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The Purpose of this Project
I am of the opinion that there are two questions which, once answered by any person, can be used as accurate predictors of how that person will answer any other question posed to him or her. The first of these queries is the seemingly all-encompassing "ultimate" question: Is there a God? The second is almost equally ageless and limitless: What is the Proper Role of Government?
Most people would contend that the first question is the more important of the two because it concerns itself with eternity, not merely with experiences in the here-and-now. While I acknowledge some truth in that, I would argue that it is actually the latter question that is of greater consequence to the human race. A minor, preliminary reason for my assertion is the fact that any answer to the first question can only be mere conjecture until a person is dead and it is too late to make use of the knowledge.
A primary reason for considering the second question to be the more important is the fact that it does not really matter if an individual "believes" in God or not. The question has a definitive answer, and that answer is unaffected by any personal opinion on the matter. If God does exist, He does so if people believe in Him, and He does so if people do not. If God does not exist, no amount of faith or wishful thinking will make Him come to be. The correct answer to this first question is independent of any answer an individual may give, but, in contrast, the question of government has no such set answer. The way that the majority answers that question at any given time is the way it is answered, and that is an important difference.
However, the most compelling reason to support my claim that the second question is the more crucial is the fact that it is entirely possible for two people who answer the first question differently to peacefully coexist without causing one another any harm or discomfort. Although it is true that many wars have been fought in the name of religion, and much damage has been done in the name of a higher power, this does not necessarily have to be so. With tolerance, Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Gentiles, Buddhists and Muslims and Atheists can co-exist on the planet, can share nationalities, and can live amongst each other as neighbors and as friends. There is no reason why differences of opinion should cause friction in the way people live their lives, so long as all people allow all others the freedom to worship, or to not worship, as they individually choose.
Disagreements on the proper role of government, however, are not so easily resolved. If one person believes that money should be taken from another's hard-earned paycheck and filtered through the government to a third person whose does not perform the labor necessary to earn his or her own paycheck, and the second person does not agree this is proper, there exists a clash of action, not merely of thought. If one thinks that the government needs to regulate the interaction between lovers or the interaction between an industry and its customers, and another does not agree, how do they settle their differences? In a Democracy, they hold elections, and whomever has 51% of the population agreeing with them is able to force that opinion on the whole. Any matter that involves government is not "Live And Let Live," as religion can be. It is "Do As We Say."
And that is why determining the proper role of government is more important than determining the existence of God. A belief in the hereafter does not necessarily affect what transpires in this world, but a belief in what the government should do does have a profound effect on what happens in the here-and-now. A belief in the Lord may change what goes on in one persons mind, but the rule of any political ideology is guaranteed to change many aspects of what goes on in all peoples lives.
The questions of God and government are similar because the wondering about the existence of God has as many answers as there are answerers, and, similarly, the determination of the proper role of government is equally as individual. Any two people who are questioned will have their own views of the Lord, and their own views of the Law. Because of this, and because the answer to this second question has such a profound effect on human affairs, it is important for each person to find his or her own answer to this question and then to compare, discuss, and arrive at a final answer that can be used as the guiding principle of our government.
This most important question is what this Role Call project seeks to ask of public officials, candidates for public office, and, most important, of the population as a whole. Please take a moment to read through the ideas others have contributed, and submit any input you can add to this valuable discussion.
- Lee M. Schultheiss
Copyright © by Lee Schultheiss. All Rights Are Reserved.
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