God and civilization are inextricably intertwined. By Bookworm.
I used to think that secular government could work — separation of church and state, with an honest bureaucracy working for the freedom and good of society. But as secularity has increased, and the concept of a God in the background has diminished, the wheels have fallen off.
Even those who don’t believe there is a God, and that their world ends when they die, need to consider pretending there is a God.
The Declaration of Independence talks about God above man, elevating the document above the petty and above politics. In concept, there needs to be someone, something, above politics, above the mortality of man — above the corruptibility of man.
Is the Supreme Court the best we can manage?
In a small way, the Founding Fathers set up the Supreme Court to play that role on Earth. To interpret the law and nothing else — no personal opinions, no decisions based on what looks good or creates fewer waves — the Law, the Law, the Law. And nothing else — God-like.
However, the judges are human and subject to corruption — political, moral, or just expediency. That is why we need a God. God’s don’t make political decisions — they don’t position themselves — they don’t do favours and they can’t be blackmailed. …
Giving Supreme Court Justices tenure for life was the plan, but it doesn’t work — for a variety of reasons. They are paid a fortune, but they can always want more. They may have had moral strength at one time — but they live in a world where morality and oaths are flexible to their personal views and there are no consequences for them not doing their job.
How can the Supreme Court keep refusing to hear the issues “we the people” want heard? What job lets you keep saying “no” to the boss.
It’s only a building, with corruptible people.
It is interesting how the Supreme Court has come to reflect the American election system. … It invariably comes down to … one or two individuals of the Court — they don’t need to weigh the Constitution — they make random decisions based on personal benefit — will they let my kids get into the right college, will we be packed, is it lunch-time yet?
I have concluded — whether one believes in God or not — that the only way society can work is with the concept of a supreme being above us all. There has to be a respect and acknowledgment of something more than oneself. But Democrats and Communists can’t do that. They can’t acknowledge a supreme power more powerful than themselves. Until that respect is returned to America the world is lost.
People don’t usually think of Jesus as a politician, because the supernatural events of Jesus’ life overshadow most everything else. But viewed as a man, Jesus was surely the world’s greatest politician.
Jesus popularized the idea of a power higher than mere earthly rulers. Sure, kings and queens are powerful — and in Jesus’ time there were few checks on their absolute power to do with you as they pleased. Slavery, including sexual abuse, was widespread.
But Jesus countered them with the notions that:
- Everyone answers to a higher power, including the rulers.
- The higher power views us all as equally valuable — the lowly slave and the mighty ruler are of the same value in his eyes.
- This life is but a prelude to a much longer afterlife, and your position in that afterlife depends on your behavior in this life.
The effect on society of this viewpoint was remarkably transforming, in the long run. Within 1900 years slavery was gone, rulers were mostly pious, abuses of power were rare, and the rulers ruled with the consent of the governed. But since then, in the name of “progress,” the fabric seems to have been unpicked somewhat.
Perhaps the second greatest politician ever is the devil, who convinces some people that he doesn’t exist.
