Can Human Government Meet the Challenge?
IT WAS once taught “that the Church on earth was the Kingdom of God.”a This teaching came about because the Roman Catholic Church was then a dominant world force. Toward the latter part of the Middle Ages the popes rivaled kings in political authority. They commanded powerful armies. In his History of the Christian Church, John F. Hurst explains: “The popes emulated the role of kings, and strained every nerve to become arbiters in matters secular.”
The leaders of the Church claimed that they ruled by authority received from God. Later, the kings of various nations also claimed divine right to rule. The New Catholic Encyclopedia notes: “The idea of divine right put the kings of national states in a position to justify their authority as being equally divine with that of the pope.”
But did popes and other rulers who claimed to rule by divine right meet the challenge of providing good government? Did their subjects enjoy life, liberty and happiness?
No, they did not! Rather, these rulerships were marked by terrible injustices and oppression. The people were mobilized to fight senseless wars and to engage in blood-spilling crusades that ruined the life and happiness of millions. Also, fiendish inquisitions were carried on, with thousands of victims being tortured to death in the most hideous ways. Indeed, what a dishonor to God to identify his kingdom with the rule of the church, or with the reign of kings who claimed divine right!
HUMAN EFFORTS CONTINUE
In more recent times, religious views were adjusted. “The idea of some modern theological writers,” explains The Dictionary of the Apostolic Church published in 1916, is “that this world as we know it will develop under Christian influence until it becomes the Kingdom.” But has it?
During the lifetime of millions still living, so-called Christian nations have been responsible for the greatest bloodbaths in human history. Church historian Roland H. Bainton observed: “The churches in the United States particularly took a crusading attitude toward the First World War.”
According to American churchmen, Bainton explained, “this was a holy war. . . . The Germans were Huns. To kill them was to purge the earth of monsters.” Similarly, the bishop of London, A. F. Winnington-Ingram, urged the English people: “Kill Germans—do kill them . . . As I have said a thousand times, I look upon it as a war for purity.”
Yet the Germans were professed Christians too! Thus, at the same time, the Catholic archbishop of Cologne, Germany, was telling German soldiers: “God is with us in this fight for righteousness where we have been drawn in against our wish. We command you in the name of God, to fight to the last drop of your blood for the honor and glory of the country.”
A little more than 20 years later, in 1939, the nations became engulfed in a second world war. Again most of the nations that were involved professed Christianity. Clearly, the world as we know it did not develop under Christian influence toward becoming God’s kingdom.
Yet, what about the 35 years since the end of World War II in 1945? Does it appear that at last human governments are fulfilling mankind’s needs?
ARE PRESENT EFFORTS SUCCEEDING?
Rather than realizing their hopes for relief, people today see a continued prevalence of worldwide problems. In fact, human failures have taken on a new proportion of seriousness, actually threatening civilization itself. Consider man’s efforts to eliminate war. Have these succeeded?
Far from it! Since 1945 more than 25 million persons have been killed in some 150 wars fought around the globe. On any given day, there have been, on the average, 12 wars going on somewhere in the world. Human governments spend well over $1,000,000,000 (U.S.) a day on military preparedness, using funds that could otherwise be put to beneficial uses for construction, land beautification, education, research, and so forth. What a failure to meet the needs of people!
Reason would dictate that governments get together and agree to disarm. But do they? They are unable to come to agreement. So they continue their arms race to maintain ‘a balance of terror.’ Last summer the United States secretary of state, Cyrus Vance, gave some idea of the destructive power that his country has available, saying:
“Some of today’s missiles carry—in a single weapon—five times as much explosive force as was dropped from all of our bombers, in all theaters, in all of the Second World War. Most of our weapons are smaller than that, of course. But altogether we have over 9,000 nuclear warheads and bombs distributed among our missiles and long-range bombers. The Soviet Union has about 5,000 aimed at us—and the capacity to increase that number dramatically. Just one or two of those weapons could obliterate a city the size of Milwaukee.”
