Is Government Exempt from the Golden Rule?
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Yesterday’s episode–episode 81–was all about anarchy. Could anarchy work and what does the Bible say about it? This morning, one listener sent to me an article titled, Jesus Is An Anarchist. Hard to imagine, right? It’s an interesting article and I’ll link to it in the show notes, but I just want to read one part it.
Jesus commanded us that in all things we are to treat others as we would want others to treat us. Thus:
Matthew 7:12: [...] “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (See also Luke 6:31.)
By saying that this commandment is “the Law and the Prophets” Jesus is saying that by following this one commandment that one is thereby fulfilling the Law of Moses and the principles of the Prophets–in other words Jesus is saying that it is the be-all and end-all when it comes to the proper ethic of social relations. This ultimate social ethic which Jesus commanded everyone to follow is commonly known as the Golden Rule.
But if indeed Jesus actually meant what He said when He spoke these words–and He most certainly did–then this alone is more than enough to prove that Jesus is of necessity an anarchist, and not just any kind of anarchist, but a libertarian, free-market anarchist in particular.
The reason this would necessarily have to be the case is because it is impossible for any actual government to actually abide by the Golden Rule even in theory, let alone in practice. All governments must of necessity violate the Golden Rule, otherwise they would not be governments but would be something else instead.
Taxes would be a good example of this. In no case are we allowed to take money from another person without their consent regardless of what we use it for. However, government can take what they want whether we approve or not. Some might argue that government is democratically elected, therefore in a roundabout way they have our approval. No, all that possibly shows is they have the majority’s approval. Flip it back around again. Is there any case, apart from government, where a majority of people are allowed to steal from a minority? No.
So, there’s a question for you to ponder over the weekend. Is government exempt from the same social and moral rules imposed on the rest of us? What does the Bible say?
“Christmas War | 082 Coffee & Cigarettes” Transcript
Jesus Is an Anarchist | anti-state | December 19, 2001
http://www.anti-state.com/redford/redford4.html
About The Author
Jeremy Sarber
I'm the pastor of one of the most blessed churches in all the world. I'm married to the most wonderful woman to walk the face of the earth. I'm host of possibly the most unconventional podcast on the Internet. I am thankful because I deserve none of it. Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
