Rick Santorum says American law should never violate biblical commands and often it doesn’t. For example, both prohibit murder and theft. Yet, the conflicts are enormous.
American law nourishes capitalism, while the Bible would destroy it by commanding us to sell all we own and give the proceeds to the poor. The Constitution protects freedom of religion, while the Bible requires death for non-believers. Pre-marital sex is not a crime in the United States, but the Bible
says women who are not virgins at the time of marriage must be executed. It is not against the law to work on the Sabbath in the United States, but the Bible proclaims death to Sabbath-workers.
And the list goes on and on.
What Santorum advocates is theocracy, a form of government which claims to represent God’s will as found in scripture. It was tried in the American colonies until the Constitution outlawed it, and it is in effect today in such countries as Afghanistan and Iran. A common result of theocracy is merciless suppression of even the most basic human rights, religious hatred and violence spanning centuries, and death and more death.
Do Americans really want the United States to go down that road under President Santorum? Probably not, but lest we grow complacent, he is winning primaries while the media virtually ignores his theocratic blueprint for the United States.
GEORGE KISER BLOOMINGTON, ILL. (Kiser is a recently retired professor from Illinois State University, where he taught politics and government for 35 years.)
