Call To Die

Then [Jesus] said to them all, "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24, HCSB)

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Location: Louisville, Kentucky, United States

follower of Christ, husband of Abby, father of Christian, Georgia Grace, and Rory Faith, deacon at Kosmosdale Baptist Church, tutor with Scholé Christian Tradition and Scholé Academy

Wednesday, July 03, 2019

On the Government's Role in Establishing Justice for Its Citizens

A Facebook friend of mine, whom I respect and agree with on a wide variety of issues, recently posted the following comment about his position concerning the role of government:

"I'm one that puts the role of government solely in retributive justice." 

Here's my response, as I've thought through this issue. I believe that my views reflect principles concerning the differing roles government, church, and family: principles found both in Scripture and right reason. (If I thought my views did not reflect such principles, I would change them.) I hope that this may be helpful to others as well.

"I would say that the role of government includes both retribution [that is, punishing those who violate the rights of others] and regulation [placing boundaries on certain activities, when those activities lead to societal harm: for example, ordinances determining waste disposal to make sure the entire population's water source is not polluted]. "I do believe that there is a such thing as redistributive justice as well: for example, it would be unjust if a parent did not take from his own resources to provide for his child or if a church did not give charity to truly needy members (and even outsiders, if we are blessed with abundance). However, I would agree with you that the role of government is NOT meant to be involved with the redistribution of wealth (except, I would say, in the limited and local sense that if someone has wronged another citizen or broken a just regulation, then that person could have a judgment issued against them in order to right the wrong)."

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