Can Judeo-Christian principles thrive in Iraq?

Last week, news reports remained focused on the continuing attacks and violence in Iraq. Correspondingly, John Kerry remains focused on politicizing these events to gain lost ground in the polls. What’s worse, the wannabe president and his left-wing radicals have been salivating at the hope such violence will interfere or bring to a halt the intended free elections set for Iraq in January.

The libs claim that anything less than a full-scale election ensuring the participation of every region and province in Iraq would be a U.S. failure and another demonstration of Bush incompetence. The truth is the only choice any Iraqi formerly had was between Saddam, torture and death, which helps explain the American presence in Iraq in the first place.

It also makes obvious why one man should not wield the power of national government unchecked. The likelihood of abuse is predictable human behavior deeply rooted in our nature. As the saying goes “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” leading ultimately to tyranny. This is easily seen throughout history with the likes of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.

The Founding Fathers of America understood this human tendency. It actually gave rise to and provided justification for the principle of separation of powers in the establishment of our republic. This, our system of checks and balances, is a fundamental trait of our current democracy. So where did the founders discover the principle of separation of powers?

Before I tell you, you might want to send any ACLU supporters out of the room. That done, look up and read Isaiah 33:22. This chapter and verse makes clear that only God can be our lawgiver, judge and King. That means for man it might be best to divest these powers into three separate bodies. If you separate the three out you have the basis for a legislature, judiciary and executive branch – get it? And there you have it – separation of powers as a Judeo-Christian principle.

The question is whether the Iraqi people, after years of rule under a brutal dictator and decades of Islamic influence are able to understand and embrace this concept. Will Prime Minister Allawi be able to convince the Iraqi people of the power of property rights, freedom of religion and equality of all peoples, even Jews? Maybe not.

Islam does not embrace biblical teachings. To the contrary, the traditional Muslim attitude toward Christians and Jews is one of open hostility and a lordly tolerance much like a master might have over a slave. But perhaps a free Iraq does not have to be the carbon copy of the American system girded in Judeo-Christian principles. After all, even our system isn’t perfect.

Consider just last week that the Supreme Court of Florida ruled unanimously in the landmark Schiavo case that “Terri’s Law” is unconstitutional, stating that the Legislature violated none other than the separation-of-powers doctrine.

In this case, you probably recall Terri Schiavo has been in a fight for her life since a “heart attack” left her in a debilitated state. When her husband, Michael, tried to kill her by withdrawing food and water, the Florida Legislature interceded. With deliberate speed they crafted a bill allowing the executive branch to issue a temporary order restoring her supply of food and water.

Now enter the Florida Supreme Court, which in a power-grabbing hissy fit intended to override or ignore the will of the people held that the Legislature could not pass a bill that sought to overturn their court ruling. What?! It is through the legislature that laws are supposed to be made in a democratic republic – not through the tyrannical rule of one or even a few activist judges.

It certainly goes without saying that the ruling in the Schiavo case could have dire results for Terri as it has cleared the way for Michael Schiavo to now legally kill his wife.

Aside this tragic possibility, the decision of the Supreme Court of Florida distorts its authority under the Constitution through procedural wrangling. It also makes a mockery of the checks and balances built into our system of government by the Founding Fathers. This leaves little doubt that we must be vigilant against tyranny wherever we find it, especially within our own government.

In response to such egregious (and not so infrequent) abuses, some say our system of government is the worst in the world – except for all the rest. So beyond the elections in January, can such a flawed system be fully embraced by the Iraqi people half a world away with no appreciation for Judeo-Christian principles? And how would such a government survive in a predominantly Muslim world?

I submit it is the steadfast commitment of Christian conservatives that keeps America tethered to its Christian underpinnings. We fight those of a secular worldview at every turn who deny our Christian heritage and view the Constitution as ever-changing and open to interpretation. Without the stalwart efforts of the Christian remnant in America, our heritage and cause would be lost entirely to secular humanism.