[This is part 4 in a series on “anarcho-theocracy.” See part one, two, three, five, six]

Many who are still trapped in the simplistic dichotomies that dominate public discourse assume the political spectrum is limited to the narrow range from “Democrat” to “Republican.” The apparent choice is merely between two slightly different forms of statism, with the possibility of a stateless, theocratic society rarely, if ever, considered.

Even when people escape these authoritarian constraints, they are likely to limit their understanding of the political spectrum to maybe “libertarianism to authoritarianism.” In this improved thinking, one is either an anarchist or a statist (to some degree). This is not entirely wrong. All non-anarchist positions inherently involve some degree of statism or socialist tendencies. But this anarchistic-to-statist binary is still somewhat oversimplified once we consider how fit the theological perspective into it.

Given our submission that a truly stateless society cannot exist without God, and that statism is inherently theocratic, we have to reconsider the traditional views of the political spectrum. Humans cannot escape their innate religiosity and must instead choose between the competing theocracies of anarcho-theocracy or the false theocracy of human rule.

The political spectrum

A more accurate picture of the political spectrum might be summarized as a dichotomy between statelessness to godlessness. The only true statelessness is one with God in it, and all human authority is inherently Godless. Put another way, all deviations away from statelessness entail Godlessness, and all deviations from God lead to statism. All rejections of the Lord as King are departures from statelessness and lead to statist societies where men as kings.

There are only two options: a society governed by God, or a society governed by the State. There is Godly Statelessness or Ungodly Statism. There is no such thing as a secular, non-religious form of anarchism, nor is there a Christian version of statism. True liberty can only be found when God is the ultimate authority, as any system ruled by human “kings” is ungodly. A stateless society is only possible when the Lord is our sole leader; any advancement of statism implies an abandonment of God’s anarchic, theocratic order in favor of man-made gods.

Are all theocracies tyrannical?

While it’s true that we might call all of these systems “theocratic” in some sense, it’s not true they all lead inevitably to tyranny. Not all theocracies are equal. The theocracy of God ruling over a free people is fundamentally different from a society where man-gods rule over the people. One means liberty and the other means slavery. This was always the lesson in the Bible: Men are enslaved because they have forsaken the Lord their God and set up other, false gods to rule over them. If you want to get free from Egyptian bondage, stop believing in false gods and return to the Lord.

The notion that any “theocratic” order leads to tyranny (as some seem to suggest) is mistaken. Only (2) the “theocracy” of statism and its false gods is an erection of political rulership by men. And yet this is an abandonment of (1) true theocracy.

As we have described the political spectrum, rejecting true theocracy—a godly, stateless society—means to advocate for some brand of statism. And this statism is the source of tyranny in our world.

Far from (true) theocracy being the problem with our world, it is precisely avoiding God’s theocracy that leads to statist systems. As the Christarchist, Kevin Craig, says,

“Those who oppose ‘theocracy’ are defenders—intentionally or unintentionally—of atheistic communism, secular progressivism, humanistic neo-conservatism, or pagan socialism.”

It is when men reject God’s theocratic rule that they find themselves subjected to a false, political “theocracy” that elevates men to the status of gods.

The political spectrum of godarchism and religio-statism

The theological-political spectrum, ranging from statelessness to godlessness, deserves further exploration. Our main point is that it is not simply a choice between anarchism and authoritarianism. It is a choice between God and false gods, which lead to either liberty or tyranny. It would be unfair to equate these two different paths and their disparate outcomes.

While it’s an oversimplification to claim “it’s all theocracy,” there is truth to the idea that humans struggle to escape their innate religiosity. This is why atheists often replace God with the false god of statism. Those statists who reject God do not truly become atheists or non-theocratic, but have merely adopted another (false) religion. Without faith in the Lord, people are inclined to deify their fellow man, whether consciously or not.

Contrary to the ways most men think, these political systems that we have agreed have a “theocratic” element to them—whether the “atheism” of “Democratic” statists who have deified the state, or the pretended Christianity of “Republican” statists—are not true theocracies.

“Godly statism” is a contradiction, as there is no such thing as a “Christian statist.” Statists are not seeking Christocracy, i.e., the rule of Christ, but rather chase after the “secular” god of the State. All true Christians are anarchists who reject human authority in favor of the Lord as their sole archist or ruler or sovereign. “Christian anarchism” is thus a redundant term.

