Bibles for Democracy
Earlier this evening, I watched the PBS "Secrets of the Dead" episode, Battle for the Bible.
I found it to be very interesting and provided many more details about Wycliffe, M.Luther and William Tyndale than I'd heard from knowing how they each contributed to translating the Greek/Latin Bible into their common language. The program continued to the Pilgrim migration to the Americas and the expanse of various denominations. The roots of democracy in the colonies was credited to the self-sufficiency of the individual and not needing a "Priest/King" to declare what the individual should/could not do.
As I watched the program unfold, I could not help but "think a little deeper" as to how the Priests would use their position of access to the Bible and God to control the people, largely to their own benefit and survival. The updated translations by Wycliffe, Luther and Tyndale empowered the individual to become responsible for his own beliefs.
To me, this extrapolates to our founding fathers concept of democracy as intending to define government's role to serve the people and let the individual become responsible for his own governing.
As we examine our modern-day elected officials and representatives, they seem to be doing a lot of "ruling" and not much "representing". This brings me to observe that a person responsible for some (budget, data, authority ... ) will morph into a more controlling perspective on his duty. This recalls "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely...". In trying to place myself in the time period of the founding fathers with the prior 200+ year history presented in the program, then considering our battle for independence ... it seems more obvious that the individuals elected to government should serve a brief term in office, in order to minimize their exposure to becoming corrupt.
We just do not need career politicians, they cannot remain un-corrupt. We have a rotation out-of-theater for our military troops in war, to permit them to regain their individuality and not become a soldier-personality.
"It is not the function of our government
to keep the citizen from falling into error;
it is the function of the citizen
to keep the government from falling into error."
-- Justice Robert H. Jackson
I found it to be very interesting and provided many more details about Wycliffe, M.Luther and William Tyndale than I'd heard from knowing how they each contributed to translating the Greek/Latin Bible into their common language. The program continued to the Pilgrim migration to the Americas and the expanse of various denominations. The roots of democracy in the colonies was credited to the self-sufficiency of the individual and not needing a "Priest/King" to declare what the individual should/could not do.
As I watched the program unfold, I could not help but "think a little deeper" as to how the Priests would use their position of access to the Bible and God to control the people, largely to their own benefit and survival. The updated translations by Wycliffe, Luther and Tyndale empowered the individual to become responsible for his own beliefs.
To me, this extrapolates to our founding fathers concept of democracy as intending to define government's role to serve the people and let the individual become responsible for his own governing.
As we examine our modern-day elected officials and representatives, they seem to be doing a lot of "ruling" and not much "representing". This brings me to observe that a person responsible for some (budget, data, authority ... ) will morph into a more controlling perspective on his duty. This recalls "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely...". In trying to place myself in the time period of the founding fathers with the prior 200+ year history presented in the program, then considering our battle for independence ... it seems more obvious that the individuals elected to government should serve a brief term in office, in order to minimize their exposure to becoming corrupt.
We just do not need career politicians, they cannot remain un-corrupt. We have a rotation out-of-theater for our military troops in war, to permit them to regain their individuality and not become a soldier-personality.
"It is not the function of our government
to keep the citizen from falling into error;
it is the function of the citizen
to keep the government from falling into error."
-- Justice Robert H. Jackson