Versión de HTML Básico
The Political Order
317
necessary for the mutual development of his individual and social
capacities and relationships. It is needed as an instrument for the
preservation of the unity which already exists in fact and also for
the achievement of a more perfect community. Insofar as it performs
both of these functions the state represents the will of God for a sinful
order. It is clear, moreover, that the purpose of the Judge and the
purpose of the Creator are ultimately one in this regard. Fallen man
is still a “political animal” by creation; and, although the order and
community which are effected by the state represent perverted forms
of that order and community which God wills for man in creation,
they are far better than anarchy. Man does not cease to be man be
cause of his sin; neither does he cease to be destined to find his
fulfillment in community with all other human beings. Insofar as the
state ministers to this end for sinners it represents the divine will for
sinful man.
This view of the nature of the state is, however, diametrically
opposed to all forms of political absolutism according to which the
state possesses absolute sovereignty. In the biblical view the claims
of the state are always limited by the claims of God. The state stands
under the will and purposes of God. Its function is to minister to
the needs of man, and man is always understood as a free spiritual
being who exists in relationship to many other free spiritual beings
with many interests and needs. The existence of the state as the
sovereign or supreme authority presupposes the existence of many
voluntary and autonomous groups within a community—the family,
economic organizations such as labor unions and associations repre
senting management, churches, schools, a free press, and numerous
other social and philanthropic groups. The state is not a substitute
for these voluntary centers of community life; rather, it is that agency
of a people which is designed to maintain a proper balance among
these less inclusive groups through the enactment and enforcement
of laws. The function of the state is not to replace the free activities
of its citizens as individuals and as members of voluntary associations
with prescribed patterns of conduct; rather, it is to coordinate and
harmonize them. The state as an institution which is ordained be
cause of sin is subservient to the will of the Creator that man shall
live in a community based upon freedom and love. A state which
shackles the freedom of its citizens through a process of regimenta
tion makes the achievement of genuine community impossible since
it deprives man of his essential dignity and violates his true nature.