BY ERROL A. GIBBS

Democracy demands a standard of unprecedented “moral” considerations for people of a different race, culture, colour, and religion. The context here is that the “keepers of democracy” decide for all humanity. Democracy also demands noble goals aligned with Christian democratic ideals, underpinned by a “moral and ethical” foundation of “just” laws to ensure fairness and justice for all.

The disparity in health, wealth, ownership, and corporate directorships among peoples and countries of colour, and the elites in Western Christian Democracies,” shatters the notion that nations practice, seeks to achieve, or pursue democracy with great vigour. The rigid “power imbalance” sustained and maintained by “unjust laws” is clear and convincing evidence that Christian democracy has entrenched limits.

Democracy represents the best opportunity for nations to achieve harmonious and equitable societies. Nevertheless, to millions worldwide, democracy “falls short” of its noble ideals. To others, democracy is a “double-edged” sword, because of two opposing ideological “worldviews” (“capitalism” and “socialism”). These two ideological political positions also undergird the narratives of the two major parties that divide peoples and countries.

Historians recorded democracy back to classical Athens and Greeks in the 16th century BC Postmodern democracy projects a bastion of freedoms of expression, good governance, and peace organizations, and “fairness and justice” for all, as the “ideals of democracy.” In his Gettysburg address in Pennsylvania on November 19^th, 1863, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the 16^th president of the United States of America said, “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

In the Declaration of Independence in Congress, July 4^th, 1776, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the 3^rd president of the United States of America said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These two critical statements are the bedrock of American democracy, and they have helped establish a beacon of “high ideals,” hopefully, for non-democratic nations to emulate.

“To say the least, the experiences of the Greeks and Romans showed how not to do it [solve the problem of constitutional government]…the political structure of the United States is radically different from that of the Greeks or the Romans. It is based upon the Ten Commandments and on the teachings of Christ. Try to rewrite the Declaration of Independence without reference to the Christ axioms. You’ll find it can’t be done!” The Mainspring of Human Progress. Copyright © 1947. Chapter 9: Compromise ― the Romans, p. 91. Henry G. Weaver (1889-1947).

Fortunately, human beings have the patronage of “Spiritual Intelligence” (SQ) (God), “Human Intelligence” (IQ) (Human), and “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) (Machine) to engender better societies. These three levels of intelligence ought to be in concord, to achieve the highest human potential and capability to survive as a viable species. Philosophically speaking, this writer refers to these three enablers as the “Triad Colossi” ―the ultimate path to making a true democracy.

Herein lies the heart of this writers’ inquiry. Democracy — Why the Incongruity? Some of the wealthiest people on earth are Ministers of the Gospel. How does such a contradiction square with the ideals of “Christianity” or “democracy?” In the realm of political systems, democracy stands supreme. Constitutions and national anthems proclaim the name of God as “supreme.” “In God, we trust.” Yet, there is a “gulf of separation” between “professing” and “practicing” Christianity. There are practicing Christians in Western societies, but to declare that Western nations are Christian nations is a misnomer.

A Christian nation “must,” profess Christianity at the highest electoral office, and its constitution “must,” proclaim the teachings of Jesus Christ (its founder), as the central message, to guide its affairs ―public or private. “Separation of Church and State” is another idea that many in the Christian world have adopted, though it only works to benefit the secular world. Paradoxically, the concept is contrary to the ideals of “Christianity” and “democracy.” It is counterintuitive, counterproductive, illogical, and implausible.

It denies the state of a crucial path, “spiritual” and “constitutional,” by which the country could benefit from the “moral and sanctifying power” of the church. It is an unwise proposition. Furthermore, the concept is neither Biblical, constitutional, nor politically expedient. It is categorical, a grievance against God, and the survival of humankind as a viable species, giving rise to chaos. Hence, the scriptures proclaim the destruction of earthly kingdoms and human rule (Daniel 2:44).

Where are our postmodern priests, philosophers, and early Christian reformers akin to John Huss (1369 – 1415)? Where are the philosophers, the intellectuals, and the Biblical scholar’s voices when the world cries out for social justice and just laws? The year 2020 sounds like a prophetic year, but this writer hopes that the postmodern prophets would think long and hard before they advise us mere mortals about what would unfold in the future ― civilizations quest since 1st century BCE. 1.

