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its concept of the oneness of mankind in creation, through its empha
sis upon the obligation to establish social justice as this is spelled
out in terms of the Covenant and by the prophets, and through the
idea of the Kingdom of God. But the contribution which Christian
faith makes in this regard is epitomized in its concept of
agape.
The
support which Christian love gives to democracy at this point is so
important because the acceptance of this norm involves the faith
that the fullest life is to be found in the subjection of the desires
and interests of the self to the service of the neighbor and also be
cause this love is all-inclusive and therefore excludes no class or race
or nationality. For both of these reasons, Christian love serves to
strengthen the basis of community within democracy while at the
same time it provides a safeguard against making an idolatry of na
tionalism.
The contribution which Christianity can make to democracy at
this point does not depend upon all or even a majority of the citizens
being Christians. As we have previously observed, the laws of a state
must be based primarily upon the moral standards which a majority
of the citizens accept, but Christian love exhibited by even a minority
serves as a leaven which influences the community as a whole. More
over, it may in time bring about a gradual conversion of the public
conscience to a higher moral standard and a higher level of social
justice. Thus, it is difficult to conceive how our country, for example,
although the majority of its citizens have never been more than
nominal Christians, could have made the progress which it has
made toward economic justice and racial equality, in prison reform
and the provision of better care for the mentally ill, and in gaining
recognition of our international responsibilities if it had not been for
the great reservoir of good-will and humanitarian concern which has
been in large part a product of Christian faith.
A third major contribution which Christianity makes to democracy
lies in its concept of the church as an autonomous institution which
exists alongside the state and limits the powers of the state. By
reminding the state that it, too, stands under the sovereignty of God,
the church provides a strong bulwark against totalitarianism. Despite
many important differences in their conceptions of the proper re
lationship between these two institutions, Christians have always
recognized that both are ordained of God and that each has a sphere
of its own. Moreover, Christians have always insisted that man’s pri
mary responsibility is “to obey God rather than man.” On the one
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Biblical Faith and Social Ethics