I got into a discussion about politics the other day. I know better; it always causes problems (I suppose that could be a good thing from time to time). In the discussion I told an older gentleman that I was primarily a Christian (not a partisan of the political sort), and that this means that I want to make both Democrats and Republicans uncomfortable to some degree. He responded by noting that he knew me well enough to know that I was quite conservative. I agreed with him, but then contended that I differed from many Conservatives in that I do not believe democracy itself to be the end-all-be-all of political positions or realities. ‘Really?’ was the response I got.
Now I know what he was thinking at this point: ‘Oh boy, he’s a socialist and I didn’t know it.’ But, of course, this was not what I was thinking, so I interjected: ‘I believe we are all headed for monarchy, and I think that is a good thing.’ To which he replied again, ‘Really?’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘and the King on the throne will be Jesus Christ; King of kings, and Lord of Lords, forever…’
This effectively ended the conversation. Mission accomplished; I made a Conservative as uncomfortable as I usually make the Liberals. And now I’ve brought it up twice, since I just wrote about it here. But I bring it up here primarily to note this quote from C.S. Lewis:
…A society which becomes democratic in ethos as well as in constitution is doomed. And not much loss either.
– C.S. Lewis, Talking About Bicycles, from Present Concerns, p. 72
Does that make you uncomfortable? Then ponder the reasons why. I think Lewis offers a very helpful corrective for us here. You can read about it in a bit more detail in another post I wrote (HERE). There I agree with Lewis’ idea that you can either view Democracy as good on account of man’s ability to rule himself or because of man’s inability to rule others. One is idolatry and the other is a position of humility.
A.men.
“I was not born to be free—I was born to adore and obey.” (C.S. Lewis)