from
which
political
freedom is
not
possible.
-
The
power to
love hard
questions
is in
place when
political
leaders
honor and
answer
those who
pose them
the
toughest
questions.
-
The
power to
love
enemies
recognizes
that even
the
harshest
of
political
opponents
share a
common
humanity
and are to
be treated
with
respect.
-
The
power to
forgive
recognizes
the need
to address
our
individual
and
societal
transgressions
against
each
other, and
to work
toward
justice
and
reconciliation.
__________
These six
pillars are
by
definition
pre-partisan.
In other
words, they
set the
foundation
for healthy
partisan
debates over
public
policy, in
service to
the consent
of the
governed.
The deepest
partisanship
is the
creation of
a level
playing
field for
all partisan
ideas to be
heard
equally,
where the
pursuit of
truth in any
and all
matters
becomes
possible.
And I
would easily
vote for
political
candidates
who live and
articulate
the
substance of
such
pillars,
regardless
of political
party, in
contrast
with those
who do not.
One
reason is
that these
pillars
serve the
power of
simplicity,
truth-telling
and
transparency.
They
naturally
separate
honest
politics in
service to
the consent
of the
governed,
from
self-serving
political
agendas. And
out of
honest
politics
flow the
healthiest
grappling
with
specific
debated
issues.
When
these six
pillars are
examined, is
there
anything in
them which
is not
attractive
to all
people of
good will?
This is
equally true
for the
atheist who
may not like
the mention
of the
Creator, yet
likewise
seeks to
have his or
her
unalienable
rights of
life,
liberty,
property and
the pursuit
of happiness
protected.
What other
source is
there for
these
rights? Out
of
unalienable
rights comes
the freedom
for the
atheist and
all others
to be who
they are as
political
equals,
under the
rule of law
in the
United
States.
The
question
concerning
the nature
and role of
the Creator
became
central in a
February,
1997 Mars
Hill Forum
at my alma
mater,
Gordon
Conwell
Theological
Seminary. My
guest was
Nadine
Strossen,
President of
the American
Civil
Liberties
Union
(ACLU).
Nadine
quoted the
language of
the
Declaration
of
Independence
which names
the Creator
as the
Source for
unalienable
rights. This
citation and
definition
of these
rights are
what makes
the United
States
unique, even
to this day.
Nadine and I
agree that
such rights
transcend
human
government,
but she does
not profess
belief in
the God of
the Bible as
I do. And
the text of
Genesis 1-2
which names
the Creator
proves to be
the only
written text
in history
which
assumes such
unalienable
rights.
Despite our
different
perspectives,
we agree on
the
universal
nature of
these rights
and how
every person
is due them
equally.
The six
pillars of
honest
politics are
rooted in
the prior
six pillars
of biblical
power. For
those of us
who are
believers,
this is easy
to embrace.
But what
about the
skeptics in
our midst,
e.g.,
persons who
have been
burned by
impositional
or
hypocritical
religion, or
remain
unconvinced
in the
trustworthiness
of the
Bible, or
believe that
our nation’s
freedoms are
rooted in
ancient
Greek and
Roman law?
Thus, for
all of us,
as I seek to
define and
then walk
through the
six pillars
of biblical
power, let’s
keep our
most
critical
faculties in
tune. Let’s
always probe
these
pillars to
see if their
ethical
nature is
truly good
and fully
attractive
to the human
soul.
Biblical
Theology 101
Since the
six pillars
of honest
politics are
rooted in
the six
pillars of
biblical
power, it
assumes a
grasp of
Biblical
Theology
101. I write
about this
in Volume 1
of First
the Gospel,
Then
Politics…(“Only
Genesis”),
written for
the intrepid
reader
interested
in a
detailed
background
(TEI
Publishing
House,
1999-2008;
www.teipublishinghouse.com).
Briefly,
Biblical
Theology 101
begins with
the
understanding
that the
Bible is a
unique story
line rooted
in revealed
truth. To
place
ourselves
within the
story line
is crucial
to
understanding
its
teachings.
Its
teachings
are summed
up in three
all-defining
realities –
creation,
sin and
redemption.
Or to put it
in parallel
language –
the order of
creation,
the reversal
and the
reversal of
the reversal
– the
wholeness of
creation,
brokenness
and
restoration
to wholeness
– freedom,
slavery and
