Men in a word
When I read “The Bible and Our Public Debate” I came upon an intriguing statement. Robert Winthrop, who served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said, “Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by power within them or by power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the bible or by the bayonet.” I understand he means that men must be controlled by the fear of being punished for devilish acts (the power within) or by the government (the without them.) A man’s fear of being punished is often enough to keep him from doing something evil, but when the fear is not enough the government has to deal with the situation and doesn’t have to be fair.
“Either by the bible or by the bayonet.” (Winthrop) Now, this has a slightly different translation. What Winthrop means here now is men must be controlled by what the bible says or by force (bayonet.)
Think about it.
