The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Erin M. during the 2007-2008 League.
Mission: Research: Civil Government
In the beginning, God created the world, and Cain killed Abel, the search for true justice which also includes civil government began. Government is defined as, "The act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit, the office, function, or authority of a governing individual or body, exercise of authority in a political unit; rule (m-w.com), and the definition of civil is defined as, "of, relating to, or based on civil law relating to private rights and to remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings"
John Calvin once said, "The forms of civil government are considered to be of three kinds: Monarchy, which is the dominion of one person, whether called a king, or a duke, or any other title; Aristocracy, or the dominion of the principal persons of a nation; and Democracy, or popular government, in which the power resides in the people at large."
A Monarch form of government is, "A state or government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a single person. Such a state is usually called an empire or a kingdom or state in which the power of the king or supreme magistrate is limited by a constitution or by fundamental laws (Forms of Government: Jeff Burdick Sr.)." A Democracy is: "A government by the people; a form of government, in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the people collectively, or in which the people exercise the powers of legislation (Forms of Government: Jeff Burdick Sr.)." And an Aristocracy is: "A form of government, in which the whole supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state; or in a few men distinguished by their rank and opulence (Forms of Government: Jeff Burdick Sr.)" In all of these forms of government, there is some form or faint resemblance of a representative system, which would ultimately, as John Calvin stated, be a form of civil government.
Now, I had to ask myself. What makes up a civil government in my opinion? Well the answer I can up with was this. In order for there to be a civil government a good deal of self government must first take place. Once people can learn to govern themselves in a positive, preferably Christ-centered way, they then are fit to lead and/or hold office, which would avoid the Spitzer situations hopefully. Now then, now only must the people learn to govern themselves before they govern others, they must also learn to take an active role in the current issues of the day. How in the world people can sit at home and complain all day about President Busch and not have even voted is beyond me.
I believe John Calvin summed it us best. "But if those, to whom the will of God has assigned another form of government, transfer this to themselves so as to be tempted to desire a revolution, the very thought will be not only foolish and useless, but altogether criminal. If we limit not our views to one city, but look round and take a comprehensive survey of the whole world, or at least extend our observations to distant lands, we shall certainly find it to be a wise arrangement of Divine Providence that various countries are governed by different forms of civil polity; or they are admirably held together with a certain inequality, as the elements are combined in very unequal proportions. All these remarks, however, will be unnecessary to those who are satisfied with the will of the Lord. For if it be his pleasure to appoint kings over kingdoms, and senators or other magistrates over free cities, it is our duty to be obedient to any governors whom God has established over the places in which we reside."
