Is democracy the hope for the world?
Some of the leaders and pundits of our nation certainly think so. They believe that if a democracy could just be established in Iraq, then this would create an oasis of freedom that would spread across the Arabic world, ending terrorism.
Now, of course, talk of a democratic Iraq is quiet, and the political goal is merely a stable Iraq.
I am not here to comment on the war today. However, I do want to point out the blind faith that some have in democracy. In fact, some think that this is God's ordained form of government. Such thinking, however, has little biblical basis. The church was given birth in the Roman Empire. Israel had a king. And before this, the government that God had ordained was a theocracy.
In his book Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World, p. 90, Bob Roberts says this: "Fareed Zakaria was prophetic in his book The Future of Freedom, saying it was unwise for the West to promote Western democracy. He pointed out that it takes time and some of it has even become cultural. He predicted groups would be elected, and what could we then say? Thus, for example, Hamas was democratically elected because the people lost confidence in the Fatah government and used Western means to institutionalize their views! The church, through relating to people, has the opportunity of helping situations improve or--if we're not wise and careful-getting caught in the crossfire."
I do enjoy living in a democracy. But democracy is not the hope for the world, and we should not mistake it with the church's mission. Only Christ is the hope for the world and the solution to terrorism.
Some of the leaders and pundits of our nation certainly think so. They believe that if a democracy could just be established in Iraq, then this would create an oasis of freedom that would spread across the Arabic world, ending terrorism.
Now, of course, talk of a democratic Iraq is quiet, and the political goal is merely a stable Iraq.
I am not here to comment on the war today. However, I do want to point out the blind faith that some have in democracy. In fact, some think that this is God's ordained form of government. Such thinking, however, has little biblical basis. The church was given birth in the Roman Empire. Israel had a king. And before this, the government that God had ordained was a theocracy.
In his book Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World, p. 90, Bob Roberts says this: "Fareed Zakaria was prophetic in his book The Future of Freedom, saying it was unwise for the West to promote Western democracy. He pointed out that it takes time and some of it has even become cultural. He predicted groups would be elected, and what could we then say? Thus, for example, Hamas was democratically elected because the people lost confidence in the Fatah government and used Western means to institutionalize their views! The church, through relating to people, has the opportunity of helping situations improve or--if we're not wise and careful-getting caught in the crossfire."
I do enjoy living in a democracy. But democracy is not the hope for the world, and we should not mistake it with the church's mission. Only Christ is the hope for the world and the solution to terrorism.
Here is a link to Robert's book on Glocalization:
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