In my starting post on Christian Politics, I listed 7 Divine Rights, which I defined as “rights that men have that, if violated, will be avenged by God, as revealed in Scripture.” And you’ll note that several rights we take for granted in America, notably freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms, are not among them.

Today I’d like to touch on cultural norms.

Freedom of speech in America is derived from Anglo-Saxon cultural norms. It’s also derived from an Enlightenment-era tactic designed to overthrow Christendom (which has, thus far, worked exactly as designed), but the American expression of it is derived from Anglo-Saxon cultural norms, specifically the Anglo-Saxon obsession with honesty.

I am not a history buff, but I often bunk with history buffs, and my last history-obsessed roommate told me that under ancient Saxon laws, if you killed a man, but you told the first person you met, you might be acquitted due to self defense. But if you kept it secret, you were considered guilty of murder.

There is an idea in American Christianity that if you a commit a crime, the Christian thing to do is to turn yourself in. But this is nowhere taught Scripture! Corinthians commands us to settle our legal disputes among ourselves instead of dragging each other before the courts, and Ephesians instructs the penitent thief not to turn himself in, but to exchange thievery for honest work and generous giving.

Many an English speaking atheist has held Jesus to be a liar because when his family asked whether he was going to Jerusalem at one point, he said “No,” instead of “Not yet, but I will later.” But neither Jesus, nor his apostles, nor most of the world consider it dishonest to play your cards close to the vest this way, and it is Jesus, not Ye Olde Randome Englishman, who gets to choose the rules.

The Anglo-Saxon norm of honesty is stricter, harsher, and more extreme than God’s norm of honesty.

Notre Dame burned the other day. I’m sure you’ve heard.

There are a lot of great places you can go from there. If you want to be politically incorrect and call out the castrati of the establishment, you can wonder aloud why Macron declared in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t arson when the building was still on fire. Or why Fox, vanguard of the Right, hasn’t considered the 800-odd attacks against cathedrals in France over the last year.

That’s all well and good. It’s the battle of the moment, and the battle of the moment ought to be fought. But I’m interested in considering the Long Game.

This is a fundamental essay on Christian Politics.

American Rhetoric says that it is self-evident that God grants men rights. Libertarian philosophers try to derive these rights from a Right to Property or the Non Aggression Principle.

But the Christian philosopher has at his disposal a handy book of propositions as sure or more than any first principle. If he holds the commandments up to a mirror, he can see in their reflection God-granted rights. In the commandment against murder, a right to life. In the commandment against theft, a right to property.

These, then, are seven rights, explicitly granted and avenged by God, which ought to be protected by the government.

1. Orthodoxy: The right of man to worship the One True God in the manner of that God’s choosing, and to hear from that God’s shepherds truth and not lies, must not be infringed.
2. Rest: Man must be permitted rest at least one day in seven.
3. Honor: Man has a right to the honor due his station.
4. Life: Man has a right not to be murdered.
5. Fidelity: Man has a right to marital fidelity.
6. Property: Man has a right to his belongings.
7. Justice: Man has a right to remain unpunished when innocent.