05/28/2022 – “In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat and civil servant made a nine month journey through eastern America. ” His work: “Democracy in America” recorded his observations and reflections.
Recall, the old adage: “Those who do not know history, are destined to repeat it.” And secondarily at least, but not insignificantly, we can apply that to our new study starting today in the Book of Jeremiah. I put myself into Jeremiah’s shoes for his battle field environments were strikingly similar to our world today. How then shall we live?
ISBN-13 Reference: 978-0-140-44760-6.
It is funny, Alexis would be surprised I suspect at the notiriety that “Democracy in America” has received in the U.S., much of it delayed to the past half century. He meant it more for his French countrymen as an example.
Within the article, link above:
In Book Two of Democracy in America, de Tocqueville wrote:
“Christianity has therefore retained a strong hold on the public mind in America…In the United States…Christianity itself is a fact so irresistibly established, that no one undertakes either to attack or to defend it.”
In August of 1831, while traveling through Chester County, New York, Alexis de Tocqueville observed a court case:
“While I was in America, a witness, who happened to be called at the assizes of the county of Chester, declared that he did not believe in the existence of God or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say. The newspapers related the fact without any further comment.”
From pgs 70 – 71:
“At the present time, the principle of sovereignty of the people has taken all the practical steps the imagination can possibly think of. (follows with examples)…
Nothing like that can be seen in the United States where society acts independently for its own advantage. All power rests in it’s hands; almost no one would would venture to imagine or, still less, voice the idea of seeking power elsewhere. The people share in the making of its laws through their choice of legislators and in the implementation of those laws by the election of the members of the executive. It may be said that the people are self-governing in so far as the share left to the administrators is so weak and so restricted and the later feel such close ties with their popular origin and the power from which it emanates. The people reign in the the American political world like God over the universe. It is the cause and aim of all things, everything comes from them and everything is absorbed in them (See Appendix H, p. 842.).”
Finally, last but not least here, let’s look at his observations on the Constitution:
“In America, political theories are simpler and more rational. An American constitution is not supposed immutable, as in France, nor could it be altered by ordinary powers of society, as in England. It forms a separate entity which, since it represents the will of the people, places the same duties upon legislators as it does upon plain citizens but these can be changed by the will of the people, according to established structures and and already anticipated instances.
In America, the constituion can thus vary, but during its existence it is the fount of all authority. The dominant power rests with it alone.”
I guess, for those that are still with me, I will add some of my own reflections:
We have been brainwashed with: “Separation of church and state”. All of us have a worldview. It is not possible to separate that worldview from any aspect of our life, it is “the telescope lens from which we choose to view the world”. Every soul has a worldview. So I submit: “Politics is not our savior, but, our Savior is our politics”. For as Abraham Maslow wrote: “There is not a square inch of this universe where Jesus Christ doesn’t declare: ‘Mine!’ ” So am I advocating theocracy? Absolutely not. As Christians, we respect the free will of others that God has granted us all.
Back to one quote , Dostoevsky : “If there is no God, there are no morals!” Think about it. If there is not absolute truth, we are left today in a schizophrenic fog of “relativity”: “That may be true for you, but it isn’t true for me!” So, as Timothy Keller points out in his: “Jesus the King”, we all circle the room screaming at each other in unison: “No, y’all need to listen to me!” By what authority? And note, is it a surprise that we are infected as a society with narcissism like never before?
I recall again a brief fellowship I had over two decades ago, when I was witnessing the Good News of Jesus Christ to a beloved colleague, she suddenly, screamed: “Jim, there is no such things as absolute truth!” The Holy Spirit gave me a response: “Laura, I think you just named one.”, and then I walked away with a prayer. Everytime I retell that story, I remember to pray for Laura. Only God knows, perhaps that prayer should be transitioned to a prayer of thanksgiving, not a prayer of petition. So, I will choose the former.
Soli Deo Gloria!