BY ERROL A. GIBBS

The Western world thinks of democracy and Christianity as synonymous; the evidence demonstrates otherwise. Christianity was not a foreshadowing of democracy. The Christian (church) has indelibly stained its reputation by its early beginnings. There is neither a concurrent, congruent, nor a parallel path of Christianity and democracy.

It is laudable, though that Christianity and democracy have spread to the West, bringing noble human virtues that have set high ideals for democratic leadership ―a compelling call for the exercise of faith, belief, and practice. Paradoxically, the “fault lines” that have developed in Western nations birthed their constitutions that have cast “long-dark shadows over otherwise what could have been two compatible systems of human governance.

Christianity began as a movement within Judaism but quickly spread outside the Jewish community; by the late fourth century, it was the official religion of the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, there was a theological and political conflict between the followers of the patriarch in Constantinople and the followers of the pope in Rome, leading to a split between the Western Church and the Eastern Church (also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church) in 1054 (July 16, 1054 CE: Great Schism ―National Geographic).

Conversely, democracy began in the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people” (from demos, “the people,” and kratos, or “power”). It was the first known democracy in the world…Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries, its invention by Cleisthenes, “The Father of Democracy,” was one of ancient Greece’s most enduring contributions to the modern world (History.com Ancient Greek Democracy).

The travesty that the world faces today is its involvement in several major atrocities in world history ―notable the INQUISITION (“Holy Inquisition”) was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas ―beginning in the 12^th century and continuing for hundreds of years…” (History.com ―Inquisition).

The CRUSADES were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East. (History.com ―Crusades).

Black African enslavement (1619 – 1863). Throughout the 17^th and 18^th centuries, people were kidnapped from the continent of Africa, forced into slavery in the American colonies, and exploited to work as indentured servants and labor in the production of crops such as tobacco and cotton…” (History.com ―Slavery in America).

Eric Williams (1911–1981): “The church also supported the slave trade. The Spaniards saw in it an opportunity of converting the heathen, and the Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans were heavily involved in sugar cultivation, which meant slaveholding. Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery (London: Andre Deutsch Limited © 1944 by Eric Williams), p. 42.

On September 22^nd , 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million black slaves in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery (History.com ―Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation).

Rather than the breakthrough of a “new” phase of Western Christian “moral enlightenment,” the world has witnessed a “new” era of racial, social, educational, and economic oppression, underpinned by the brutal “lynching” of blacks that has lasted in different forms up to the twenty-first century.

Postmodern Western Christian enlightenment, democracy, and academic scholarship should have the capacity to lift humanity out of the “blight of oppressing” weaker peoples and nations. More importantly, to eliminate, mitigate, or manage international disagreement. Instead, Western Christian nations readily assembly coalitions to engage in brutal wars ―justified by fear ―of a breach in the nation’s security in stark contradiction to Biblical admonishment (Proverbs 9:10, 29:25, and Psalm 91).

How did the Western world arrive at these crossroads of incongruence? The cornerstone of this postmodern dilemma lies in the circumvention of the Biblical constitution (law) (the Christian Bible) by secular Western constitutions. Men penned secular constitutions, predicated on political, legal, social, and economic expediency, not “religion” (spirituality), or the dignity of all of humankind.

Secular Western constitutions do not recognize that sovereign humans must live by faith, belief, and practice ―spiritually commanded. It does not explain the improbability of nations striving to govern themselves ―incongruously by two masters (spiritual (religious) and secular).

“Separation of Church and State is another concept that many in the Christian world have adopted, though it only works in favour of the secular world. Separation of Church and State is counterintuitive, counterproductive, illogical, and implausible, giving rise to the world’s utter chaos. The concept is neither Biblical, constitutional, nor politically expedient. Separation does not provide either a “spiritual” or “constitutional” pathway for the state to benefit from the “moral and sanctifying power” of the church. God gave His last word in Daniel 2:44. (Continued in Part 3 of 3).

