Unless you’ve been on a mission to Mars the last few years, you’ll be aware of the lively public debate over the relationship between religion and civil government, the proper roles of church and state, the place of the Bible in politics, and so on. Too many of the voices in the discussion offer little more than superficial, pugilistic sloganeering, driven more by cultural currents and dueling memes than by sober theological reflection. On the other hand, the best writings on the subject are often beyond the reach of the average layperson; they’re too old, too obscure, too academic, or just too long-winded. That’s why I’m excited about the publication of James Baird’s book King of Kings: A Reformed Guide to Christian Government, released today, which fills a real need at this time.
Here’s my endorsement:
This is an excellent primer on the proper relationship between government and religion from a Christian perspective. In ten bite-sized chapters, Baird makes a persuasive case that the civil magistrate has a basic duty to promote true religion, namely, Christianity. This is no doubt a provocative thesis in our present cultural moment, but the book makes its argument with an uncomplicated biblical logic and without the kind of strident polemics that so often accompany these debates. It is an argument that, in my view, needs to be revived and reinforced in our day, not least because (as Baird documents) it represents both the mainstream Protestant tradition and the majority position of the American founders. It is a tonic to help cure an epidemic of superficial thinking among Christians about the role of government.
A sample of the book is provided on the publisher’s website. James Baird kindly invited me to write a foreword for the book, which I was delighted to do. Since the foreword is already included in the book sample, I’ve taken the liberty of reproducing it below. Hopefully it will entice you (or provoke you!) to buy and read the full book.
As someone raised in Great Britain, it was impressed upon me from a young age that there are two subjects one should never, never bring up in polite dinner conversation: religion and politics. Certainly, one should not be so ungenteel as to introduce both at once into the discourse. But to bring up religion and politics and then suggest that they are intimately and unavoidably connected? A sure-fire recipe for dining alone.
That said, I suspect most Bible-believing Christians intuitively sense that religion and politics are not only hugely important subjects to think about and discuss, but also ones that cannot easily be kept in hermetically sealed containers, safely insulated from each another. After all, the Bible tells us that what we believe about God and our relationship to Him—the core of religion—is more important than anything else in life. Indeed, eternal life consists in knowing God through Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Moreover, the Bible has significant things to say about politics and closely related matters: the basis for moral law, the healthy ordering of human societies, general principles of justice, the proper role and authority of government, the duties and responsibilities of civil rulers, the relationship of human laws to God’s law, and suchlike. No one who reads the Bible attentively can fail to see that the Christian faith has important implications for the sphere of politics. God’s Word speaks to all of life, and whether we like it or not, politics is a large part of life.
Hence the need for a book such as the one before you, which gently but firmly presses us to think more deeply, consistently, historically, and biblically about what a Christian view of government ought to be. Allow me to sketch out an argument to prepare the ground for what follows. Begin with the observation that politics can never be value-free or value-neutral. Both political theory and political practice must rest upon some value system or set of norms; some conception of what is good for human beings, whether individually or collectively; some basic notion of justice; and some normative assumptions about the purpose of government and the proper ways for a government to fulfill its purpose. Any system of government, then, must be founded on a system of values. So, which values? Surely we want them to be the true values, the right values, the values that actually obtain. For the (consistent) Christian, those must presumably be Christian values: values that align with a biblical Christian worldview, which is to say, the true worldview, the worldview that represents the world as it really is.
Now, one central Christian value is that religion is good and necessary. Why so? Because our Creator made us to be religious, and we will flourish only when we live according to that “divine design plan.” From a Christian standpoint, an irreligious society is a dysfunctional society. Thus, if one of the basic duties of government is to promote human flourishing and a healthy society, that must entail promoting religion. The question then is: Which religion? Or at least, what kind of religion? There’s no such thing as religion in the abstract, religion without specific content. There are only religions. Furthermore, it ought to be obvious for the (consistent) Christian that the only religion that will truly promote human flourishing is the true religion—the religion that represents the truth about God and our relationship to Him, the religion that our Creator intends for us to practice. And every Christian knows what that true religion actually is.
So, to connect the dots: Christians ought to hold that one of the basic duties of government is to promote true religion, which is to say, Christianity. The only alternative is to hold that government should either (a) promote some false religion or (b) not promote religion at all, in any sense. Neither option is consistent with a Christian view of “the good.”
Needless to say, this line of reasoning immediately raises all manner of questions, many of which demand careful thought and (in some cases) vigorous debate. But all in due course. We must recognize that these are secondary questions that cannot be meaningfully addressed until the primary question—that of the proper relationship between government and religion—has been honestly faced and answered.
If the sketch above has whetted your appetite at all, then let me assure you that a feast awaits in this book. Across ten compact chapters, James Baird makes a winsome and tightly argued case for the thesis that “government must promote Christianity as the only true religion.” His argument is multi-faceted, resting primarily (as it should) on the teachings of Scripture, but also on the confessional Reformed tradition, the political heritage of the West, the founding history of the United States, and plain common sense. Along the way, he clarifies what the thesis does and does not entail, deftly defusing many of the misunderstandings and objections that may already have sprung to mind (e.g., that it is “un-American” and injurious to religious liberty).
I imagine Christian readers will be divided as to how the book’s thesis strikes them. Some will find it quite appealing. Others will find it quite appalling—or at least unwelcome. Whatever your immediate reaction, let me encourage you to bracket out your initial sentiments and resolve to ask the really important questions about the case Baird lays out for us. Does the argument have true premises? Does the conclusion follow logically from the premises? Is the argument consistent with what the Bible teaches about the purpose of government and the place of religion in human society? Is the position defended here a historical novelty or oddity—or does it have a respectable pedigree among Protestant Christians?
Evaluate the book’s argument on its own merits, let the chips fall where they may, and adjust your sentiments accordingly. King Jesus deserves nothing less.