Just what is a truly Christian, or biblical, view of politics and government, and what difference does it make for public policy?
Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, treats this and many other questions with a fresh perspective. Not to be pigeonholed, he works for a largely libertarian think tank but espouses policies libertarians abhor. His views resemble traditional conservatism but differ on important points. He rejects most liberal policies, but embraces liberalism’s concern for the vulnerable and its rejection of mixing religion and politics. Frequently, familiar premises lead him to surprising conclusions.
In the first three chapters, Bandow argues that all of society will benefit from Christian perspectives, that the “bipartisan welfare state” has begotten an unjust society, and that this makes clear the need for a political paradigm built on biblical principles. In the next two chapters, he constructs such a paradigm. First he explores what the Bible says about the role of the state, which is chiefly that the state’s job is to prevent and punish fraud, theft, and violence while protecting life, liberty, and property (though he allows it some role in helping the needy through positive action). Then he describes seven “Scriptural guidelines” for the state: “limited state power, respect for the believer’s right to worship God, regulation of violent and fraudulent conduct, justice and righteousness, help for the needy, moral and social responsibility, and godly virtues.”
Next Bandow reminds us that “Christian political involvement must be different from secular or humanist activism because the believer is dedicated to achieving a different ultimate objective, the Kingdom of God.” Hence Christians cannot use the state to coerce spiritual virtues, a point he reinforces with a survey of the sad results of Christians’ attempts to wed church and state to create the Kingdom of God on earth.
The meat of the book is in chapters 7-9, where Bandow applies biblical principles to specific policy questions. He discusses eight criteria for applying biblical principles to policy issues: (1) “Is there a Scriptural principle on point?” (2) “Does the Scriptural reference apply today?” (3) “Is the Biblical rule mandatory or advisory?” (4) “If there is no Scriptural principle on point, is the proposed policy consistent with the Biblical pattern of government?” (5) “Does the proposal, if not barred by the Bible, weigh costs as well as benefits?” (6) “If a policy’s objectives are consistent with God’s mandate for civil government, does the specific measure actually promote those goals?” (7) “Is the proposed policy the most cost-effective way to achieve the godly objective?” (8) “Does the Bible give primary responsibility for the issue to a different ‘government’ [e.g., family, church, individual, etc.]?” Observing the process by which he analyzes problems and reaches conclusions is instructive, regardless whether we agree with his conclusions.
Bandow applies his method to two groups of issues: first, “eight issues where Scripture is not silent” (abortion, birth technologies, criminal justice, divorce, drugs, education, pornography, welfare), and second, 14 “matters where Scripture provides us with little guidance” and which must therefore be approached on prudential rather than principal grounds (agriculture. Central America, comparable worth, military draft, economic regulation, environment, foreign aid, income redistribution, Israel, military alliances, minimum wage, nuclear weapons, protectionism, taxes).
Especially helpful in this discussion is Bandow’s clear distinction of principle from prudence. Two serious weaknesses are his lack of sufficient elucidation of the primary principles underlying his analysis (“justice,” for instance, goes undefined) and his lack of sufficient examination of specific biblical passages; he misuses some passages and ignores others pertinent to the issues.
The greatest weakness in Beyond Good Intentions is Bandow’s failure to formulate what he calls for—”an overarching political philosophy” soundly rooted in biblical exegesis. Without that, evangelicals’ policy views are bound to float freely begetting the splintered grab bag of special interests that cannot cooperate toward wideranging goals or a common vision of the good society. “Men and nations,” wrote Russell Kirk, ” . . . are governed by moral laws; and political problems, at bottom, are moral and religious problems.” Bandow ably demonstrates this truth, explores some problems inherent in it, and points the way for Christians to grapple with them. That makes Beyond Good Intentions rewarding reading.
[Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics, by Doug Bandow (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books) 271 pp., $19.95]
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