In its primary meaning the word Christian stands for the individual, the person who has confessed personal need for God, and the acceptance of the redemption of Christ for status with God, to which status he or she attaches hope for immortality. In that meaning, no institution, or nation can be called Christian. But as words are made to stand for other than their primary (first) meaning, so does the word Christian. In this sense a nation can be said to be more-or-less Christian (christianly) than any other or more-or-less than that nation may have been in its history. Islam is rather stern about believing that its adherents live as national citizens under the banner of Islam, so to be identified as Islamic Nations perhaps with obligations to resist any competition to that faith. For centuries the Papal States maintained a similar context. Christians have gotten over that approach to civil life, but not separated from application of principles to the secular state. Christianity is personal, with cultural impact. Islam appears somewhat cultural with personal impact.
Evidence has it that many founders of the United States were Christians, or that their value orientation was basically Christian. Many simply subsumed Christianity, either in the Catholic or Protestant context as a way of living so may have seemed Christian when they were adapting to the model. The Christians with their colleagues among the fathers were partly stymied by the doctrine of depravity. They would not likely use theological terms, including depravity, but the issue was present and strong. It was a constant in the mind of George Washington. Even though choosing a democratic government, he wondered what government would emerge from flawed (sinful) persons. Some of this concept went into the planning of the new government. If a wrong-headed king, a natural occurrence, could fail in government, could not also the masses, wrong-headed as a part of human generation, also fail? How would rights be protected?
To counter the negative possibilities, the American government was divided into three parts with a president, congress, and court system. Perhaps they could check one another along the way to effective government. Even when the plan was in place, Washington continued to wonder if it would hold. His view of depravity was that firm in his mind. His biographers may hint at it, and, in modern instances, commonly lose his Christian faith in their conclusions. They usually (not always) state or imply that he was deistic, although not openly as was Jefferson. Jefferson may have been a deist who used theism as a context for management of the citizenry. One might see this as hypocrisy. Jefferson would see it as political reality, not denying the rights of persons with personal Christian faith. So it was that the country did well in launching, from a few thousand citizens, a government plan directed toward freedom.
Jesus did not tell his audiences to revolt from their governments. Another might well do to them what the present one was doing. He believed that if persons included God for their lives they would make better citizens and government than those who were spiritually adrift. God gave Israel judges. They later preferred kings. He gave them kings, and within a hundred years or so that too was cracked and breaking. They were a tribal confederacy under Judges. They became two kingdoms under Kings. However, if kingdom was the choice God would assist them in the process of choosing their king. The lesson is that the form of government is not where the solutions may be found. It is in the character of the leaders and the people. Without that character, no government will be satisfactory enough. The government is to do as a mass body, what the individual is to do – serve others in a world vision. Worth is found in the mind of God, not in wealth, not in power, not in fame – or a nation’s organization. Claims to justice, and the peace of society are to try the application of what Scripture summarizes in the word righteousness. It is found in the actions of citizens – the application of rights given of God to all. Jesus told the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. The effort was to be with individuals who would by their own prayer, involvement and ministry provide influence for betterment of soul and society so to achieve peace, equity, dignity, freedom, love, problem solving, altruism, serving, and their related factors in reflection of the kingdom of God. We may lose all that in measuring government in partisanship. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020