The myth of atheism and non-theocracy

The core issue is not anarchism versus statism, but rather God’s rule versus the legal systems created by self-proclaimed “man-gods.” Fundamentally, humans cannot exist without some form of deity or divine authority. In this sense, even a secular state can be considered a type of “theocracy,” with the government serving as the object of worship and obedience.

The true question is not whether one believes in God, but rather which God one chooses to follow — the true God of heaven who created the earth, or the false gods constructed by man? The choice is between the theocracy of the divine and the “theocracy” of human institutions.

The notion of “godless communists” is a misnomer, as communists do in fact have a form of “god” — albeit human ones like Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Pol Pot. Rather than being truly godless, their god is the all-powerful State. This only slightly complicates the political spectrum as we have stated it, as those drawn to statism are not necessarily “godless” in the sense of abandoning a higher power, but are instead worshipping a different, earthly deity. While they may have departed from belief in the true God, they have simply substituted a new, false god in the form of the totalitarian state.

Given the inherent religiosity of men, the political spectrum of anarchism to statism cannot be understood unless we incorporate the respective concepts of (anarcho) theocracy and ungodliness. There is really only anarcho-theocracy and ungodly statist theocracy.  

Anarchism is the fullest expression of theocracy, and theocracy the fullest expression of anarchism. Not only are they compatible, but you can’t really have one without the other. True theocracy is anarchist, and true anarchism is theocratic. Setting up a statist regime is the opposite of true theocracy, and there will be no “anarchism” unless men make God their God. 

The effects of the two theocracies

While the “religious” nature of statism is evident, we cannot equate the rule of God (theocracy) with the “state-theists” (statists who worship the State as their “god”). These two paths lead to vastly different outcomes. They are not the same road to destruction. The are the difference between dwelling safely under a vine and fig tree, as the prophet Micah describes, and being bayoneted into a boxcar to serve time in the state labor camp. They are the difference between God’s provision of peaceful existence and man’s system of violent subjugation. The rule of God is a benevolent and providential oversight of those who obey His commandments, and the rule of men is the coercive force of soldiers and police carrying out the edicts of politicians.

The word of God repeatedly teaches that obeying the Lord leads to liberty and prosperity, while trusting in man-made systems as one’s god leads to slavery and poverty. Even if we were to label statism as a “theocracy,” it would produce vastly different results than the society that would emerge from truly obeying and seeking God.

Christian anarchism

Strictly speaking, “statist theocracy” is a contradiction. In a society where the state rules over the people, the rule by God is negated. At best, a “theocratic state” is one where religious elites merely pretend to govern as God’s agents. There is no such thing as “Christian statism.” All forms of statism are at odds with godliness and represent an abandonment of divine authority (1 Sam 8). Human government relies on force and coercion to enforce man-made laws, which directly conflicts with the moral teachings of Christianity — particularly the values of love, peace, and voluntary service.

True obedience to God rejects the use of political power to shape society. Those who are truly devoted to a theocratic order will not seek to rule through human political authority. They are “anarchist” as far as worldly governors are concerned. Anyone who employs political means to organize society is not a genuine theocrat or a Christian, but rather a worshiper of the false god of the state.

If we take “anarchism” to mean the absence of all archists, however, this is not an appropriate term for the Christian either. The Christian is not really an “anarchist” as the term has been understood by “secular” theorists. We are not trying to get away from archists altogether, only earthly-human ones. Rather, Jesus is the Christian’s archist (Colossians 1:18; cp. Acts 5:31; 1 Corinthians 11:3, 12:27; Ephesians 1:22, Revelation 1:5). 

However, this still forbids Christians from having human archists. As far as the kingdoms of men are concerned, true Christians must still be “anarchists” (ie., anti-statists). We cannot regard human kings as our gods as the godless masses do. This term anarchism is then better grounded when we uphold the Lord as our Sovereign and King.

Whatever the problems with the term anarchism, there can be no such thing as a Christian statist. Those who profess their allegiance to statism have bought into another religion. All true Christians are “anarchists.” Or better yet, they are Christarchists.

The true political spectrum from which men choose their political position is from Godarchy to Manarchy. Either God is a people’s ruler, in which case there is a stateless society and men live freely from tyrants; or men are ruler-gods, in which case men live under statist bondage.