Freedom Requires Virtue, Which Requires Faith
When speaking of issues of justice and maintaining order in society, a democracy requires a certain ingredient to work well. That ingredient is virtue. But where does virtue come from? It comes from faith. Knowing human nature, when we remove faith from a democracy, we remove virtue from a democracy. And when we remove virtue, it doesn’t take very long at all before the society starts to crumble. Freedom and liberty are curtailed in attempts to maintain order and safety. And the desires and quickly changing whims of the majority (lacking in virtue) begin to shape public policy. As Chuck Colson notes in his book, Justice that Restores, “without individual virtue, one cannot achieve a virtuous culture; without a virtuous culture, one cannot hire enough policemen to keep order. As Michael Novak has trenchantly observed, referring to America, ‘in a virtuous culture, we have 250 million policemen, in a culture that mocks virtue, we cannot hire enough policemen.'”
Indeed, a virtuous society basically polices itself, creating more, not less, freedom. Eric Metaxas explains further in this great 4 minute podcast. Click here to listen.
