Government for "God?"

Should Christians (or even Jews, not to mention Muslims) become part of "the government" in terms of being elected or appointed government officials and agents?

If especially Christians are elected or appointed government officials or agents by the general populace who place themselves under the authority and jurisdiction of their own "government," what should they support and what should they oppose not merely in making legislation as government officials and agents, but also enforce using police, sheriffs, state patrol, and court judges?

It is noteworthy that Christ Jesus Himself neither desired to become a government official or agent appointed as such by those He would have politically government either by election or appointment:

John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again alone unto a mountain.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight so that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.

[ Keep in mind that Jesus was and yet is THE Master Jew, and His twelve apostles also Jews ]

Jesus even refused to become a tax collector or arbitrator or estate lawyer for the Roman state:

Matthew 17:24 And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received the didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does your master not pay the didrachmas?
Matthew 17:25 He said, Yes. And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? From their sons, or from strangers?
Matthew 17:26 Peter said to Him, From strangers. Jesus said to him, Then truly the sons are free.
Matthew 17:27 But lest we should offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. And when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a stater; take that, and give it to them for Me and you.

Mark 12:14 And they came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
Mark 12:16 And they brought one. And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's."
Mark 12:17 Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.

Luke 12:13 One of the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me."
Luke 12:14 But He said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?"

Luke 20:24 "Show me a coin. Whose likeness and inscription has it?" They said, "Caesar's."
Luke 20:25 He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Romans 13:6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.

It is assumed that Jesus lived within Roman-government jurisdiction, which was pluralistic in nature. Caesar and his government officials basically had their laissez-faire version of our American Constitution's First-Amendment clauses of government not establishing any particular religion and government not prohibiting the free exercise of any particular religion.

Rome had their gods, yet tolerated those of the Judaic religion which Judaism was both monotheistic yet trinitarian in nature:

Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Surely you know!

Moreover:

Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"

Notice that even that highest Egyptian government official [Pharaoh] recognized one of the Persons of the Godhead relating not merely to Hebrews but with reference to the life-giving Creator.

Pharaoh was not the only questionable character to admit to the Trinitarian Deity:

Numbers 24:2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him

First Samuel 19:20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
First Samuel 19:23 And [Saul] went from there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

Second Chronicles 15:1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded
Second Chronicles 24:20 Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have rejected the LORD, He has rejected you.'

It is both commonly known and obvious that those who form a government of law and order, then (in orderly fashion) elect and (in orderly fashion) appoint government officials -- hopefully the best and brightest, reputationally qualified in every way to be leaders over the populace who elects them), who legislate and enforce what they consider (according to orderly majority determination of the electing and appointing populace) laws which that majority would consider "morality" for the preservation of their society.

Because of such orderliness, government conceptually must generally be respected and complied with:

Romans 13:1 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.
2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 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,
4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword [or Glock handgun] in vain; he is the servant of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

For a Christian, the concept of orderliness of neighbors working together in unity and disunity under a common patriotic banner as a civil republic or democracy six days a week (excluding the Sabbath) comes naturally:

Psalm 133:1 A Song of Ascents. Hey, how good and pleasant it is when brothers reside in unity!

Mark 3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Mark 3:25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

Luke 11:17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself [ Democrats against Republicans? ] is laid waste, and a divided household falls.
11:18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I exorcise demons by Beelzebul.
Luke 12:51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;
12:52 from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three;
12:53 they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

John 7:43 So there was a division among the people over Him.
John 9:16 Some of the Pharisees [ the "politically-incorrect left-wing liberals?" ] said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others [ the "politically-correct right-wing conservatives?" ] said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them.

First Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united [ in typical lock-step-marching-soldiers Army/Navy/Air-Force/Marines armed-services fashion ] in the same mind and the same judgment.
11:18 For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church [ or city council, state legislature, congressional subcommittee ], I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it,
11:19 for there must be factions [ the bad-guy enemies versus the good-guy allies ] among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

Second Corinthians 6:1 Working together with Him [ the presidential commander-in-chief, or five-star general ], then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain [ whether drafted or by voluntary enlistment ].

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind [ in strict military manner, like fighter jets flying in close-wing-tip formation ] , having the same love [ while either clerks or customers at McDonald's ], being in full accord and of one mind [ all troops in a squadron being fully informed of and aware of and ready for the battle plan ].

[ All cooperatively stop for red stoplights (especially with cops nearby), drive on the right not left side of the roads (per Ecclesiastes 10:2), and do NOT tailgate (especially in blinding rainstorms or snowstorms) per:

Exodus 19:15 And he said to the people, "Be ready by the third day; do not go near a woman."
Proverbs 5:8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house ].