BY ERROL A. GIBBS

Western, democratic Christian nations claim Christianity as the religion that can save the world. Paradoxically, 30,000 – 40,000 Christian denominations call into question the unanimity in faith belief. Catholics (including Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox) constitute some 1.2 billion of the estimated 2.2 billion people worldwide who count themselves as Christians (Barrett et al. 2001, Adherents.com website). Interestingly, Christian democratic development is rooted in the fissures of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Why the incongruity?

Western political leaders seem to imply that Western constitutional democracy is synonymous with Christianity. However, there is not a preponderance of the evidence that postmodern Christian democracy confirms such a proposition. Notwithstanding, the Judeo-Christian tradition clarifies that otherwise nebulous idea of equality. Christian literature teaches that all people are born equal in the image of “God” that all human beings share (a) the same origin, (b) the same nature, and (c) the same destiny. (Reference: Copyright © UNESCO 1979 (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice (Adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO at its twentieth session Paris, November 1978).

Notwithstanding, 6,000 years of records of human history tell a different story about inequality of birth. Intellectual observation would reveal that human beings are not born equal in the image of audacious “man.” The architects of the “human ecosystem” in Western countries makes it empathically clear (by their practice of degrading others) that the design does not comprehend the empowerment of people of colour, or the optimization of their lives.

Paradoxically, the clerics continue to pontificate, “All men are created equal.” They never provide context or challenge the constitutional writers and the practitioners of racial and cultural superiority. They rarely let their voices resonate against human beings’ subjugation, ill-treatment, and mass incarceration in stark contradiction to the original constitution for humankind (the Christian Bible). Specifically, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the great prophets of other religions.

We may have overlooked the need to call upon the white clergy. They are remarkably silent in matters regarding coloured lives. Yet! Their voices might have the most significant resonance with the established political hierarchical order. The paradox of all paradoxes is the Christian west striving to “democratize” the world ―not by loving, caring, and sharing ―nor with faith, hope, and mercy ―not by empathy, fairness, and justice.

Does Christianity democracy have the “moral capacity” to transform the world, underpinned by such incongruences? Western leaders claim tremendous success by comparing democracy to other systems of governance, such as feudal monarchy, totalitarianism, and postmodern communist dictatorships. Absolutely! Democracy is superior to these different regimes, past and present. Sadly, the leaders of some regimes opportunistically draw a parallel to some Western democratic leader’s behaviour as equivalent to theirs.

The “moral evidence” demonstrates that the heights of injustice in the administration of “unjust laws” are represented in Just Mercy ―A Story of Justice and Redemption. Copyright © 2014 by Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the “Equal Justice Initiative (EJI),” says, “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice” (Reference: Bryant Stevenson’s TED Talk).

In 2012, EJI won a historic ruling in the US Supreme Court holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional. Stevenson’s work fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system has won him numerous awards. Bryant is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government. He is the recipient of 14 honorary doctorate degrees.

The disparities that are so glaring to non-Christians and some Christians alike cause them to ponder the complicated relationship between Christianity and democracy. The democratic Christian west in 2020 is experiencing a “crisis in leadership governance” (spiritual, moral, social, intellectual, and physical). In the book, “Poor Leadership and Bad Governance,” Edited by Helms, Ludger, (2012), it provides a chronology of ‘wicked problems’ facing leaders in our postmodern ear.

Evidence is in the principal problem facing leaders in postmodern democracy by an enormous buildup of the global Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). Too many disadvantaged peoples of color, the PIC paints a picture of a “constitutionally legal” substitute for the industrial-scale strictures of plantations of the Southern United States and the colonies. (Internet Reference: Plantation Life, National Humanities Center).

This “deficit-financed” PIC suffocates the growth of a more “just society.” Notwithstanding, powerless individuals are becoming aware that they are powerful. They are the light of the world, striving to illuminate the darkness of indifference to people of colour. Undergirded by these “thought perspectives” lie the irrefutable evidence that even the powerless have control of their destiny, enabled by their spiritual connection to God.

Civilization brought itself out of the Dark Ages or Early Middle Ages, the early medieval period of western European history—specifically, the time (476–800 CE). More importantly, the world ended 400 years of unrelenting Black African enslavement (1600–1900 CE), and the United Nations (UN) gave the Declaration of Human Rights to the world in (1984) (Continued in Part 2 of 3).