General

It’s been amazing to watch the budget debate on Capitol Hill over the past weeks. Republicans want to trim 61 billion dollars this year from the annual 1.5 trillion dollar US debt. The Democrats have been stopping them in the Senate, forcing an endless cycle of CR’s (Continuing Resolutions) that has lopped off six billion dollars here and there.

Unfortunately, the whole things is a farce. Sixty-billion dollars is not peanuts, but it is compared to 1.5 trillion. It doesn’t make a dent. Six billion in savings is simply the interest on the debt for a week.

So we’re playing games with America’s future–and the entire nation could crash if the games aren’t halted.

There’s only one answer for our tepid politicians: A Balanced Budget Amendment.

To see this need in the clearest terms, click here and watch a short video. It will put things in perspective for you.

There are some politicians that get it and have some guts. Newly elected Senator Mike Lee of Utah is one of them. Here’s a report from the Heritage Foundation on his efforts:

“Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) says he’s hopeful the ratification of a balanced budget amendment is realistic in today’s political climate — and touted the features of his proposal for such an amendment as well-suited to curb Congress’ spending addiction.”

“’It’s going to be an uphill battle,” Lee said on a Thursday conference call. “But public sentiment among voters makes this right for our time.’”

“The senator will need every ounce of that public support. The threshold to pass a constitutional amendment is high. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress must pass it, then three-quarters of states must ratify the amendment to make it law.”

“Lee has been working for weeks to generate support for his amendment among fellow Republicans. In the very near future, he’ll also reach across the aisle.”

“’At this point, I’m working almost entirely within the Republican caucus to garner support for this,” Lee said. “There will of course come a time when we will work aggressively to get bipartisan support. … That time will soon be coming.’”

“The debt ceiling debate might be that time. Senate Tea Party Caucus members — including Lee — have already said they’ll harness that debate to earn Democratic support for a balanced budget amendment, according to a Jan. 31 article on TheHill.com.”

“’The only scenario in which I can imagine not using the filibuster [during the debt ceiling debate] is if the leadership of both parties agree that as a condition of that they would first pass out a balanced budget amendment,’” Lee said in the article.

“As Lee sees it, a balanced budget amendment is the only way to lock the vault.”

“’I’ve come to believe it’s going to be difficult or impossible to get back to constitutional spending until we stop giving Congress unlimited money from which to draw,’ he said.”

“Lee’s amendment would require that Congress develop a budget each year in which outlays do not exceed revenues — and it would also restrict spending to 18 percent of gross domestic product. Congress could not circumvent the limitations of the amendment without the support of a two-thirds supermajority in both houses.”

We desperately need a balanced budget amendment to rescue us from ourselves. One blogger stated it very clearly.

It comes down to the biggest financial choice of our lifetime.

The “Lotus Revolution” in Egypt is both wonderful in its demand for increasing freedom for that ancient civilization and frightening in terms of how it will turn out. Who will rise to power?  What kind of new government should be established? How will the new government affect the stability of the Middle East and of the entire world?

Because Egypt is now faced with a choice of new leadership, I thought it would be valuable to use this occasion for a primer on government.

As my friend Bill Burtness wisely points out below, there are really only three forms of civil government in our fallen world: 1) Anarchy – usually a transitional form of government, but in operation in places like Yemen and parts of Pakistan. 2) Tyranny – Egypt formerly had a secular-leaning dictatorship under Hosni Mubarak. It could get a religious one (radical Muslim) under groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. 3) Democratic Republic – this could be established, a la the American model, if the Coptic Church leads a spiritual/character awakening in the nation.

I hope you can guess which one would be a blessing to the people of Egypt and globally.

Bill Burtness teaches the biblical principles of civil government in the United States, the nation of Kosovo, and other countries of the world. He’s one of the smartest men I know on civil polity.

After you read his excellent digest (which I’ve slightly modified), you might consider buying his e-book and boning up on this vital subject.

Big changes are coming to our world. Let’s pray that the peoples yearning for freedom will choose their governments wisely. RB

GOVERNMENT  101

The Proper Functions and Boundaries of Civil Government

By Bill Burtness

Are there proper functions and boundaries for civil government?  Can’t civil government just do whatever it wants?  As we watch events unfolding around the world this week, we see stark examples of basic life principles concerning government that are clearly illustrated in the Bible.  We can understand these events more clearly by analyzing them according to a philosophy of government.

VIEWS OF SOVEREIGNTY

To begin, we must point out that when talking about government, many of us immediately think about politicians and the special buildings in our nation’s capital.  That, however, represents only one sphere of government – civil government.  There are other spheres also – family government, church government, business government, self-government and others. 

Everyone has a philosophy of government that guides their thinking and choosing.  Our philosophy of government begins with our understanding of sovereignty. This is our view of who or what has top authority.
 