However, keep in mind that "the majority" can change their minds as to what they now consider to be "for the wellbeing" of their governed society. Therefore, there is usually no certain nor absolute nor non-changing standard for most governments established by the "coexist-with-all-religions" majority populace of the moment . . . with the at-least-in-principle exception of a certain to-some-extent theocracy of the Hebrew Jews and their Old-Testament Scriptures as basis for not merely political but also moral mandates physically enforced even fatally at times.

With the coming of that offshoot of Judaism, or (better yet) necessary and logical extension beyond insufficient Judaism called "Christianity," the political and also moral mandates of the Old Testament were both preserved and added to with even higher-powered directives found within the New Testament of The Holy Bible [e.g. Job 31:1-through-4-mentioned sexual lust with the eyes is a type of sexual adultery, Leviticus-19:17-mentioned causeless hate is a type of murder, etc.]

And, in some ways pertaining to true and effective morality, the directives of New-Testament Christianity were and are much more stringent, demanding, and less nebulous than questionable-exceptions-allowed legalistically-nitpicky specific singularities of previous talmudic Judaism.

If, then when, a genuine Christian becomes part of the government of the United States under its founding-fathers-incepted Declaration of Independence and Constitutional Amendments (some of which thankfully have been repealed, like the anti-communion-wine 18th, and some of which should be repealed, like the feminist-sexist 19th) . . .can (and/or should) that Christian legislate and adjudicate only concordant with the doctrines of the Sacred-66-books Judeo-Christian Holy Bible . . . or also take into consideration the disbeliefs and misbeliefs of heretics and apostates of cultic religions of whatever types?

The answer is that God the Creator has a standard relating to morality-parameters intrinsically engrained within His created planetary environment known as Earth. In other words, what is moral and righteous as determined by Him, not merely in the past as a given to start with, but also continuing on, is congruent with His created natural phenomena, and the human creatures who accommodate to that Scripturally-revealed morality structure thrive in that environment . . . whereas those who disregard or disdain such Scripturally-informed morality perish (sometimes quite painfully), even with Divinely-deliberate "Acts of God:"

Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
Genesis 19:13 . . . we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up, get out of this place; for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
16 But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city.
17 And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed."
24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.<>BR>
I myself have experienced something similar to the above-mentioned account here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota in the past several years . . . and because it happened three different times under certain conditions, I am fully convinced that what happened in nature was more than mere coincidence.

The first was when a majority of the ("lutheran") ELCA decided to allow homogays to become engrained in the "lutheran" "church." As that happened, or very shortly thereafter, a fierce wind toppled the cross atop Central Lutheran Church. It made the news.

The second was when homosexuals had been given some political or legislative victory of some type (I cannot recall exactly what), and a fierce tornado almost immediately rippled through Wirth Park between Minneapolis and Golden Valley, shearing off the tops of trees, severing tree limbs, and overturning some large trees.

The third was when Mark Dayton and his pro-homosexual-"marriage" legislature had ruled in favor of same-gender homosodomy-unions licensing in Minnesota. Before and after than happened, I personally e-mailed the government and courts thereof in St Paul MN conveyed my intense disgust and condemnation, and soon thereafter some Golden Valley squad cars seem to be stalking me either for protective purposes or as hit men for the homos. Almost immediately God, who I bet figured that they all had too much time on their hands, caused an extremely-frightening significantly-devastating wind throughout the western suburbs (including Golden Valley), and this time huge trees here and there were overturned and uprooted all over the place (some are still there), falling on power lines and knocking out electric power in quite a few neighborhoods for up to a full week (resulting in food spoiling in refrigerators and neighbors buying and running noisy electrical generators all night in their backyards). Good thing the homoqueers did not get on their high horse in the middle of our recent frigid Minnesota winter!

It simply reminds me of some other incidents I have read about in Scripture:

Second Kings 19:35 And that night the angel of the LORD went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, hey, these were all dead bodies.
Isaiah 37:36 And the angel of the LORD went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, hey, these were all dead bodies.

Acts 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord smote [Herod, a Roman government official], because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died.

Bottom line?

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

When those of Israel and Judah corporately obeyed God, and had a righteous king, they prospered. But when they corporately disobeyed the commands and laws of God, and had a wicked king, they were overpowered by neighboring enemies and enslaved. Not only did that happen throughout the Old Testament, but also and especially happened in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust of the 1940s.

A Christian does not leave nor discard nor disdain his Biblical religion and doctrines thereof if, then when, he becomes a government official or agent. If he is lamentably within a pluralistic government where his proseltizing witness is limited, he is largely relegated to mundane operational duties of a typically bureaucratic government official (in essence, merely serving tables of haggling over nitpicky financial regulations instead of preaching morality from the Bible most of the time), and he has to consign himself to those boring but necessary-for-someone-to-do responsibilities for the general pluralistic populace.

He, as a government official, can only do a limited amount of evangelizing, but is answerable to all of the majority (both righteous and wicked) who elected or appointed him to governmental position. He has to please all types (good and bad) of all those who elected and/or appointed him, whether he thinks or knows what and what not is good for them compared to what will harm them.

