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This network of ideas is ultimately concerned with principles of right and wrong, good and evil, God and man — and it directly guides the political theory of government, which, when applied, formulates political policy. Political policy, because it is directly based upon a certain political theory — which itself is directly based upon philosophical presuppositions that make up a particular worldview — is fundamentally religious in nature.

So then, all political policy is, at its root, religious.

Simply put: Law and public policy are born out of religion. They are either Christocentric or anthropocentric — Christ-centered or man-centered. They cannot be both. Let’s recap:

  • All belief systems are based either in man or in God.
  • All belief systems find their originating seed in either reason or revelation.
  • Belief systems are either humanistic or theistic.
  • Political policy, along with every other public policy, is organically religious.

When political theory becomes policy, the policy is enforced by the power of the government, either for good or evil, depending upon its notion of good and evil. Therefore, political policies are made efficacious by the threat of physical force.

This is what the Puritans knew, and it’s why they sought to enforce a structure of godly government and laws, which would ensure liberty under God and against the tyranny of man. Unfortunately for us, those of previous and current generations have drifted from a godly position.

“Any conception of the role of civil government that claims to be distinctively Christian must be explicitly justified by the teaching of God’s revealed word. Anything else reflects what the unbelieving world in rebellions against God may imagine on its own. If we are to be Christian disciples, even in the political realm, it is prerequisite that we abide in His liberating word.” So said Dr. Greg Bahnsen, as quoted in “God and Politics” by Gary Scott Smith (P&R Publishers, 1989).

Related: God Is Opening and Closing Doors for Us All the Time

This is why the only hope for our country is for our people to return to God in repentance, reestablish the authority of the Bible as the foundation of law — and recognize that He is the sovereign Lord, the undisputed creator, lawgiver, judge and owner of all that exists.

Sam Rohrer is president of the American Pastors Network, a national network of pastors with constitutional and biblical teachings that discusses today’s pressing issues. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 18 years and a candidate for governor in 2010, and is co-host of the daily “Stand in the Gap Today” national radio program, on 425 stations.