The Nature of Man

By
Charles R. Fuqua, J.D.

Many years ago I went to the Muslim Student Union at the University of Indiana at Terra Haute, Indiana. I was amazed that many of the Muslim students were ardent Socialist and even Marxist. It seemed strange to me that people who believe in God would favor an ideology that rejects belief in God. I have also found it strange that many Muslim nations embrace Socialism. Another thing I have noticed is that American liberals seem to be more in tune with Muslims than with Christians or Conservatives. I have a Muslim acquaintance, and one day we were discussing the differences between the Christian and Muslim religions. He said ,"you Christians believe in the depravity of man. We Muslims reject that doctrine." As I thought on this statement I came to understand the fundamental ideological war in the world today.

The fundamental ideological war in the world today is over the nature of man. Some argue that man is basically good. They argue that children are born pure and innocent and only become selfish and corrupted by contact with the evils of the world around them. The interesting question is, if we are all born pure and good, how did the first selfish and corrupt person get that way. The Christian religion teaches that man is born selfish, self centered, and greedy. Anyone who has ever raised a child knows that children are born selfish, and self centered. The bases for the belief that man is basically selfish is found in the Bible. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. "There is none righteous, no not one" Romans 3:10. "There is nothing more desperately wicked then the heart of man" Jeremiah 17:9. "Man's inclination is continually to do evil" Genesis 6:5. There is no other religion that teaches that man has a sin nature. The largest religion in the world, the Muslim religion, rejects the doctrine of the inherent sinfulness of man. The Ideologies of progressivism, socialism, fascism, and communism all reject the doctrine of the inherent sin nature of man.

The founding fathers of the United States accepted the doctrine of the sin nature of man because they were Christians. All Christians accept the doctrine of the sin nature of man. It is the central and most fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion. The Christian religion teaches that all of mankind need a savior to save them from their sins. If we can gain salvation through our own good acts, then we do not need a savior, and the death of Christ on the cross was a farce.

Because the drafters of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution believed that all men have a sin nature, they created a system of government that prevents any one person from gaining too much power. They divided the government into three branches, executive, legislative and judicial. Then they gave the most powerful branch of government, the legislature, two separate houses and divided that power between many members in each of the two houses. They further dissipated power by creating levels of government. The highest level of government, the Federal government, was established as a government of limited (enumerated) powers. The Constitution list the powers given to the Federal government and then reserves to the States, or the people any powers not given to the Federal government. The founding fathers of the United States understood that government is a necessary evil. It is important that both aspects of that statement are understood. Government is necessary. We cannot live without it. Without it chaos reigns. However since government is composed of people cooperating together, and since all people have a sin nature, government is evil. Throughout history more human oppression, suffering and death have been caused by government that any other human institution. Like fire, government can be a useful tool for mankind. If fire is contained within a stove it is useful. The Constitution is like a stove. It contains government and limits it to a useful purpose. However, if fire gets out of the stove, or if government exceeds its Constitutional limits, it consumes and destroys all.

There are those who criticize the Constitution and refer to it as consisting of negative rights. This is because the Bill of Rights is a list of "thou shall nots" to government. Those who criticize the Constitution in this manner do not believe that the government should have limits on its power, because they believe that government is a force for good. Especially if they are the ones in charge of it. They believe this because they reject the doctrine of the sin mature of man.

Today we are faced with a choice. We will accept the Christian doctrine of the inherent wickedness of man, or we reject that doctrine, and accept the teachings and beliefs of Mohammedanism, progressivism, fascism, socialism, and communism. The choice will determine the future of our nation. Either we will limit government power and promote individual freedom and responsibility or we will allow unlimited government power and control.

Allowing the ownership of privet property and a free and competitive market is the best way to limit government power and promote individual rights and responsibility. It is important to understand that these are the battle lines. If you have ever wondered why the Socialist and all other isms hate Christianity and always seek to destroy it? It is because Christianity is the only limit on absolute government power. God gave the commandment, "thou shall not steal." This commandment recognizes the right to ownership of property. The commandment did not establish the right of property ownership. It simply recognized natural law. When a cave man used his time, effort, and talent, to make a flint knife, he know that the knife was his, and he would use it, if necessary, to defend his ownership right. A free and competitive marketplace rewards those who provide goods and services that others want. Competition makes a free market self-regulating, and provides the most goods and services, to the greatest number of people, at the lowest price. Those who desire monopolistic control of a market want to use government as a means of eliminating competition and amassing control and power. A free marketplace ensures freedom in every aspect of a society because it dissipates power. That is why those who want to amass power prefer government regulation to a competitive market. A free enterprise system creates millions of millionaires. Those who want all power in their hands cannot tolerate such a system.

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