Sunday, March 29, 2009

Government and Caspian Quiz 25

We're continuing the Truth Project in Sunday School at church, and today was an interesting day: the State. This examination of the role the Bible lays out for government got me thinking about two different aspects of government: its basic role and the idea of sphere sovereignty.
The basic role of government, of course, is social order, to condone good and punish evil. To do so, of course, the government has to know what good and evil are, something I fear is becoming lost in American society in general. Still, I think our government is still doing a decent job here. It's not perfect, of course. It couldn't be. Overall, though, this country is not lawless.
The other interesting aspect, sphere sovereignty, was popularized by Abraham Kuyper. Basically, the concept says that the different social institutions that God has created (government, family, church, education, community) have specific rights, responsibilities, and structures, and that no one sphere has the right to exercise authority over another. The American concept of Freedom of Religion derives in part from this idea: the government is one sphere and it should not be directly controlling the church. Still, if we examine this idea and then look at the state of governments around the world, we see to varying degrees that sphere sovereignty has been violated. In many places, the government has sovereignty over areas in which it has no business being involved (such as the family size limits of China or the attempts in the US to re-define marriage.
I like the concept of sphere sovereignty, but bringing it to a practical level is tricky. These institutions all involve the same groups of people, and the part that's hard for me to grasp is where the boundaries are. For instance, is it a violation of sphere sovereignty for the government to enact child labor laws? Is it a violation of sphere sovereignty for the government to enact minimum wage laws? I instinctively want to say no to the first and yes to the second, but I feel like I'm contradicting myself.
While we are blessed here in America to have a decent government and to be able to be involved in government, I am becoming increasingly concerned that as a country, we are looking to government to be for us what it cannot be: God, our source and our provider. But that is a discussion for another post.

Prince Caspian Quiz 25
(This one should be easy)
55. How does the Narnian army sneak into Miraz’s castle to attack?
A. They don’t sneak in; they launch a frontal assault
B. They ride in on gryphons
C. They scale the walls
D. They don’t attack Miraz’s castle. They know better.

56. When Caspian reaches Miraz’s bed chamber, what does he do?
A. He offers Miraz a chance to join him
B. He doesn’t ever reach Miraz’s chamber because they never attack the castle.
C. He puts a sword to Miraz’s throat and almost kills him.
D. He says, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; prepare to die.”

57. How does Dr. Cornelius escape from the Miraz’s castle?
A. He is rescued by Caspian during the attack on the castle
B. He sneaks away before Miraz can do anything
C. He pretends to be going to gather herbs and never comes back
D. He rappels out using a bed sheet

1 comment:

Mr. Pi Thetahead said...

55. Book: D, Movie: B
56. Book: B, Movie: C (although I whispered D to myself when I watched the movie)
57. Book: B, Movie: A