I. Govt 220 notes
II. Biblical Principles of Government
A. Facts and Human Frailty
1. Complex debates = valid concerns, must be balanced and
valued
2. Only one truth, but we as humans see “through a dark
glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12)
B. The Domain of the Heart
1. Very personal/spiritual side
2. An arrogantly confident person gets there because of
dismissal or hatred of different perspectives
3. Reductionist perspective ignores important concerns
MODULE 1
III. Politics and Democracy
A. Politics
1. Activity by which an issue is agitated or settled
B. Power
1. The ability of someone to make another person act
according to the first person’s intentions
C. Authority
1. Right to use power
IV. Defining democracy
A. Legitimacy
B. What gives American democracy legitimacy?
1. Types of democracy
a) Direct democracy
b) Representative democracy
2. Needs opportunity for competition of leadership
a) Parties run for office
b) free communications
c) voters realize meaningful choice exists
3. Democracy: the rule of many
a) Political authority conferred by law
C. 5 views in America
1. Class view
a) Wealthy capitalists and elites determine policy
2. Power elite view
a) Group of business, military, labor union, and elected
officials controls decisions
3. Bureaucratic view
a) Appointed bureaucrats ultimately run everything
4. Pluralist view
a) Representatives of many interest groups are in
charge
5. Creedal passion view
a) Morally impassioned elites
6. “Rich and powerful always game the system, wrap
themselves in religion. Ancient empowers portrayed themselves
as gods”
D. Who is sovereign?
1. The state
a) Tyranny
2. God
a) Self-government/liberty
3. The individual
a) Anarchy
E. Who governs, and to what ends?
F. Apie
G. Expanding the political agenda
1. Political agenda: issues that people believe require
governmental action
H. Biblical Principles of Government
I. Can we legislate morality?
1. Either no government at all, or every law is inherently
enforcing some moral
2. Guiding Biblical Themes: Sovereignty of God
a) Transcendent sense of right and wrong
b) Natural Law
c) God’s law superior to man-made law
d) Should we always enforce God’s law on all people?
3. Guiding Biblical Themes: Radical Optimism
a) Depravity of man
(1) Man is naturally sinful and depraved
b) Made in God’s image (imago dei)
4. Guiding Biblical Themes: Justice
a) Every function of government
b) Impartiality
c) Protect the weak and exploited (Is. 10:1-2)
5. Guiding Biblical Themes: Inalienable rights
a) Made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26)
b) Life, liberty, and property
c) Can’t be taken or given away
d) Assumes natural law (higher law above man-made)
6. Guiding Biblical Themes: Self-Government
a) The image of God requires free will and responsibility
b) God’s grace allows us to be freed from sin
c) True liberty: no desire to control others or be
controlled
J. Covenant
1. Between God and man or man and man
2. Biblical idea
3. History: federalism
4. Covenant vs contract
a) Sense of relationship, mutual accountability
K. Separation of Church and State
1. Separation ensures freedom of conscience
a) Faith cannot be coerced
2. Example: Old Testament theocracy
3. Example: Christ did not seek a political kingdom
a) Sin-crime distinction
b) Every crime is a sin, but not every sin is a crime
4. Doctrine of the Two Swords
5. Limits on social welfare policy
L. Law and Covenant
1. One covenant affirms and supersedes the previous
covenant
2. Adamic-Noahic-Abrahamic-Mosaic-New Covenant
3. Noahic Covenant: Gen 9:6 and capital punishment
4. Components of Mosaic Law
a) Ceremonial
b) Judicial
c) Moral
5. Resisting Tyranny
a) Material breach of the covenant
b) Locke: State of nature/state of war
c) Prevented by political participation
d) Interposition and voting
e) Selfless self defense
M. Freedom and American Democracy
1. Choosing Independence
a) Lexington and Concord
b) Second Continental Congress
c) Publication of Common Sense
d) Paine attacks nature of monarchy and aristocracy
e) 1776 vote for independence
N. Declaration of Independence Background
1. Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson
2. John Locke’s philosophy influence
3. English Glorious Revolution of 1688
4. Main ideas stated in first 2 paragraphs
O. Dec. of Ind. Key Concepts
1. Law of nature
2. Absolutes
3. Equality
4. God-given rights
5. Purpose of government: secure these rights
6. Limited government: to secure these rights
7. Source of gov’s power: consent of the governed
8. Right of revolution
P. Why the framers chose representative Democracy
1. Direct is dangerous
2. Representative democracy allows for deliberation
3. Representative democracy includes “a greater variety of
parties or interests”
