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{"id":9246,"date":"2022-07-05T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/?p=9246"},"modified":"2022-06-29T15:07:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T21:07:06","slug":"common-grace-3-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/schaeffersghost\/2022\/07\/common-grace-3-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Grace, 3.9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This post is part of a series walking through the third volume of Abraham Kuyper\u2019s Common Grace05<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The institution of government was not a big, flashy event, as the institution of special revelation was. That\u2019s not how common grace works. Instead government was instituted with the simple \u201cthe murderer shall be punished by death<\/em>.\u201d (68) No further structure or instruction was given; the development and discovery of government was left to \u201chistory under God\u2019s decree.\u201d (68) The broad description of Romans 13 under Roman government begins at that Genesis 9:6 starting point.<\/p>\n

Kuyper makes the interesting assumption that eventually Noah ruled over thousands of his own descendants. There were eventually murders, which Noah then had to punish. So his role as \u2018patriarch\u2019 was not about family, but about government. In time, Babel split government apart from the patriarchy and led to conflict, battle, and war\u2013all based on \u201cdifferences in human perception and human interest.\u201d (69) We also see that government takes on a military garment. Saul, for example, was chosen in part because of his size and, presumably, prowess.<\/p>\n

Another transition in government comes with the return of the government to the family in the creation of the dynasty\u2013though obviously strength and size travel in families too! As nations grew and genealogy progressed, military ceased being prime in the government\u2019s leadership, and so government became more and more political and judicial\u2013though that could lead to military coups and back-and-forth between competing factions. This is all tied to the growth in population and resultant lack of cohesion, as well as the rise of the bureaucracy. The rise of a professional government, in turn, led to the growth in the law and its codification. This meant that monarchial fiat no longer ruled the day. (69-72) Once this is the case, heads of state may be removed without destroying the state, and rule of law became the order of the day.<\/p>\n

More bureaucrats and laws meant more taxes, and at this point we have a fixed, continuous state\u2013\u201can enduring institution.\u201d (73) In the modern world, we don\u2019t just \u201caccept\u201d government, we are \u201caware\u201d of it\u2013and debate its policies and practices. This means further refining is always ongoing. As globalization progresses, comparison with other nations invites further complexity.<\/p>\n

Kuyper says that basically everyone agrees with the historical outline he\u2019s included. But two groups further agree with each other\u2013atheists and Christians who deny common grace. Both see government as the result of evolutionary forces in history without order or structure or providence. We, however, must see God\u2019s hand at work in the various levels of development of nations. [And again, Kuyper makes some unfortunate parallels here.] We must also remember that common grace is essential to the purpose of government.<\/p>\n

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the\u00a0City of Man Podcast<\/a> an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog), and an Associate Profess<\/em>or of Political Science at\u00a0Southwest Baptist University<\/a>\u00a0in Bolivar, MO<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"