The Return of the Kingdom
The book raises many questions for further reflection, such as regarding the extensive implications of sphere sovereignty. Whilst it is Biblically undeniable that God institutes and informs the distinct spheres of family, church, and stateâeach with Biblically defined parameters of governanceâwhat about other âspheresâ? Where do their boundaries lie, and who says so?âŠWho gets to decide these boundaries if they cannot be identified Biblically?
As Western societal norms erode at unprecedented levels and the Western political system becomes ever more questionable, a growing number of evangelicals are beginning to wonder whether Christians might have a few things to say about how to run a country.
Evangelicalism has long separated the ecclesial from the socio-political. The idea has been that if we can just get people saved and into churches, the world will more or less sort itself out. And if it doesnât, itâs the stateâs fault, not ours. We have imagined the worst possible state of affairs to be a âpoliticizedâ Church, preferring instead a policy of political quietismâor we might say, political âappeasementââwith the political Zeitgeist.
Perhaps this appeared sensible in light of the political partisanship of previous generations, where the Gospelâs edges may have been all too easily tailored to suit particular political agendas. This was, of course, a contextual reactionary approach, but has been held up as the definitively âChristianâ way to engage (that is, disengage) with politicsâan unusual stance even in light of Protestant history, let alone wider Church history.
There was also the issue of that revelatory year of 2020, when âGospel-centeredâ evangelical churches appeared to become more politically amenable to the Left in subtle ways. Such pulpits had previously refused to speak strongly on issues like homosexuality, abortion, and transgenderism for fear of entangling the Gospel in distractive socio-politics. These same pulpits started commending government directives to deny church meetings, chastising the unvaccinated as unloving, and apologizing for whiteness and maleness.
Suddenly, we were introduced to a ream of new âGospel issuesâ on the Left whilst continuing to dial down issues on the Right. Something deeply hypocritical in the evangelical mission was exposed, which many are still trying to dissect. Evangelicals are fast needing to re-educate themselves on whatâs gone wrong and what Christians might say (and do) about it.
Enter Joe Bootâs Ruler of Kings: Toward a Christian Vision of Government (2022). Boot offers not just an engaging diagnosis of the deep problems with Western politics but also maps out how the Church might begin to respond reflectively and proactively. The word âtowardâ in the subtitle is key. Boot is not offering a fully fleshed-out political strategy nor a manifesto for Christian nationalism per se. But what he does offer is a robust, reflective, and extremely valuable theological underpinning for how we might begin to reclaim the socio-political arm of Christian mission.
At 200 pages it is a relatively short book, yet it feels tightly packed, covering an impressive amount of ground, introducing and unpacking an enormous amount of Biblical, theological, and socio-political reflection. Whilst the brevity of the book in light of the ground covered certainly leaves some material in need of yet more unpacking (especially Biblically) Boot generally does a superb job here of bringing issues to the forefront which have gone unconsidered for a long time.
Whilst he engages a wide range of sources, he is offering here a recovery of the Kuyperian vision applied to our present era. To evangelicals less familiar with some of these Dutch Reformed sources, it may feel like Gandalf trawling the dusty shelves of the Minas Tirith library for things long forgotten. If evangelicals have claimed to appreciate the socio-cultural apologetics of Francis Schaeffer or Abraham Kuyperâs famous maxim that there is ânot one square inchâ over which Jesus is not Lord, most evangelicals have not acted like it.
This is what Bootâs book aims to do, to think through the socio-political implications of Christâs lordship and to reflect upon what it might mean to take it seriously in our time.
The Rule of Christ and the Cult of the Expert
Boot begins by contrasting the authority of Christ with the âself-anointed elite classâthe intelligentsiaâ of Western humanism, who become âa secular substitute for pastor and priestâ (16). He roots this in the radical human autonomy of the Renaissance, which ultimately rejected Godâs given order for creation, recreating the world in humanityâs image. We need not look far today to see such reconstructions in practice: â[W]e can create the world we live in by our thought and language, right down to our sexualityâ (19).
The âcult of the expertâ refers to the way in which specialized intellectuals are afforded immense ideological power over the populace, despite havingâin Thomas Sowellâs words âno âoverarching conception of the worldâ (21). Such experts today are on a quasi-divine mission to convert and sanctify us towards the âvirtuesâ of their favored ideology.