a) Majority faction
b) More practical over large distances
Q. Rule by the people
1. Popular sovereignty
a) US first to embrace this
R. State constitutions
S. Articles of confederation
1. First national constitution
2. Weak national government
a) State sovereignty
3. Weaknesses of national gov
a) Underfunded
T. Problems within states
1. Shays’ rebellion
2. Rage for paper money
3. Deficiencies of state laws
U. Biblical Synthesis quiz 2
1. De jure
a) State is failing to act, goes back to sin-crime
distinction
2. De facto
a) inequality that is not caused by a legal problem
3. Sin crime distinction matches with which cluster?
a) Separation of church and state
4. Noncentralization most closely aligns with which cluster
a) Covenant
5. The Church must play the lead role in de jure injustice
a) False
6. Key principles to Constitution
a) Federalism
b) Divided authority, diffused power
7. Enumerated powers
a) Powers given to national government
8. Compromises of the Constitution
a) Constitution does not use “slave”
b) Three-fifths clause
c) Importation of slave’s clause
d) Fugitive slave clause
e) Avoided suggestion that slavery was moral and just
Module 3
V. Regulation of political speech
A. Schenck v. US (1919) Clear and present danger test
B. Gitlow v. New York (1925): 14th makes 1st applicable to
states
C. Can’t limit because society finds it offensive
Chapt 6
VI. Struggle for Civil Rights in 20th century
A. Early leaders: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois
B. Early setbacks include Klan, violence, and segregation
C. Post WW1: a call for equality and a move to the cities
D. Roosevelt and Truman make some moves to end federal
segregation
1. Shift to democrats
2. Truman and democrats
E. New left vs. fundamentalism
1. Radical new left political ideology coexisted alongside the
Civil Rights movement
2. Christian Fundamentalism and Legalism
3. Fears about Marxism, statism, and secularism tainted
Christian support for Civil Rights
4. The Jesus People as the emergent Religious Right
F. LEGALISM: define relationship by keeping rules
G. Fundamentalism
1. F-fails
2. A-authoritarian
3. I-isolationist
4. L-Legalism
5. S-shame
H. Civil Rights in the Courts
1. 14th amendment protections
2. Brown v. Board of Education
a) Separate is unequal
b) Orders to desegregate.
I. Desegregation vs. Integration
1. Brown case made it clear that de jure segregation is illegal
2. How to address de facto segregation unanswered
3. Some states used busing to desegregate
4. Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971)
upheld busing as appropriate
Inalienable rights trump states’ rights
VII. Civil Liberties/Civil Rights Themes
A. Rebel-orphan slave
B. (confusing) overlap of the culture wars and civil rights
movement.
C. New Radical Left vs. Christian Fundamentalism
D. Fundamentalism/Legalism is FAILS
1. F: Fear Based
2. A: Authoritarian
3. I: Isolationist
4. L: Legalist
5. S: Shame-based
E. De Jure vs. De Facto Inequality
1. De Jure: anything that violates life, liberty, and property,
caused by a pre-existing law which is inherently unjust, or
absence of necessary legal intervention.
2. De Facto: inequalities which exist in life, often from
previous de jure injustice, the remedy of which is not necessarily
a legal intervention, and one which Is hotly contested among
various political groups
F. De Jure vs. De Facto Debates
1. How to remedy current inequalities caused by past impacts
2. Busing, Affirmative Action as an example of when
addressing past injustices can go away
G. Racism and the Gospel
1. Racism & Legalism
2. The Doctrine of Sin-we all have ability for evil
3. Limited government: expansion of “Love thy neighbor”
4. Not mutually exclusive:
a) Spiritual renewal vs. State-based restriction
b) Black conservatism
5. Living for eternity gives us the strength to fight now
H. The Beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement
1. Married Women’s Property Acts (1839-1895): granted
married women some or all of the property rights possessed by
men
2. Seneca Falls convention (1848)
3. Women’s suffrage movement
a) Wyoming: first state women had right to vote
b) Minor v. Happersett (1875)-the women’s Dred Scott
case? Rights of citizenship did not include right to vote
I. The Modern Women’s Movement
1. Suffrage: Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
2. Workplace conditions
a) 1908: women’s workday limited to 10 hrs
b) 1937: minimum wage set for women
3. Equal Rights Amendment
a) First introduced in 1923
b) Only ratified by 35 states (needs 38)