Such is what Pontius Pilate as a government politician did. He, under Roman law could do nothing else, by default. As Jesus said to him: "They who delivered me to you have the greater sin." Pilate was obligated to "play both sides of the field." Jesus had legal rights as a tax-paying citizen under Roman jurisdiction, but those who wanted Jesus crucified also had legal rights under Roman jurisdiction, which they made clear to Pilate:

Luke 20:25 He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ a king."
John 19:12 Upon this Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews bellered out: "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend; every one who makes himself a king sets himself against Caesar."
John 19:15 They shouted out, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."

And Christianity-suppressing ALCU jews of Nazi Germany thus had no king but Hitler.

One advantage of a Christian ruler (like being part of the Christian-Emperor-Constantine Holy-Roman-Empire government official or agents, be he police officer, or sheriff, or marshal, or clerk, or judge) is the power to selectively and physically enforce whatever sometimes-contradictory largely-secular statutes and laws have been legislated into law. Such enforcement powers go way beyond those of a common peasant or citizen, although the apportionment of such authoritative powers are strictly regulated by previously-decided-and-mandatory legal protocols. Police and sheriffs simply cannot do anything they want or think of.

Ultimately, there will be both no "separation of church/synagogue/mosque and State" (during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ after He physically and bodily returns to Earth at Armageddon) culminating in complete and eternal "separation of church/synagogue/mosque and State" (when, on Judgment Day, the King separates the proverbial "goats" from the proverbial "sheep" and consigns the former to perpetual solitary-confinement torment in the outer-darkness Lake of Fire and consigns the latter to eternal painless bliss in the joyful fellowship amidst the splendor of light in Heaven.

The political power of the populace to elect and appoint certain of their own to rule over them will ultimately be overruled and overpowered by the Creator who has the proverbial "trump card" and "ace up His sleeve" Acts of God not only indicating but enforcing His will in a big time way. The spectacular or horrendous plagues referred to in the New-Testament book of Revelation will not be cataclysmic random quirks of nature gone awry for no reason, but definitively done for purposes related to what the Creator has Biblically informed us as being either moral or immoral behavior or misbehavior of humans destined to delightfully enjoy or excruciatingly suffer such coming planetary displays or catastrophes.

Even now, as has been for the past four or five thousand years regarding Hebrew-Israeli Jews, and for the past two thousand years regarding Hebrew-and-Gentile Christians, the frequently-lethal Spirit of God has been THE Divine Enforcer to preserve and protect what He determines is the canon of Scripture and security of His saints, while censoring and eradicating those against His Plan and purposes.

Techniques used by the Spirit have taken and yet take the forms of both seemingly-circumstantial blessings and apparently-coincidental cursings.

What is at His disposal for the negative, to thwart and stifle and suppress overbearing wicked at just the right times, are of course such things as heart attacks, strokes, cancers, complications from diabetes and other body-parts failures of the respiratory and/or digestive and/or reproductive and/or excretory systems, accidentally self-inflicted injuries and injuries deliberately or accidentally imposed by others, mechanical breakdowns, floods, earthquakes, drought, windshields shattered by flying objects from space, flat tires, dirty gasoline, slippery roads and sleepy tailgaters, sudden non-expected layoffs or early retirement, vandalism, robbery, murder, etc.

On the positive, blessing bestowed by the Lord also take many forms. Absence of lawsuits, avoidance of accidents, good health amidst surrounding plague, surprise monetary gifts at just the right time, missing that nail in the pothole or gutter from what would have caused a very-inconveniently mistimed flat tire or other vehicle accident, and on and on and on.

Such not only befalls common citizens, but also the government officials and agents they vote in and appoint over themselves.

Government legislators and judges do indicate and exercise their religious beliefs to varying extents and degrees -- some more and some less -- in how and what they legislate and adjudicate. For example, a judge might do his best to throw out a case against a righteous person by carefully searching for some technicality by which he can procedurally save the saint. Or, a judge might do his best to maintain the case by whatever it takes, and "throw the book" at someone evil who that judge considers deserves such harsh punishment and by whom he needs to set an example. But then the good or evil judges of a higher, or appeals, court might come to the opposite conclusion, and there are yet those judges on the U.S. Supreme Court (who themselves are subject to possible impeachment by a majority of Congress with or without Presidential Executive Order).

Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see in a province the poor oppressed and justice and right violently taken away, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
Ecclesiastes 5:9 But in all, a king is an advantage to a land with cultivated fields.

Semantically, the opposite of "creationism" is not "science," but is instead "evolutionism."

Indeed, from a philosophical perspective, "evolution" would properly be termed: "evolution mythology,"
and from a religious perspective, "evolution" would properly be termed: "evolution heresy."