Is Democray for all people? Is it God's preferred.......

[trc123]

Is Democracy ordained of God and his preferred form of government? Or doesn't He care about what government is in place?

Do all nations really "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government?

[HappyChristian]

Good question, trc. I don't necessarily think that all nations hunger for freedom. I think that there may be people in every nation that do. That would be one of the reasons for revolts.

If a people are raised to be in complete subjection to government, whether it be monarchy, oligarchy or military, etc., that is the life they know, and most would not be able to handle freedom (think the Soviet Union post Glastnost).

As far as democracy being God-ordained - I don't necessarily think it is, for every nation.

[Colin Stolzer]

Biblically speaking God's instituted form of gov't is a Monarchy.

C

[Guest Guest]

Is Democracy ordained of God and his preferred form of government?

Yes to the former based on Romans 13:1, but no to the later. Gods preferred form of government is a true theocracy with Jesus Christ over all. One day, that is what we will get. :Green

Do all nations really "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government?

Not in my opinion.

[JerryNumbers]

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

2 Tim 2:3-4 (KJV)

Why become entangled in a worldly system that shall be destroyed? Besides if we do, it rightly will take us always from the work that we are to be doing of which we have been saved to do, Eph 2:10 "For we are his workmanship...", all of our resources and energy ought to be uses to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus wants us to be single minded and He does want out whole heart. If we are entangled in a worldly system that is impossible.

10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

2 Tim 4:10 (KJV)

Paul tells us that Demas loved this present world, so of course he could not put his full attention on the world of God. Remember, we are not of this world, neither does the world hear us, it hates everything we stand for, that is if we stand strongly for our Savior.

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

2 Peter 2:20 (KJV)

Yes, Demas was entangled with this world, Paul saw the dangers that comes from that and warned us of it.

The one thing I really wonder is how many of us truly take advantages of the freedoms we have to go about our Fathers work? Peter and the other did not have that freedom, they were persecuted for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and even told to stop it, but they chose to mind God, not man. Think what they would have accomplished if they had our freedoms.

It doesn't appear Peter nor Paul wasted time thinking about a free society nor working towards that goal, seems their efforts were put towards that which is to come after this life and winning souls to Christ.

[trc123]

[quote="Jerry"]The one thing I really wonder is how many of us truly take advantages of the freedoms we have to go about our Fathers work?[/quote]

Jerry, good question, how do you spend your freedoms in laboring for the Father and souls?

[bzmomo7]

Yes to the former based on Romans 13:1, but no to the later. Gods preferred form of government is a true theocracy with Jesus Christ over all. One day, that is what we will get. :Green



Not in my opinion.

:goodpost:

[John81]

Is Democracy ordained of God and his preferred form of government? Or doesn't He care about what government is in place?

Do all nations really "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government?

Others have pointed out that God's preferred form of Government is with Him as the head and us following. When the Israelites demanded an earthly king, God granted them one.

Democracy isn't a perfect form of government, in fact America's Founders rejected democracy calling it the worst form of government. They specifically set up a federated Republic which restricted the privlidge of voting, limited powers to the central (federal) government, left the bulk of power in the hands of the States and people, further separated governmental powers by putting forth three distinct branches that were to help keep check on one another, etc.

Many people don't "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government. Likely as not, most folks right here in America would be ready to riot if told true freedom were to be restored in America (they would lose their precious handouts and have to take responsibility for their own selves and their families).

[no name joe]

A pure democracy is an oppressive form of governemnt, and very dangerous. The masses of people that are ignorant and cannot make informed decisions given unfettered majority rule power is a scary thing.

A democratic republic, as we have in the US is a very good form of government. It is by far perfect, but it is one of the best systems set up in history. The founding fathers took what worked great in Greece, Rome, England, and other cultures, and did away with many of the things that made it easy to abuse power, and set up a great system.

Does it work everywhere for everyone? Why no. People who have been under dictatorial rule for centuries, and then "liberated" and given a democracy is dangerous and will fail. it will lead to civil war and another harsh ruler. A democratic type government such as ours, can only be successfully done through the people who live there. It cannot be imposed on anyone from the outside.

As far as God's preference, gosh, I don't know. People have used God to justify their political actions since history began, and it has resulted in many bad things (think the Crusades). It certainly is the best system to provide safeguards against the nature of man given unfettered power.

[Marcus2Israel]

Others have pointed out that God's preferred form of Government is with Him as the head and us following. When the Israelites demanded an earthly king, God granted them one.

