PAUL CLARK says events in the US this week echo a strangely similar cry in the Old Testament book of Samuel – one that didn’t go so well…
Brisbane, Queensland
This week’s partisan decision by the Supreme Court of America, to give the president wide-ranging criminal immunity for all official acts, has been described as turning the US president into a king.
America’s cry of independence from Britain included a strong move away from rule by monarchs. They created, instead, a republic with checks and balances to stop those in power from wielding power as a tyrant – something many British monarchs had done in the past at great cost to the populace.
A general view of the US Supreme Court building in Washington, US, on 1st June, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Will Dunham/File photo
These checks include the separation of powers between the president, congress and courts – where no one part of the system has all the power, and each holds the others accountable. It also includes the rule of law under which the law applies to all people equally; no-one is above the law. In a traditional monarchy, the king or queen sits above the law and can do whatever they like.
One criticism of the current American system is that the sharing of power leads to gridlock and factionalism. The system seems to promote partisan fighting and ongoing culture wars. In that context, the idea of an authoritative king, who can get things done, unite the country and enforce the majority (read: ‘correct’) opinion on all issues, is alluring – especially to those who think they are in the majority, or on the right side of things. But is it really that simple?
“[T]he idea of an authoritative king, who can get things done, unite the country and enforce the majority (read: ‘correct’) opinion on all issues, is alluring – especially to those who think they are in the majority, or on the right side of things. But is it really that simple?”
In the Biblical book of Samuel, God’s people faced a similar dilemma. The era of Judges, with its dispersed power, was seen as a time of chaos and vulnerability to Israel’s enemies around them. Judges 21:15 says, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes” – this is the definitive verse of the times.
The people cried out to Samuel, the prophet of the era, for a king to rule them, as per their neighbouring nations. It sounded like a logical solution to their problem, a reasonable request. I know many look at China and envy their seeming strength, unity, and conformity. When I was in China in 2018, I asked a taxi driver what he thought of the rising Xi Jinping, and his Maoist tendencies. The driver revealed that Mao had killed his grandfather, yet he thought Mao was good for China. Mao had taken them forward. So would Xi.
It seems many in the US too, are sick of the choas, and just want a strong man to get on with the job of making America great again.
Yet Samuel told the people of Israel that a king was not the answer to their problems – indeed a king would create a whole new world of problems. He would tax you, send your sons to war, make your daughters servants, and take your best land (I Samuel 8). The people couldn’t see it, and so God relented and gave them kings. Sometimes we only learn the hard way.
Most of Israel’s kings were bad. We know of good King David, but overall, the kings didn’t make Israel great. They lead the nation to exile.
The irony is, a large chunk of America, including many of its elite, are bemoaning the current system and are willing to tear it down to get a king. Yet America’s current system was developed as a reaction to kingly rule. Kings don’t work. Monarchs rely on very good character, and too few wannabe kings possess this. The Scriptural idea of sin proves to be true. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). No one person can be trusted to rule as power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The Founding Fathers’ solution was to embrace the solution that King David points to – a different sort of king. A servant king. You might not realise it, but the US system (and our own in Australia) is modelled consciously and subconsciously on how Christ and His Father wielded power; mutual submission. It’s an idea at the heart of the Trinity itself.
In the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each have their own roles and work in mutual submission to one another out of profound love. Love might be missing in the American constitution, but the three branches of Government – President-Congress-Courts – each have their locus of power yet operate in mutual submission – this week’s decision undoes this.
There is a profound believe at the heart of the original US system that it is in the tension, in the dynamic of compromise and cooperation, that the narrow way is found. A way that gives freedom and dignity to the minority and majority. That might be slower and more cautious, but is more compassionate and considerate.
Of course, the US system isn’t perfect. Its tendency to partisanship, a political class, and financial influence all needs to be fixed, but a king will not do it. A king is a step back. Ironically, it is the evangelicals who should understand this the best.
That missing piece mentioned above, love, is the key. It’s the key to almost all things. Can we do politics, relate to one another even our enemy (those across the aisle), with some level of love? A willingness to listen and understand? To seek to work for the benefit of all? To be willing to give up some of our privilege, our possessions for the other? Until we can do this, nothing will be great again.
