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In God We Don't Trust  /  Chapter 6: A Shining City on a Hill  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 5
John Cotton claimed, “I do not believe that God ever ordained democracy… monarchy and aristocracy… are clearly approved and directed in Scripture”; what assumptions about Scripture, authority, and “what God approves” are operating in that quote, and how might early Christians—formed by Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership—have heard that argument?
Another way to ask: When John Cotton said God never ordained democracy and that monarchy and aristocracy are approved in Scripture, what beliefs about the Bible and authority are behind that claim? How might early Christians, shaped by Jesus’ call to servant leadership, have responded?

Direct Answer Cotton’s quote assumes Scripture directly “ordains” certain political structures and that monarchy/aristocracy carry divine approval, while democracy does not. Bercot does not directly describe early Christian reactions here, but his later contrast with “the kingdom teachings of Jesus” suggests early Christians shaped by Jesus’ servant-way would likely be uneasy with arguments that justify top-down rule as “clearly approved.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Cotton’s claim is explicit: “God ever ordained democracy” is denied; monarchy/aristocracy are “clearly approved and directed in Scripture.”
  • The chapter frames this as part of a “deep distrust of democracy” among Puritans.
  • Winthrop’s autocratic behavior is presented as consistent with that mindset: hiding the charter “allowed him to govern… as an autocrat.”
  • Bercot later says Puritan actions showed “no real understanding of the kingdom of God” and that they “never grasped the kingdom teachings of Jesus.”
  • The transcript doesn’t provide a detailed early-church political theory, but it does set Jesus’ “kingdom teachings” against coercive power and violence.
Discussion Follow-ups When Christians say a power structure is “clearly approved” by Scripture, what safeguards help ensure they aren’t selecting texts to baptize control?

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