We can simplify our analysis by categorizing all philosophies and ideologies as resting upon one or the other of two ultimate presuppositions. Either 1) the personal, infinite God of the Bible exists, or 2) the personal, infinite God of the Bible does not exist. Both of these presuppositions cannot be true.  They each define worldviews by which people live.
 
If God exists, we can see that He is the highest authority – He has ultimate sovereignty.  If we believe that God does not exist, then there are two other possible answers to our question, “Who or what has ultimate authority?” Either the state has ultimate authority or the individual, in and of himself, has ultimate authority. These three are the foundational possibilities.  Let’s quickly summarize each one.

The Sovereignty Grid – “Who is in Control?”

POSSIBILITY ONE – GOD IS SOVEREIGN

The Biblical View

God is sovereign
Liberty with law
Government by consent of the governed
Limited civil government
Individual character – the basis of a self-governing (democratic) republic under God 

POSSIBILITY TWO – THE STATE IS SOVEREIGN

The Socialist view

The state is sovereign
Tyranny (no freedom)
Total civil control

Unlimited civil government
Individual character subservient to the state

POSSIBILITY THREE – THE INDIVIDUAL IS SOVEREIGN

The Humanist view

Individual is sovereign
Anarchy (no law)
No civil control

No civil structure
Individual character is autonomous or rebellious 

These are the three presuppositional philosophies of government – God is sovereign; the state is sovereign, the individual is sovereign. Let’s analyze them a little deeper.

GOD IS SOVEREIGN
 
The alternative to the world’s system of tyranny vs. anarchy is the recognition that God is sovereign – God is ultimately the top authority. This assumes that God exists and is active in the world today. God’s sovereignty means He has supreme authority over men and nations. This was the American founding father generation’s view.

In this view, the Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. He created us with the ability to govern our lives individually in our relationships with Him and with each other (Matt. 22:36-40).  He told us how to do that by giving us in the Bible laws to which both men and the state should conform.  This means that government is not derived from the opinions and passions of people, but is to rest on the wisdom of the Creator. His statutes take into account everything we do not know or understand and are motivated by His desire to secure love and the highest good. He says that these laws are not too difficult for us.  The misery we see in the world is the simple result of individuals’ selfish choices and rebellion against God’s government of wisdom and love.

The Bible shows that civil government was given by God to man and has a proper purpose, which is to serve the individual by providing protection from force and fraud, not to control the individual.  It is to secure the individual’s safety by protecting good and punishing evil (Romans 13:3-4). The state has a proper function to secure the ‘natural rights’ of the individual to life, liberty and property.  Tyranny exists to the degree the state oversteps these proper boundaries.

To the degree that God’s sovereignty is recognized and honored by the people in any society or nation, there is freedom without chaos as the people individually control themselves under God according to His Law and ways.  There is order without tyranny, because the Law is written on the hearts of the people.  The result is peace and prosperity as the context of life.  The individual is free to advance himself and his family as he sees fit.

THE STATE IS SOVEREIGN

If one does not believe that God exists, or does not know Him personally, then the biblical view really does not exist in his mind or experience.  “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” Jesus told us.  In this case, we look around and ask, “Where does top authority lie?”  Many then suppose that the state is sovereign – that supreme authority rests in the civil government.

The extreme of this view believes that whatever the state decrees is absolute, right and by definition must be obeyed.  The purpose of civil government is to control the individual’s life, not serve and protect the individual.  The value of the individual is defined by his contribution to the state.
 
In other words–the state is God. In the extreme, the state decides who should live and who should not, what the individual can and cannot do, what his career will be, how many children he may have, what property he may have, how much of his earnings he may keep, what he may do with his property, what he may think and tell others, where he may travel, and what he may teach his children.
Here, the state gives rights to life, liberty and property as it wills and can take these rights away as it wills, to strengthen its control.

Employing the educational, media and political elites, the state’s purpose in this view is to control the lives of the people. This is tyranny – total civil control. This control can either take a secular or relgious form.

THE INDIVIDUAL IS SOVEREIGN

There are individuals who rebel against this control, reasoning that, “The state is actually just people like me; what gives them the right to tell me what to do?”

If we believe that God does not exist and the state is not sovereign, then our only alternative is that the individual in and of himself must be sovereign. In this extreme each person is autonomous in his own life and chooses for himself what values will be his and what rules of conduct he will abide by.

This is anarchy – no civil control. Anarchy, however, is only a short transitional phase before tyranny. People need and want order and peace.  In times of anarchy they look for a strong ruler on whom they can depend.  This is what was happening in the Bible in Judges.  The last verse tells us, “In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”  They were free but God had faded in their hearts from being king.  Soon, (I Sam. 8) they were demanding of Samuel a human king “to [rule us] and fight our battles.”  Their dependent character would not be dissuaded so God ultimately gave them the king they desired.

