by Michael Horton

Controlling the Effects 

     "James Madison said a good government must protect against the pooling of power in any department. He wrote, 'You must first enable the government to control the governed; and ... oblige it to control itself.' In Federalist No. 51 he offers detailed prescriptions. 

     "He believed, 'the causes of factions cannot be removed ... relief is only sought in the means of controlling its effects. The heart is beyond the reach of government and laws. Since it cannot reform human nature, the state must at least supply opposite and rival interests that each (office) may be a check on the other.' 

     "We do not have a great Constitution because Madison thought the American people possessed superior virtue or capacity for moral improvement, but for the opposite reason: because they share in the common corruption of the human race. 

     "...to follow arguments undergirding elements of the U.S. Constitution, theological liberals and evangelicals would have to recover the doctrine of original sin. However, that ship has sailed for liberals, who use "original sin" only when they refer to slavery. Evangelicals seem just as optimistic about the human condition. (In a 2020 poll), about half of evangelicals said that humans are basically good. 

     "To them, Madison replies, 'If men were angels, no government would be necessary.' Calvin made the same point, saying, ' If we were like angels ... we would not need rules or regulations. To those who think that government is good, Madison adds, 'There must be checks on private and public power.'

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