DEMOCRACY IS SUPPOSEDLY A SIXTH CENTURY C.E. INVENTION OF THE ATHENIANS. There Are Many Forms Of Democracy Ranging From Primitive Democracy To A Sophisticated Representative Democracy Using A Preferential Voting System. Democracy is seen as the fairest system of voting because people get to exercise their right to vote.

What does the Christian bible say about democracy?

Harry Riches · Answers request of Paul Donley

Most people when speaking of a democracy are talking about a representative democracy. A true democracy is where the people have a say in everything. But the problem with this is that the majority still rule over the minority and therefore people do not get to have their will executed if they happen to be in the 49% of the minority. A democracy on Earth rarely, if at all, returns a 100% decision in favor of some action.

The concept of liberty is not foreign to the Bible, but this does not translate into the government of the people by some people for the people within a democracy of any kind. For the concept of representative democracy is foreign to the Bible. Yet the concept of liberty enables everyone to have a say in what each one does with one's life. The concept of freewill, and everyone choosing to do what is right is the advocated decision for each to make in one's life. This advocacy for personal liberty permeates the pages of the Bible from the first book of Genesis to the last book, The Revelation of Lord Jesus Christ.

At the heart of democracy is the concept of government by the will of the people. The Bible actually advocates that the concept of government desired by the Creator is one where the people do what is right and therefore have no need of an overlord. This is what a theocracy is about, not having overlords. A government by the will of the people who choose to do what is right,precludes the need for judicial intervention and law enforcement .

The book of Esther has no mention of God in it at all. The Jewish people in captivity, mentioned in the book of Esther, do what is required to bring about the will of God, which is the counsel of the Omniscient Mind without direction or threat to bring about good. In the Book of Esther, we see an example of people exercising their democratic right to do what is right. In fact this is really what the New Testament concept of the Kingdom of God is about—doing what is good, right and true.

In line with the idea that we have the right to exercise our freewill to conform to the Omniscient Mind of our Creator and appreciate what is good, right and true, the Apostle Paul informs us:

• Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him 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; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (Romans 13:1-7)

On the face of what Paul writes, we might not think that the Feudal system of government predominant for most of history is really something that was instigated by God. Yet, the populations of the Earth, are like one organism that has cells (in this case, humans) being birthed and dying all the time. Of course, the difference between a strictly biological entity and a human entity is the freewill that the human possesses by virtue of having been created in the image of God.

The Romans and the Greeks elected their rulers. But this limited form of democracy, for that is what it was, really was no different than a King becoming ruler because those who supported him saw him as the strongest and wisest to lead, therefore they would follow. For a king only rules while the people close to him (the nobles) permit him to rule, unless he is killed in war or assassinated by a mercenary, a disgruntled servant, slave or some other subject.

The conscience vote is often touted by politicians as being democracy at work, even if the populace get no say. In this respect, the Apostle Paul says that to be subject to rulers is for the good of the society and not its detriment, which is a matter of conscience, not enforcement. Logically, wise people seek the good of society in the knowledge that rising tides raise all boats, because they understand that when goodness dissipates, anarchy usually rules. A city like Mogadishu is the result. To quote wikipedia, "Somalia, from 1991 to 2006, is cited as a real-world example of a stateless society."

Humans being humans, when left to their own devices, have to survive and Mogadishu became a society of groups that began to do what is evident in the biological world where the survival of the fittest is the rule; only humans also exercise their decisions based upon conscience and social mores that animals do not possess. Consequently, the development of the subsequent territories within Mogadishu, out of economic necessity, began to trade with each other. Over time, the city began to unite and experience economic improvements advanced by the private sector without government controls. Eventually, though, a stronger power took control of the country and now taxes and regulations are being enforced.

Using Somalia as an example, any Christian living there now, would have to either become Muslim or, if permitted to live, be subject to dhimmitude, where the dhimmi tax would be paid for protection, with all rights abrogated except economic and property obligations. A Christian living for the glory of God in Somalia would probably be executed. This is because Muslims may be tempted to be convert to Christ. Not only would this be fatal for the Christian,this would be fatal for any converts. A Christian living in accordance to the Scriptures, wishing to stay in Mogadishu, would not overtly resist the government. The Christian would pay the dhimmi tax and yet exercise his or her right to live in accordance to the Kingdom of God, irrespective of the Somali government requirements.

A democratic right is the right to vote for what form of government is being proposed between two or more parties. Or the right to elect an individual from two or more contestants to a position of authority. In this sense, if a Christian votes for the Kingdom of God and another government wins the day, the Christian does not have to comply with government policy. For a conscience vote is a democratic right even if it meets with death. To divorce the conscience from voting rights is to annul all rights, as the conscience is the means by which rights originate. Therefore, when a Christian chooses to honor Jesus as Lord, a democratic right is being exercised. If the Christian succumbs to Islamic demands, and denies Lord Jesus Christ, then the right to choose is forfeited.
While the Bible does not speak of a democratic government, it does speak of the individual possessing a conscience to exercise democratic rights, which is really at the heart of true democracy. For a democracy relies upon the conscience vote, or a person exercising freewill to exist. This applies to all forms of democracies at some level of government.

A true democracy is one that has no rulers, but in practice, democracies are really the government of the people, for the people, by some of the people—but not by all of the people. Unfortunately, this translates into modern democracies being the government of the people, by some of the people, for the good of those in government. Now that is definitely not biblical. For it is the same as a king ruling for himself rather than the good of his people.

Everybody Was Given Freewill To Have Their Own Vote To Walk In Righteousness