[This is part 5 in a series on “anarcho-theocracy.” See part one, two, three, four, six]

Leaving Egypt Ministries, Obadiah D. Morris

In an article titled “Endless Theocracy,” it is said that the people of our world are inherently trapped in an endless cycle theocratic tyranny. No matter which way men turn, everything is a “theocracy” and they are all tyrannical. It looks to both the supposedly “religious” (Christian) or secular political systems, both which are called theocratic without much explanation, leaving no room for an anarcho-theocratic alternative. (As we have already explained in another article, this is confusing because even “secular” statism is a religion of sorts and “non-secular” statism is just a perversion of true theocracy).

We have agreed that all social systems are necessarily theocratic in nature, whether they genuinely follow God or adhere to the false religion of statism. However, critical distinctions exist between these forms of “theocracy.” A society’s choice of theocracy, whether divine rule or human rule, will profoundly shape its outcomes.

We can concede that all social systems, even “secular” ones, possess theocratic elements to some degree. We can agree that the concept of theocracy is inescapable, as even ostensibly non-religious governments are false religions. Calling an ostensibly “Christian” statist systems a “theocracy” is not exactly the smear that non-Christians think it is, given that their statism is also its own form of (false) religious rule. The problem with the State is not that fake Christians may take over it and pretend it is a “Christian country,” as “atheist” statists believe, but that all such political systems are ungodly, sinful rebellions against God’s true anarcho-theocratic order.

Yet it would be a great error to claim that all such theocratic systems (as we might call all of them) are inherently tyrannical. Where we cannot agree is that whether individuals pursue a stateless social order based on divine principles or the “theocratic” structure of human governance, the outcome is necessarily one of oppression.

True theocracy, where men submit to God as their King, is precisely about liberation from the bondage of human government. The gospel that Jesus preached is about a kingdom that operates far differently from the kingdoms of this world that He denounced. The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven is the Gospel of Salvation from the kingdoms of the world.

Tyranny no matter what?

The claim that all theocracies inevitably devolve into tyranny is problematic, as it would mean there is no escape from tyrannical rule, whether people choose a divine or human authority. If all theocracies are tyrannical it would mean that tyranny is the only available choice for men. This would contradict the gospel message of Jesus, which presents the kingdom of God as a non-violent alternative to earthly political systems.

While it is true that the false theocracies of man’s rule, whether pseudo-religious or ostensibly secular, are both tyrannical systems, this is not true of the Government of God. We are not trapped in a permanent theocratic-tyrannical cycle, whereby all social systems lead men down the same road. God does not present us with a choice between various, equally theocratic and tyrannical systems. Rather, He instructs us to avoid these false theocracies. By turning to Him, we can escape the tyranny that results from placing our trust in them.

The idea that we are permanently caught in a theocratic-tyrannical trap neglects to address the true theocracy of God’s rule, sufficing to consider pseudo-Christian statist systems as genuine theocracy. Following false-god, statist systems of men will certainly bring a “theocratic tyranny.” However, it’s entirely wrong to say that following the commandments of God leads to “theocracy” in this pejorative-tyrannical sense that is often used. The latter is precisely the way out of the former. This is a lesson that abounds in the scriptures: Make God your God and avoid the false ruler-gods of the world and their nightmarish societies — turn away from the systems of human government which were set up by sinners in their idolatry and rebellion to God, and cry out to the Lord in repentance again.

Far from all roads leading to tyranny, scripture teaches that political slavery only comes upon those who fail to seek God’s kingdom and who worship and praise the kingdoms of men in its place. The tyranny of statism is a curse by God to teach men a lesson in the sin of state worshiping.

Clearing up confusion

Since the term theocracy is commonly used to loosely describe the false theocracy of statism, great confusion arises when we begin to conceptualize what a genuine (stateless) theocratic order looks like. Men are so trained to believe that something like Saudi Arabia or even the United States represents true theocracy that they conflate the the divine natural order in with the systems of the world that God instructs men to turn away from.