IN SUMMARY

The alternative to the world’s struggle between anarchy and tyranny is the Biblical view that the civil government’s proper function is to serve and protect.  This liberty is sustained only by a populace of strong, self-governed character under God.  Every nation must choose between anarchy, tyranny, or bilblical freedom. Let’s pray that Egypt and America–and many other countries will experience spiritual awaking and corporate character enough to retain the new wine of civil liberty.

* Excerpts from Chapter 3 of the new resource, Philosophy of Freedom: Principles of American Self-government, by Bill Burtness– a layman’s analysis in simple terms of the Biblical ideas that formed the basis of the American founding documents and philosophy of government.  It is a .pdf e-book on pre-publication Internet Sale – $10.00:

Things are unraveling in Egypt. There are protests and riots across the country. 100 plus people are dead, 2,000 are injured, the Cabinet has resigned and the airport is packed with people trying to get out. The army has been restrained so far, and ultimately may be the deciding factor in the outcome.

Today, hundreds of thousands of people are in the streets demanding a change in government.

So how should we view this brewing tempest? What is our best lens for understanding what is happening in Egypt and the Middle East?

There are many perspectives you can take on world events. You can see them through humanitarian or compassionate eyes–the suffering people, the problems, the injustices. You can also look at them through political eyes–which parties are involved and who might be noteworthy of praise or blame. Or you can analyze current events through an historical lens. 

I believe the most important way to look at history unfolding is through the eyes of prayer–which elevates us to a higher viewpoint. As we pray for world events, and seek his face about what is happening and what we can do, God can give us insights into what is really taking place on the ground.

Intercessors often have the best vantage point.

They’re closest to the One who knows.

One of our YWAM leaders, Mark Anderson is in the Middle East (Malta) this week leading a regional missions conference named the Call2All. Here is his call to prayer as the drama unfolded:

“Today is also the beginning of our Middle East Congress here in Malta. Many of our attendees are stranded in Egypt and can’t get out, while others are stuck here in Malta and unable to get back to their families. Thieves and looters are using these protests as an opportunity to act out in violence and to destroy businesses. Military troops are out patrolling the streets in an attempt to keep the peace.”
 
“We must all pray. Many of you have ministries that you can call on to intercede at this very important time. What happens in Egypt will dramatically affect the whole Middle East. Please pray for everyone involved in our congress to have God’s wisdom and for their families to be secure. Let’s ask God to supernaturally intervene in such a way that large numbers of Egyptians will put their trust in Him. May Jesus be revealed in the midst of this situation!”

Before we explore the “prayer view” of the Egyptian conflict, it might be helpful to look through the other lenses that can enlighten us. First, the political angle that has a number of key players.

Hosni Mubarak

As far as tyrants go, Mubarak is not the worst of the worst–but a dictator is a dictator.

Egypt has been governed for centuries by numerous strong-armed leaders. In ancient days they were called Pharoahs. Today they’re called “presidents for life”–and there really isn’t much difference except the absence of slavery.

Hosni Mubarak, dubbed ‘the Pharaoh’ for his 30-year iron rule, is said to have amassed a fortune of forty billion dollars for his family at the expense of the Egyptian people. He is eighty-two years old, and his half-Welsh wife Suzanne and sons Gamal and Alaa are seen in Egypt as symbols of nepotism and corruption with properties and business interests worldwide, including London. Mubarak is a secular Muslim who’s ruled the nation for three decades.

Critics say the closest their sons have got to ordinary Egyptians was when they were driven past them in limousines. Both sons have been linked to arms-dealing.

Mubarak has survived at least six assassination attempts and fears have also been growing that he plans to groom the more political Gamal to inherit the throne.

This is one reason why the people are rioting. They’re tired of corruption and strong-armed control. I believe there is a genuine desire for liberty and change.

The Muslim Brotherhood

While analysts ask who or what is behind the sustained protests in Egypt, one group is now seeking political legitimacy. Technically banned under Egypt’s constitution that forbids religious based parties, the Muslim Brotherhood is now throwing its support behind Mohammed el Baradei as an opposition leader.

But many fear that if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak goes, the real replacement will be either the Muslim Brotherhood itself, or an Islamic fundamentalist group. El Baradei insisted on Sunday talk shows that the fear was unwarranted.

“This is total bogus that the Muslim Brotherhood are religiously conservative,” El Baradei told ABC’s “This Week.” “They are no way extremists. They are no way using violence.”

But critics point out that the Brotherhood, which was established in Egypt in the 1920’s, is synonymous with political Islam which supports the use of Islamic law known as Sharia.

“Right now the Arab Republic of Egypt does not impose Islamic law in its fullness,” Rob Spencer, the head of Jihad Watch told FOX News. “The Muslim Brotherhood wants to change that.”

