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by William Gould

Those who will not rule themselves by the Ten Commandments will be ruled by the ten thousand commandments. G. K. Chesterton

Note to the Reader: This is the first of a series of short book reviews in which we address the gradual breakdown of the legitimacy of the government of the United States of America.

The End of Democracy: The Celebrated First Things Debate. Edited by Michael Muncy. Dallas, Texas: Spence Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 1-890626-03-1.

In November 1996, the journal First Things published a symposium entitled, "The End of Democracy." First Things founder Richard John Neuhaus opened the symposium by asking whether things have come to such a point that "Christian citizens may no longer give moral assent to the existing regime...." The source of the immediate complaint was a series of Federal court decisions, two endorsing assisted suicide, one overturning a Colorado state law which pre-empted local gay rights ordinances. The complaint about these decisions (and also about the Supreme Court decisions Roe v. Wade, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which invented the right to abortion on demand), is that they are both undemocratic and immoral. Undemocratic, in that all the most serious issues which civil government is deciding, are being taken away from elected representatives by unelected judges. Immoral, in that the courts are forbidding legislatures from basing or even informing laws with biblical principles.

The series started a controversy in the small world of conservative opinion magazines. Two of First Things board members asked to be taken off the masthead. Several critical articles appeared in First Things and in other conservative opinion journals. Two major streams of criticism were published. Some critics emphasized that conditions for conservatives were not as dire as First Things suggested. Others were upset that First Things even asked the question. Describing the USA as an illegitimate regime, they warned, makes religious people sound like "60s radicals and gives too much encouragement to bomb-throwers and other kooks."

This book contains the five original articles, follow-ups in First Things, various responses in several journals, and a longish essay by Mr. Neuhaus called "Anatomy of a Controversy." All articles in the book are readable, thoughtful, and courteous, so the book is a pleasant read. Two of the initial articles are especially interesting. The piece by Hadley Arkes contains a disturbing scenario for the gradual expulsion of Christians from certain professions, because their beliefs may be considered discriminatory or motivated by animus against a class of people. The piece by Charles Colson also opens the questions of dissent and resistance, including a brief mention of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.

What are we to make of this? Is the character of our civil government such that conscientious citizens ought not to give moral assent to the existing regime? Of course it is. The NRA has been warning of this problem since 1864. A secularist government will not long tolerate either freedom or Christian morality. The evil decisions coming from high courts merely reflect the humanistic state becoming more consistently humanistic.

The two defects in the book are symptoms of the weakness of secular conservatism. The authors in the book have relied excessively on natural law, and have apparently not considered "What do the scriptures themselves say?" The second defect is a failure of imagination. Neither the contributors to the original symposium nor the critics of First Things have thought very far about the theology or tactics of resistance. Consequently, they are caught in a false trilemma between assent to tyranny, withdrawal, or revolution.

In following columns of this series we shall break out of this false dilemma. We do not assent to the existing regime, we will not withdraw, and we will not revolt. Instead we are Christian dissidents. We shall call ourselves, our neighbors and our magistrates to repent and to seek godly government. In this column we shall explore the things which extend our liberty to proclaim the gospel and live as Christians, amid a civil regime whose legitimacy is seriously compromised, but which still presents us numerous opportunities.

William Gould is the treasurer of the National Reform Association and a deacon at Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

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