Uncivil Society, by Adam Mersereau

Review by W.J. Rayment / Conservative Bookstore -- The Constitution of the United States, in the first ammendment, specifically states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". This brief statement is at the root of much political and social wrangling today and has wide implications encompassing all of society. Most citizens of the U.S. would agree that there should be a separation of church and state. The difference in opinions lies in what constitutes this separation.

In Adam Mersereau's "Uncivil Society: Government's War Against God and the Plight of the Christian Citizen", this issue is treated in-depth from both a Christian and a logical perspective. Mr. Mersereau points out that the left has replaced God with government. The idea is to exclude Christian morality, or in essence any absolute concept of good and evil from the legislation, adjudication, or execution of the laws of the land.

Statists see the state as the answer to all of society's ills. As Mr. Mersereau so aptly points out:

Government - a large and powerful government filled with well-intentioned visionaries - is the key. To make room for this new all-powerful earthly authority, the biblical God must be disinvited from civil society. He may be allowed to rule within the four walls of the church, or privately at the dinner table, but He must have little influence over government.

The left believes that religion, specifically Christianity, must be excluded because of the emphasis it places on the individual. Liberals see humans, in the main, as statistics. They believe that mass solutions can solve mass problems. What they fail to understand is that the best solutions are normally those that are solved on the lowest level. Liberals are great at salving their own conscience (they feel guilt for their own worldly success) by helping the needy through the state. What they don't seem to realize is that they do so with other people's money - in effect taking away the freedom of those who would contribute to society in a different and more efficient way.

The intention of the founding fathers was not to exclude Christian morality from government. It was to prevent the establishment of a state church. As Mr. Mersereau so aptly points out there is an even more insidious problem with the liberal view. Christianity imposes moral limits on human behavior as well as the responsibility and scope of what a government can do. When government is made the savior of mankind it must take on all kinds of powers. As Mr. Mersereau puts it:

The secular view of government - widely believed to be the best model - cannot long sustain a free and pluralistic society because it recognizes no limits on governmental authority. Government will inevitably increase its own authority at the expense of freedom.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to put severe restraints on the government and moral restraints on those who wield the force of government.

In "Uncivil Society" Adam Mersereau makes a solid case for limited government founded on Christian principles. The book also has many more facets. It is well-written, concise, and to the point. It is written from a Christian perspective (making frequent reference to bible passages), yet its preceps have broad application in political science. It is highly recommended for anyone wishing to understand the modern ideological conflict between those who advocate limited government and statists.

Uncivil Society, by Adam Mersereau is available at Amazon.