Howdy Folks,                                                   Christian Statesman refutes: 'you-can't-legislate-morality'.html
      A friend of mine who accepts the idea that "you can't legislate morality" had a strange answer when I questioned him about it.  It seemed to me by his explanation that he meant "you can't legislate salvation" which is easy to accept.  However it seemed like he was equating morality with salvation as in legislating spirituality while I was thinking it meant legislating behavior.
      Anyway he challenged me to find anywhere in the Bible where Jesus made any laws.  This at first sounded like a daunting task that I probably would have to concede because of lack of time and intelligence.  However I have been subscribing to a magazine called "The Christian Statesman" and they have a web page that addresses this issue with Biblical references for each point: http://www.natreformassn.org/ccGov.html   [If the page is incomplete, try: http://web.archive.org/web/20070205235826/http://www.natreformassn.org/ccGov.html ],.  Although the 10 Commandments are not expressly listed, it seems the principles are embedded among the various points.  It also seems like God has given each nation a free will just like he gave to man to decide whether to acknowledge Him or believe in Him and govern himself accordingly  and receive the blessings or reject Him, His principles and suffer the consequences.
      I'm not suggesting that there is any national salvation as there is no church salvation except as individuals.  Just as there is a great fight over the spirit of man so is there a fight over the spirit of the church and over the spirit of the nation.
      Here are the main sub titles:

• Scriptural Teachings as to the Origin and Nature of the Nation
• The Scriptures Require Moral and Religious, not Ecclesiastical, Qualifications and Duties of Civil Officers
• The Scriptures Teach that Christ Is the Ruler of Nations