Christian Democracy.

Have you noticed how a few words just never seem to crop up in the Bible at all. Words like:

• Democracy


• Vote


• Equal/Equality (as it applied to humans one with another)


• Consensus


• Parliament


• Election (as it applies to the selection of representatives

Quite simply, the idea of democratically elected parliament and government was unknown to the Bible's authors and was entirely missing from their concept of what a government should be.



The governments in the Bible are exclusively authoritarian, consisting only of kings and self-appointed priests and 'judges' and, in Roman times, Emperors and Governors. The whole system of government is rigidly autocratic, authoritarian and accountable to no one but themselves. Those who controlled the power controlled the people and woe betide anyone who challenged that authority to the slightest degree.



Even today, churches are usually authoritarian, autocratic and, where there IS some form of council, it is self-appointing. Never do they elect representatives from amongst the congregation, never do the officials have an electoral mandate and never are they accountable to the membership for their decisions.



To be fair, this tendency is not just restricted to Christianity and its various sects. Exactly the same can be said of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Shintoist communities. Power is self-appointing and accountable to no one.



Not surprisingly the cultures heavily influenced by these autocratic principles gave rise to governments based on them. The history of the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, India, China and Japan has been one of despotic autocracies with change of ruler often involving assassination or military conquest resulting in one despot replacing another and life for ordinary people continuing much as before with no say in anything to do with the political, social or economic life of their country.

David Cameron. Liar For Jesus

Is it any wonder then that religions have usually been promoted by the ruling elite and latterly by the political right, with their ideas of human inequality, elitism and authoritarianism? What better form of government for the conservative right than an autocratic government based on 'Christian values' like autocracy, theocracy, a stratified, hierarchical, elitist society, freedom from accountability and power untrammelled by the need to consult the people and ask for their permission to govern.



Government of the people, by the people and for the people is nowhere to be found in any religious book. Not in the Bible, the Torah, the Qur'an, the Vedas or anywhere. Democracy and political freedom are anathema to religion.



Democracy is not a Christian concept and has never been a part of Christian teaching. A government based on the Christian principles to be found in the Bible would be a 1930s-style Fascist dictatorship. No wonder it is enthusiastically advocated by the political right.

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