If we want to denote the religious element to statism without adding to the confusion, it might be better to substitute statocracy or something of the sort for theocracy. There are good reasons to refer to statism as a religion. It is a system of false gods, replete with its sacraments and forms of worship and praise. It does represent a (false) public religion. However, there are other reasons why it is inappropriate to call statism a “theocracy.” It is not a system of the rule by God, which is anarchistic, but a system of false political gods. It is expressly antagonistic to God’s theocratic kingdom, where God rules over men. True theocracy abolishes the dominion of man over man. Its essence is “anarchist.” There are no human archists. God is the archist.

The effects of different theocracies

The effects of different theocratic orders—the true anarcho-theocracy of God to the false theocracies of statist systems—is where they are greatly distinguished from one another. If by “theocracy” we mean a society where the Lord reigns as the Lord and His law is supreme rather than man’s, we get an entirely different result. This result differs from the statocracies that we may concede are “theocratic” in some sense of the term. Yet this true theocracy is not at all similar to the statist order. Instead, it is a social order where the commandments of God are followed, which forbid men from going after others gods (eg., state systems). These commandments are to love God and your neighbor and to have no other gods. These divine commandments are practiced rather than the edicts of men.

There can be no greater difference in the types of theocracies: those under God, and those under the State. One means voluntary private charity and communities based on love of neighbors. The other means covetous practices, socialism, and using the force and violence of the State against your neighbor. One means the fervent charity of God’s people who value the weightier matters. The other means the legal charity that brings men into bondage. One means pure religion where men freely give to those in need. The other means public religion where benefits are forcibly extracted from people by civil fathers who claim to be benefactors but exercise authority over men.

Is God’s social order tyrannical?

The notion of “theocratic tyranny” is a misnomer if “theocracy” refers to God’s law and order. However, “theocratic tyranny” could indeed exist if “theocracy” denotes the false religion of statism. Ironically, atheists believe that a free society under God’s rule would be tyrannical, while absolving their own statist system of blame for being both tyrannical and religious. They hypocritically call for a “separation of church and state,” as if their “secular” religion of statism is righteous and non-religious.

True theocracy avoids this tyranny of the statist religion. Those who obey God and seek the true, anarcho-theocracy of the Lord as the ruler would avoid the tyranny of “statist theocracy.”

Statism is not true theocracy

Strictly speaking (i.e., defining theocracy as the rule by God), the claim that a “theocratic regime” can be either “religious or secular” doesn’t really make any sense. Any statist regime is not following the path laid out by God, and anyone who does follow this path is not setting up any sort of regime of men living freely under God.

Many people mistakenly equate statist regimes with true, godly theocracies. However, the “religious” elements of statism do not constitute a genuine theocracy — at least not the theocracy of God. While the term “theocracy” may loosely apply, it is inaccurate to directly compare the false religion of statism to a real, divinely-ordained theocratic system.

But one article that presents the conundrum of man to be one of being trapped in “endless theocracy” seemingly makes no distinction. He thinks that either theocracy—a society of people who make the Lord their king as much as a people who makes men their gods—leads to tyranny. It says, 

“The secular theocratic excess and incoherence of today seems to be following the same path to chaotic ruin as the religious theocratic excess and incoherence of yesterday. Human civilization, it seems, is an endless cycle of theocracies come and gone.”

The problem here seems to be an undefined conflation. The pseudo-theocratic regimes of old were not true theocracies. They were statist just like the systems today, though pretending to be godly. There is no problem with saying the “secular” statocracies of today have gone down the same road, but the issue is not theocracy, but that they were both false, statist systems. It may be true that we have endured an endless cycle of false theocracies. But we cannot simply lump true theocracy into this picture. Wherever there is a State, men are not pursuing God’s rule. Wherever there is a State, there is no true theocracy.

There is no reason to think that any way that men turn, they’re walking down the road of theocratic tyranny. Not only are these different theocracies conceptually different, but their effects are the difference between heaven and hell, so to speak.