Debates, discussion, pronouncements and wishful thinking about the role of government, or its proper role, is an extremely interesting subject for me. Jon Locke has been one of the most influential philosophers on me.

However, I remain torn between what I want to believe and what I conceive the reality to be. While I believe that due to human behavior, government is a necessary check to our seemingly unconquerable selfishness, government is unquestionably always seemingly determined by humans

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I say seemingly determined in light of what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to Roman Christians in Romans 13. He reasons that in reality human government is under the command of God. Therefore, Christians are to be obedient to whatever government we happen to live under — even when that government acts unjustly.

However, if that is true, is it not also true that if a group of men overthrows their government and establishes a new one, as Americans did in Philadelphia, their new government is also instituted by God and therefore must be submitted to by all Christians?

And do the principles argued in Romans 13 also apply to ecclesiastic government? Who the should Christians submit to, the Roman Catholic Church or to one on myriad protestant churches? Or to none of the above?

And, what of non-Christians? If one does not feel obligated to follow the prescriptions of the Bible, what, other than more powerful men, does one submit to? After all, natural law is just written down by other men, just as is every form of government is. By men more powerful than the rest of us.

Every government to date has formed, grown, and has collapsed under its own weight eventually. What possible ‘new’ government can one imagine that won’t also collapse internally or by an external force?