{"id":12697,"date":"2026-05-29T11:50:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/?post_type=articles&p=12697"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:16:04","slug":"parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/articles\/parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses\/","title":{"rendered":"Parsing Political Parties in an Age of Paganism: Nine Theses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.\u201d1<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201c[H]e pours contempt on princes<\/i><\/p>\n

and makes them wander in trackless wastes\u201d2<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is better to take refuge in the LORD<\/i><\/p>\n

than to trust in princes.\u201d3<\/sup><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

The Center promotes scholarship, training, and engagement (dialogue, debate, symposia) which integrates theology and jurisprudence thereby grounding, orienting, and illuminating legal initiatives, advocacy, and policy in foundational theological predicates.\u00a0 These objectives stem from a commitment to a robust creational cosmology<\/i>, particularly as developed and applied by the Apostle Paul in Romans, et al, and Acts.\u00a0 Accordingly, it is Christ\u2019s present and comprehensive Lordship over all creation, \u201cfar above all rule and authority and power and dominion\u201d<\/i> now and forever4<\/sup> that sets and informs how the faith applies to all reality.\u00a0 And, this Lordship rules out all sacred\/secular dualisms as well as pietistic approaches to living in general and the public square in particular.<\/p>\n

The 2024 election cycle has concluded, but governing remains to be done; and the 2026 cycle\u2019s engines are already spooling up. This requires thinking Christians to think Christianly in the Christian worldview about the public square, including politics at the retail level.5<\/sup> How then shall we think Christianly about governance while avoiding nasty partisanship?\u00a0 Let\u2019s get to the gist and explore some foundational matters.<\/p>\n

Theses for Guiding Governance and Political Engagement<\/b><\/p>\n

1) As Christians, our ultimate fidelity<\/i><\/b> is neither to the Donkey<\/i><\/b>, nor to the Elephant<\/i><\/b>, but to the Lion<\/i><\/b> who is the Lamb<\/i><\/b> \u2192 meaning that a faithful political act may not always consist of a \u201cbinary choice,\u201d even given a Two [major] party system; sometimes abstinence can be a righteous political act<\/p>\n

2) A Christian\u2019s foundational confession<\/i><\/b> commences NOT with \u201cGod loves me\u201d nor with \u201cJesus died for me\u201d but rather with this:<\/p>\n

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth6<\/sup><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3) Accordingly, any confession or ethic, including those instantiated in law or policy, which undermines, negates, or otherwise disavows creational norms, is by definition not a Christian position<\/p>\n

