The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum King of Kings

The size of this book belies its value and usefulness to Christians who need to be disabused of Enlightenment notions of governmental neutrality in matters of religion and morality. If God charges civil magistrates to promote what is good and punish what is evil, then His definitions of good and evil must be employed to evaluate how well they are doing their jobs. The Christian Bible, which reveals the Christian religion, is the place where those definitions are found. James Baird demonstrates that this connection between God’s mandate and God’s standard necessitates the argument for which he contends—that ‘government must promote Christianity as the only true religion.’ That thesis can understandably give pause to an old Baptist heart like mine. However, as Baird lays out his case, mining the riches of historic, Protestant political theology in the process, he successfully allays my fears and strengthens my understanding of and appreciation for both the Bible’s teachings on civil government and the constitutional republic we have in the United States. This book does not confuse church and state but sees both under the lordship of Jesus Christ with peculiar responsibilities assigned by Him. Thus, by ‘promote,’ he does not mean that the government has the responsibility to fulfill the duties of the church. Rather, he argues—rightly in my estimation—that the ‘common good’ which government must seek to cultivate can only be found in the Christianity revealed by the one, true God. This book will be a great help to anyone who wants to think carefully about religion and politics. —Tom Ascol, President, Founders Ministries