What potential for totally ruining the earth and every living thing upon it! Does such capacity for nuclear devastation make you feel safe and secure? Does it contribute to ‘life, liberty and happiness’ for you and your loved ones? Probably not.
But you may be more concerned about the inability of human governments to control crime. As Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, M.D., of the United States observed: “We cannot go out after dark in our home town for fear of being robbed or killed and feel unsafe even at home.” Sadly, crime has made millions of persons prisoners in their own homes! And governments have proved helpless to correct the situation.
Moreover, millions of people are starving throughout the world. Yet granaries in some places are bulging with food. But even in lands with food surpluses, prices are skyrocketing so fast that many are unable to buy enough food to keep healthy. The failure of human governments to solve this problem is indeed heartsickening.
Then there is the energy problem. A tremendous supply of renewable, nonpolluting energy is available from the sun, wind, rivers, lakes and oceans. But what have human governments done? With lamentable lack of foresight, they have exploited earth’s nonrenewable oil and gas reserves, and in so doing they have also, to some extent, poisoned the air we breathe.
An examination of human efforts at governing earth’s affairs leads to what conclusion?
WHAT HUMANS CANNOT DO
It is this: Humans have been unable to set up a successful government that satisfies the needs of the people. “Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed,” former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger observed. “History is a tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren’t realized . . . So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.”
Really, when you think about it, is there any reason to expect that today’s statesmen will be able to solve world problems that are much more complex than those that past leaders were unable to solve? James M. Fallows, who served as President Carter’s chief speech writer for two and a half years, recently noted: “I’m struck by the virtual impossibility of changing much in government. . . . Now I’m inclined to doubt that this Government can be changed, by Carter or any other President.”
Yet, should man’s repeated failures at self-government surprise us? Not if we are students of the Bible. An examination of human efforts at self-rule simply underscores the truthfulness of the divine pronouncement: “The course of man is not in his control, nor is it in man’s power as he goes his way to guide his steps.”—Jer. 10:23, The Jerusalem Bible.
Nevertheless, ever since the rebellion of the first human pair against His authority, Almighty God has permitted humans to experiment with self-government. Why? To provide an object lesson to men and angels. And what should have been learned from this lesson? It is just what we have noted: That humans are incapable of governing themselves successfully. Thus we should also have learned this: That, although governments of mankind have functioned by God’s permission, humans need God’s kingdom in order to enjoy the kind of world in which we would all like to live.
HOW GOD’S KINGDOM WILL COME
However, someone may protest: “Do not humans have to try to meet the challenge to government? Does not God expect it? How else will the world be made a better place if we do not work at bringing good government?”
In view of the churches’ teaching that God will use men to establish his kingdom, such a protest is understandable. But the Bible does not teach that the Kingdom will come by human efforts. Jesus Christ refused to accept a draft to be a human king. He said: “My kingdom is no part of this world.” (John 6:15; 18:36) The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible correctly says:
“The kingdom of God never means an action undertaken by men or a realm which they set up. However noble may be the idea of laboring to establish the kingdom of God, the Biblical terminology is completely inconsistent with the language of modern liberal theology. The kingdom is a divine act, not a human accomplishment nor even the accomplishment of dedicated Christians.”
So, then, how will God’s kingdom come in answer to the prayers of Christians? Note carefully the Bible’s answer. After describing human governments and their futility, it says: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. . . . It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Dan. 2:44.
Does this seem harsh or unjust of God—to destroy human governments and make way for his own? It may seem that way to men who want to perpetuate the present unsatisfactory forms of government. But to those multitudes who look forward to God’s perfect government, and who will survive, it will be a cause for joyfulness. Referring to the rule of that “new heavens” as it showers blessings on human society on earth, Jehovah says: “Exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating.”—Isa. 65:17-19.
Surely, then, in view of the failure of humans to provide government that satisfies the needs of people, can we not all agree that it is timely and proper for God to establish his own? We should want to learn all we can about God’s kingdom, and how we can support it, to our everlasting benefit. To this end we invite you to consider the following articles.
[Footnotes]
a The Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, as edited by James Hastings, Vol. 1, p. 678, 1916.