A common atheist critique of Christianity is that it cannot be true, because surely an all-powerful God would not allow evil to exist. Yet this is actually the strongest evidence for Christianity, because the Bible accurately describes human nature:
God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Psalm 53:2-3 ESV
There will never be a perfect society because human beings cannot achieve perfection. Human nature will always be the weak link in any system. Anything that counts on changing human behavior to succeed will inevitably fail, which means that to maintain civilization requires a way to guard against the evil of others. An ideal government exists to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property by punishing those who would violate them.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Romans 13:3-4 ESV
Societies give government a monopoly on force to prevent the anarchy and constant feuding that naturally occurs when every man takes the law into his own hands. This means that law enforcement often operates on the line between civilization and barbarism, while those of us within civilization can easily forget what evils human beings are capable of. Life in America in the 21st century is perhaps the most comfortable in human history, which can insulate us from the realities of humanity.
Long periods of peace and quiet favor certain optical illusions. Among them is the assumption that the invulnerability of the home is founded upon the constitution and safeguarded by it. In reality, it rests upon the father of the family who, accompanied by his sons, appears with the axe on the threshold of his dwelling.
Ernst Junger
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Unknown
This is why gun control is a fool’s errand. Bad guys will always find some way to harm others, so good guys who obey the law should not be forcefully disarmed.
This is why civilian oversight of the military and law enforcement is necessary as well. Just as those of us living comfortable lives within society can forget the barbarism outside our gates, those who man the walls can be tempted to find monsters everywhere.
Nevertheless, those who man the walls deserve our respect and support. Late last night an Ada County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a car for a routine traffic infraction. The driver, a 65 year old man, apparently had a misdemeanor warrant. Rather than face the justice system, he decided to shoot the deputy instead. Deputy Tobin Bolter succumbed to his injuries this morning.
There’s no rational explanation for such senseless violence, where any routine traffic stop can turn into life or death, but human nature is not rational. There will always be bad guys, so maintaining civilization requires good men on the walls who are prepared to do violence on our behalf.
Here’s to a good man who gave all to defend civilization from evil.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 ESV