Whilst Western Christians seem to place implicit trust in such figures, Boot reminds us of Biblical figures like Joseph and Daniel, whose courageous application of Godâs revelatory Word confounded the governmental advisors and experts of their day, enabling profound kingdom influence upon state and society (31-32). It should be noted, however, that such heroes did not strategize their way to political influence but were raised up through providential happenstance, often against their own inclinations. Even so, today, it is not political hubris that haunts evangelicalism, but fear of it.
Such fear comes at a cost. If we neglect our confidence in Godâs Word, relying instead on âthe ideas of godless peopleâ for political direction, we âfaithlessly abandon our society and culture to despotism and tyranny.â (33). A decade ago this might have sounded like a zealous overstatement. But the devastating impact of the cultural revolutions of recent years, coupled with cowardly ecclesial responses, reveals a more pressing concern to reclaim our socio-political confidence.
In ceasing to see Godâs Law-Word as good and wise for all people, we have outsourced wisdom to posturing experts who oppose Godâs kingdom, and thus we neglect âthe whole counsel of Godâ as an important way we are to love our Lord as well as our neighbor.
Globalist Utopia vs. Biblical Nationhood
One of the consequences of our political abdication is the rise of globalist utopianism. This trend is rooted in the ideological legacies of the French Revolution and Marxism which continue to inform the infantilization and social control of the Western populace today, powered by elitist ideals. As Rousseau said: âThose who control a peopleâs opinions control its actions.â (36). Boot argues that Christians should reject all utopian visions as anti-real, coercive, and placeless (hence, âglobalâ).
Theologically, utopias implicitly reject Godâs providence, assuming a soteriological role to liberate humanity from disorder (36-39). Boot imagines globalist utopia as an idolatrous âgodheadâ, harboring mutated doctrinal attributes of divine âomnipotenceâ, âloveâ, âjusticeâ, etc. This is insightful for understanding the progressive weaponization of personal offense in our time: âFor there to be unity in the new godhead there must be total equality and equal ultimacy among all peopleâŠThis means that there can be no discrimination in regard to anything.â (49). Although Boot does not cite it, this chimes in with Richard Weaverâs Ideas Have Consequences (1948) which lamented the Westâs inevitable abolition of hierarchy, distinction, and judgment between different moral choices and ideas.1
The incessant drive towards mutated versions of love and justice leads to âan essentially structure-less collectivity of beings in harmony with themselves and the other (nature).â (53). This entirely impossible totalizing ideal requires an imagined omnipotence to even attempt: âIn order to be all-powerful, the new god, of necessity, must eliminate chance, impotence (powerlessness) and uncertainty from human affairs and this requires total control and omni-competence.â (54). Totalitarian globalism thus becomes an inevitable byproduct of the Enlightenment, where Godâs authority was supplanted in place of our own, echoing both Eden and Babel.
What, then, is the Christian alternative? Not Christian imperialism, Boot argues, but the preservation of Biblical nationhood. This involves theological reflection on the purpose of the nation-state throughout Scripture, including Godâs desire to set distinct boundaries (e.g. Deut. 4:5-8, Acts 17:26-27), His proclamations to the nations (e.g. Isa. 42:1-6) and His opposition to man-made attempts at unification (cf. Babel). Indeed, Biblical nationhood has both a creational and eschatological telos, culminating in Revelation where the nations are unified not in defiance of God but in worship of Him.
Boot is nuanced enough to understand some globalist intentions stem from âa deep religious hunger and urge toward the unity and peace of the human raceâ but argues how this cannot possibly be achieved by idolatrous rejection of Godâs commands (80). Contrasting the coercive âdiversityâ of the humanist utopia, Godâs New Jerusalem âaffirms a rich cultural diversity of languages, ethnicities and national identities, because the Word of God will have been applied and contextualized amongst every people of the earth.â (81). An ambitious vision indeedâbut a Biblical one.
Religion, Government, and the Secularist Illusion
Boot then moves on to the implications of worldview. When Christians assume the neutrality of a secular and/or religiously pluralistic worldview in society they often aid implications that directly oppose Christianity. What we believe about the world is not merely a âprivateâ religious matter. It necessarily affects âhow we view marriage and family, human society, education, law and yes, politics and government!â (88).