Among the brotherhood’s graduates: Al Qaeda’s number two leader, the Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri who was imprisoned for three years on weapons charges following President Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981, Hamas, the terror network behind suicide bombings and rocket attacks in Israel, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, whose goal is the destruction of Israel.

Walid Phares, who is a terrorism analyst for FOX News, has studied the Muslim Brotherhood. Phares says its history shows that the group is not secular and not moderate.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is the mothership for the jihadi ideologies and thinking. And therefore one can say today’s Al Qaeda, and today many other jihadists, are off shoots of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Muslim Brotherhood is the key religious/political entity that could exploit the crisis in Egypt.

But another political entity is also involved.

The Obama Administration

America has a major role to play in he stability of the Middle East. We are the ones who protect the survival of Israel, and much of that protection has been hinged to peace accords we brokered between Egypt and Israel.

Barack Obama and the current US administration on now on the hot seat to guard the peace. Redstate.com describes Obama’s role this way:

“Jimmy Carter will go down in American history as ‘the president who lost Iran,’ which during his term went from being a major strategic ally of the United States to being the revolutionary Islamic Republic. Barack Obama will be remembered as the president who “lost” Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and during whose tenure America’s alliances in the Middle East crumbled.”

“The superficial circumstances are similar. In both cases, a United States in financial crisis and after failed wars loses global influence under a leftist president whose good intentions are interpreted abroad as expressions of weakness. The results are reflected in the fall of regimes that were dependent on their relationship with Washington for survival, or in a change in their orientation, as with Ankara.”

“America’s general weakness clearly affects its friends. But unlike Carter, who preached human rights even when it hurt allies, Obama sat on the fence and exercised caution. He neither embraced despised leaders nor evangelized for political freedom, for fear of undermining stability.”

The Heritage also believes that current administration policies are contributing to the instability of the Middle East. Here is their perspective:

“The Obama Administration has been slow to embrace calls for liberty in Egypt is completely consistent with the Obama Doctrine as applied in the Middle East. When the Iranian people rose against the regime in Tehran in the wake of a disputed national election, Obama offered virtually no support for the cries for freedom. He was too committed to his engagement strategy with the Iranian regime, believing his “charm offensive” would be enough to deter them from pursuing nuclear weapons.”

“Those efforts have completely failed. Nevertheless, the ‘playing nice initiative’ with Tehran fell flat. Today, the regime is more aggressive than ever—backing a terrorist takeover of the government in Lebanon, snubbing Western nuclear negotiators, and promoting an Islamist agenda across the region.”

“As Elliott Abrams, who coordinated the Bush Administration’s Middle East policy at the National Security Council, wrote in The Washington Post: ‘This has been the greatest failure of policy and imagination in the administration’s approach: Looking at the world map, it sees states and their rulers, but has forgotten the millions of people suffering under and beginning to rebel against those rulers. “Engagement” has not been the problem, but rather the administration’s insistence on engaging with regimes rather than with the people trying to survive under them.’

Barack Obama, for good or for ill, may be the ultimate player in Egypt’s immediate future.

But now back to prayer–with a little historical perspective.

I have been reading through the entire Bible once each year for the past thirty-nine years. Interestingly, my daily readings this week found me in Exodus where the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, God raise up a reluctant Moses as a deliverer, the Egyptian gods were humiliated by the true God, and many people feared the Lord because of his loving redemption.

My reading made today’s news seem quite relevant. Egyptian strongman. People desire liberty (“Let my people Go!”) Chaos in the nation. A battle between evil forces and good. In the end, the people of God are set free. 

Circumstances are very different today–but I see some parallels. The battle for the Middle East is really a titanic struggle between the forces of Satan and God’s desires for salvation. There are actually a number of possible outcomes to this political, yet spiritual battle:

• The people’s revolt produces a moderate secular democracy that leads to freedom and greater opportunities in Egypt and other Muslim nations.
• The Muslim Brotherhood and its allies use the circumstances for a radical jihadist take-over that makes Egypt more resemble Iran.
• The “consent of the governed” leads to greater freedom in Egypt and the ascendancy and leadership of the Coptic Church which makes up a sizable minority in the nation (20%). Egypt becomes a secular/Christian democracy that is a light to other Muslim societies. They too can be set free.

God is doing an amazing work in many Muslim nations today. They appear ready to cast off their religious chains and yearn for a freedom that can only be found in Christ (or Christian principles of government).

History walks a fine tightrope. Egypt could lunge into tyranny, or Egypt could rise to greatness. Will it be increasing freedom–via the Spirit of Christ–or increased tyranny through anarchy or jihadists?

Our prayers may determine history on this one.

Pray for Egypt–that God would work his wonders, destroy the false gods, and “let his people go” into the new-found freedom of faith in the Savior of the entire world.