c) Opposed by some women who argued it would end
the legal exemption of women from the military and end
legal benefits for wives under the Social Security system
Ch. 6
VIII. Public Opinion
A. Should we trust opinion polls?
1. Important limits to public opinion surveys
2. Most people have limited knowledge about government
and policy
3. Citizens find policies and candidates that match their
values
B. What drives opinion
1. Political socialization
a) Family
b) Religion
c) School
d) Peer groups
e) Media
C. Political Ideology
1. A set of beliefs about what policies government ought to
pursue
2. Liberals
3. Conservatives
4. Libertarians
5. Populists
D. How to measure ideology
1. Self-identification
E. Nature of Law
1. Conservativism
a) Law is discovered rather than made, it existed before
man
b) Doctrines of higher law or natural law
c) Existence of absolute laws
2. Liberalism
a) Law is made rather than discovered
b) No absolutes
c) Moral principles are changing
F. Human Nature
1. Conservativism
a) Flawed by nature
b) Biblical roots
c) Man’s basic nature is unchanged
2. Liberalism
a) Good by nature
b) Corrupted by environment
c) Environment can improve people
G. Size of government
1. Conservatism
a) Government is best which governs least
b) Governments limited to basic constitutional functions
c) Gov cannot be given too much power
2. Liberalism
a) Bigger gov
b) Gov should meet economic needs
c) Gov can be trusted
H. Constitution
1. Conservative
a) Valued
b) More literal interpretation
c) Original intent of constitution should be respected
2. Liberal
a) Valued
b) Less literal
c) Constitution should be interpreted to necessities
I. Equality
1. Conservative
a) More limited
b) Equality of opportunity
c) Religious dimension
d) Equality before the law
2. Liberal
a) Less limited
b) Equality of opportunity may not be enough
c) Gov may pursue equality of result
J. Priv Property
1. Conservative
a) Private property is important
b) Property is a basic human right
c) Biblical support
2. Liberal
a) Private property is less important
b) Human rights are more important
c) Redistribution of property may be necessary
K. Economy
1. Conservative
a) Capitalism and free enterprise
b) Private sector more trusted
c) Capitalism has been successful in raising standard of
living
2. Liberal
a) Liberalism critical of capitalism
b) Government regulation of business
c) Capitalism is a partial failure because people still
poor
L. Level of government
1. Conservative
a) Local gov preferred
b) Local gov easier to control and less danger to
people’s liberty
c) Federalism stressed
2. Liberal
a) Central gov preferred
b) Central gov more efficient
c) Federalism not stressed
Libertarians
Agree with conservatives
Populists
Strong gov intervention
Exam 2 material
Tophat questions
Article 1 section 8-enumerated powers
1. Exit poll
a. Determine likelihood of a presidential candidate later that evening
2. From a Biblical perspective, polls represent the sole criteria which elected officials must
make decisions to vote off
a. False
3. Limited government, government has no right over woman’s right to choose
a. Libertarian
4. Interest group
a. Contract lobbyists
b. Organize a group of people to advocate for an issue
5. From a Biblical perspective of justice, what might be a concern with the influence of
trade or professional associations on lawmakers
a. They tend to favor restrictions on competition
6. Lobbying is inherently evil because it seeks undue influence on lawmakers
a. False
7. According to dr. Fischer, what most accurately describes the current era of media
availability
a. More partisan sources, more media outlets, probably same issues with the “echo
chamber”
8. What is the greatest source of bias in the media
a. Partisanship, especially of liberals
b. Limited resources to accurately cover an issue
c. Hyper competition to be the first with the story
d. Self-righteousness
9. Crisis management
a. Elected officials who seek to stay ahead of the media cycle
10. According to Dr. Fischer it is much safer and just to allow for disinformation and
conspiracy theories than it is to have State-controlled media and silencing of debate
a. True
11. Which house allows for greater control over its members
a. House of representatives
12. Tower of Babel fallacy
a. Warns against collective wisdom
13. What economic approach favors direct government intervention into the economy to
stabilize it?
a. Keynesian
14. A tax on corporations is ultimately a tax on consumers
a. True
15. Difference between an “original intent” interpretation of article 1 section 8 and more
liberal interpretation
16.