Democracy isn't a perfect form of government, in fact America's Founders rejected democracy calling it the worst form of government. They specifically set up a federated Republic which restricted the privlidge of voting, limited powers to the central (federal) government, left the bulk of power in the hands of the States and people, further separated governmental powers by putting forth three distinct branches that were to help keep check on one another, etc.

Many people don't "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government. Likely as not, most folks right here in America would be ready to riot if told true freedom were to be restored in America (they would lose their precious handouts and have to take responsibility for their own selves and their families).

:amen:

[trc123]

Others have pointed out that God's preferred form of Government is with Him as the head and us following. When the Israelites demanded an earthly king, God granted them one.

Democracy isn't a perfect form of government, in fact America's Founders rejected democracy calling it the worst form of government. They specifically set up a federated Republic which restricted the privlidge of voting, limited powers to the central (federal) government, left the bulk of power in the hands of the States and people, further separated governmental powers by putting forth three distinct branches that were to help keep check on one another, etc.

Many people don't "hunger" for freedom or a democratic form of government. Likely as not, most folks right here in America would be ready to riot if told true freedom were to be restored in America (they would lose their precious handouts and have to take responsibility for their own selves and their families).

Agreed! :thumb

[IM4given]

I do not believe that God prefers one form of Government over another. Government is a human institution, not a divine insitution. Had it not been for the Fall of humans from the Garden of Eden, we would probably have lived quite nicely without ANY form of government, other than what God set forth for us.

The United States was founded by people who were seeking freedom from religious persecution - they did not come here to look for gold or the spread of paganism in the same manner as the Spanish Conquistadores who conquered the West Indies and Sounth and Middle America. The settlements and colonies were based on religious democracy - just like we have in Baptist Churches today - as an experiment. There had not been such a form of government before that - it developed simply as the way the small congregations chose to govern themselves. As long as they conducted themselves in a Christ Following manner, I believe God blessed this country and allowed it to grow. (Although there is a VERY DARK side to history - it still is not nearly as horrifying as what happened to other parts of this continent that was conquered by other European countries.) That this country became an Independent nation at all is nothing short of a miracle.

Once upon a time, we used our form of government to bring glory and honor to God ...

1 Peter 4
8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
9 Use hospitality one to another

[Annie]

I do not believe that God prefers one form of Government over another.

I agree, IM4given. I differ with you here, though:

Government is a human institution, not a divine insitution.

I think that government is divinely instituted. Rom. 13 makes it clear that when we obey our governmental authorities, we are obeying God Himself. He even appoints the leaders who rule. Even in a democracy, it's really God who sets up the leaders. So, I would say that it is a divine institution.

Also, I don't think the United States of America is a democracy, strictly speaking. It is a democratic republic. ("...and to the republic, for which it stands...") In a true democracy, every person would vote on every legislative matter, not send representatives to vote for them. America's government draws from the traditions of ancient Greece (democracy) and Rome (republic), which other Western nations have adopted to different extents as well. Britian, our "mother country," has the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, executive), even though there's a figurehead monarchy as well. If members of Parliament are elected by the people, then there are republican and democratic ideas involved there as well. (I don't know much about British gov't, obviously.) I'm pretty sure the American colonists patterned themselves to a certian extent (perhaps without realizing it) after British government. One difference was that they were adamantly set against a monarchy, although some did view George Washington as a sort of king for a while, as they were getting everything sorted out. However, the Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215, which was the defining document for the way things operated in England, was the foundation for the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the U.S. It really is interesting so many ideas and events in history are interrelated. No nation exists in a vacuum. They get their ideas from preceding philosophies. There's really nothing completely new under the sun...just different mixtures of old ideas.

[JerryNumbers]

Amazing how much importance so many of God's children put on the government of this world, politics. When Jesus came many thought He came to set up a worldly government, boy was they wrong, when actually He made no efforts towards that end. His only efforts were towards the kingdom that was to come and that was what He instructed His followers in. Is that not what we are saved to do? We're His workmanship, His workmen, we're to follow His footsteps, to carry on the work He started and has ordained us to do.

I know, it goes against everything the world teaches us, just as the teachings Jesus taught His 12 went against the worlds teachings in those days. After Jesus' death Peter struggled with this. But after Jesus came after Him and the other 6 who left with him, Peter got on the right track, them it seemed he never looked back. According to many He died for preaching the Gospel to a lost and dying world, refusing to be crucified as Christ, felt unworthy to die as Jesus had, choosing to be crucified upside down.