4) Creational Norms set forth non-negotiable ontological and ethical commitments, including:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Creator\/Creature Distinction<\/b> \u2192 meaning\n
      \n
    1. Neither Man nor the State can be either Creator or Savior \u2013 that is, the Ultimate Originator, the Ultimate Standard, or of Ultimate Import<\/li>\n
    2. Jurisdiction and Jurisdictional Boundaries exist within society<\/li>\n
    3. Life is better than non-life<\/li>\n
    4. Death is unnatural (an enemy to be defeated), even though death in a post-fall world is ubiquitous and occurs \u201cnaturally\u201d<\/li>\n
    5. Man<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    6. Imago Dei <\/i>\u2192 meaning<\/b>\n
        \n
      1. Human Exceptionalism \u2192 a Creational hierarchy exists and must be respected.\u00a0 We may eat animals; we may not worship them<\/li>\n
      2. Ontic Valorization of humanity must be affirmed and respected, contra Kinism, tribalism, ethno-nationalism, antisemitism, misogyny.\u00a0 Yet some today wrongly conclude the opposite purportedly using natural law as their guide.7<\/sup> Such efforts, even if sprinkled with \u201cJesus dust\u201d and called something like \u201cChristian Nationalism\u201d must be opposed and rejected8<\/sup><\/li>\n
      3. Equality as to dignity and value of each human person exists<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      4. Male and Female as Immutable Ontic Categories \u2192 meaning<\/b>\n
          \n
        1. Mankind is comprised of immutable sexual dimorphs<\/li>\n
        2. Pronoun usage must conform to reality as created and designed.9<\/sup> The often well-intended notion of using \u201chospitality pronouns\u201d to welcome those manifesting gender dysphoria is misguided and subverts creational norms and should be avoided in toto<\/li>\n
        3. There are parents, but there is no \u201cparenting\u201d in the ultimate sense; rather, we must recognize and preserve the essential necessity of both\n
            \n
          1. Single parent fostering by design<\/li>\n
          2. Single parent adoption by design<\/li>\n
          3. Single parenting by design<\/li>\n
          4. The usurping State becoming de facto the primary parent<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
          5. Marriage as consisting of one man and one woman<\/b> \u2192 meaning marriage\n
              \n
            1. Contextualizes<\/i> the proper channeling<\/i> and expression<\/i> of sexuality<\/i><\/li>\n
            2. Affirms<\/i> the Legitimacy<\/i> of Family<\/i> Governance<\/i> \u2192 generating incipient principles of sphere sovereignty and subsidiarity<\/li>\n
            3. Requires Recognition<\/i> of \u201cthe family\u201d as a Separate Status: to be recognized<\/i> and protected<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
            4. Work\/Labor \u2192 <\/b>See David Bahnsen\u2019s treatment of this10<\/sup><\/li>\n
            5. Cultural Mandate \u2192 <\/b>implying\n
                \n
              1. Liberty to collaborate<\/li>\n
              2. Communication to be protected and preserved<\/li>\n
              3. Unencumbered trade<\/li>\n
              4. Freedom to negotiate and contract\u00a0 with others as well as consequent legal protections, including enforcement and apt remedies<\/li>\n
              5. Protection for the fruits of labor<\/li>\n
              6. Protection and promotion of wealth development contra to environmentalism<\/li>\n
              7. Protection of reputation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
              8. Work\/Rest\/Worship Rhythms \u2192 <\/b>Contra to notions sounding in \u201cwork\/life balance\u201d\n
                  \n
                1. Pitting work against one\u2019s life subverts the creational norm, as if work is extrinsic to one\u2019s life and\/or a product of the Fall<\/li>\n
                2. The biblical rhythm instead champions work and rest, which in a creaturely manner. reflects God\u2019s own rhythm<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                3. \u201cLaw above Law\u201d \u2013 Cosmology and Situating Authority <\/b>\u2192 meaning\n
                    \n
                  1. Valorizing Special Revelation\u2019s Role, even in the Pre-lapsation Garden<\/li>\n
                  2. Recognizing the Law\u2019s Role to order and organize a liberated people<\/li>\n
                  3. Examples:\n
                      \n
                    1. The Exodus \u2192 Ordering a newly liberated people \u2192 Law is necessary to regulate a newly freed society\n
                        \n
                      1. Cf., Paradise in the Garden<\/li>\n
                      2. Source of Law:\u00a0 God \u2192 \u201cfrom Above\u201d \u2013 God and the Mt. Sinai cf., John 19<\/li>\n
                      3. Purpose and Content of the Law:\n
                          \n
                        1. Provide Structure for Society\n
                            \n
                          1. Substantive Precepts<\/li>\n
                          2. Coordination Problems<\/li>\n
                          3. Justice interpersonally\n
                              \n
                            1. Tort Law<\/li>\n
                            2. Property Law<\/li>\n
                            3. Boundaries<\/li>\n
                            4. Animals<\/li>\n
                            5. Crops<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                            6. Justice Societally\n
                                \n
                              1. Murder<\/li>\n
                              2. Manslaughter<\/li>\n
                              3. Theft<\/li>\n
                              4. Sexual assault<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                              5. Procedural Precepts\n
                                  \n
                                1. Appellant Courts<\/li>\n
                                2. Evidence and Witness Requirements \u2013 9th Commandment<\/li>\n
                                3. Proportionality \u2013 Lex Talionis<\/i>\n
                                    \n
                                  1. Just War Theory<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                  2. Remedies:\n
                                      \n
                                    1. Restitution<\/li>\n
                                    2. Damages<\/li>\n
                                    3. Interest for loss of use<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                    4. John 19:\u00a0 Jesus and Pilate \u2192 the locus and source of all authority rests in the Creator, not in the Creation<\/li>\n
                                    5. James describing and commending Wisdom \u201cfrom above\u201d<\/li>\n
                                    6. Romans 13 \u2013 the State as \u201cGod\u2019s servant\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      5) There can be no neutrality<\/i><\/b> with respect to God<\/i><\/b>,11<\/sup> nor with respect to His precepts<\/i><\/b>, including His creational norms whether applied privately<\/i><\/b> or publicly<\/i><\/b> \u2013 to love him is to obey all His commandments;12<\/sup> to forsake His law is to praise, that is, worship, the wicked13<\/sup><\/p>\n

                                      6) Voting<\/strong><\/i> and funding<\/i><\/b> campaigns and candidates are political acts<\/i><\/b>. The politically acting Christian may not politically act to support<\/i><\/b> \u2013 in a <\/b>materially<\/i><\/b> complicit<\/i><\/b> or <\/i><\/b>cooperative<\/i><\/b> manner<\/b> – any position publicly<\/i><\/b>, including any policy position, which God condemns Scripturally<\/i><\/b>.\u00a0 To Illustrate:<\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      1. Providing $100,000 to the GOP to advocate for and expand the state-by-state influence of Log Cabin Republicans14<\/sup><\/li>\n
                                      2. Providing $100,000 to a group whose core mission is lobbying to re-criminalize home education or restricting tuition tax credit programs<\/li>\n
                                      3. Voting for and urging others to support a candidate because<\/i> he holds to and advocates for an unbiblical policy \u2192 Trumpeting Evangelicals for Harris<\/i> because<\/i> of<\/i> her pro-abortion or pro-transsexualism positions and policies<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                        7) All sins are sinful, but not all sins are moral equivalents; accordingly, some sins sounding in policy or party platform may<\/i> individually \u2013 and\/or taken as a whole \u2013 and some may not<\/i> individually -\u2013 and\/or taken as a whole \u2013 disqualify or trump a candidate or a party platform<\/p>\n

                                        8) Today\u2019s Political Parties: An Assessment<\/b> \u2013 but first a Caveat<\/i><\/b>, an Observation<\/i><\/b>, and a Distinction<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        1. A CAVEAT:<\/b> Beware of False Dichotomies<\/i><\/b> or what we might call \u201cBullying Binaries<\/i><\/b>:\u201d\n
                                            \n
                                          1. \u201cIt\u2019s a Trap!\u201d 15<\/sup>\u00a0Matt 22: Seeking to catch Jesus, the religious establishment (Pharisees) and other partisans (Herodians) tempted to put Him in a box, forcing Him to commit to a Lose\/Lose situation:\u00a0 Pay taxes and thus alienate the Jews, or Don\u2019t Pay Taxes, and thus alienate the Roman government.\u00a0 Jesus refused the bait16<\/sup><\/i><\/li>\n
                                          2. Karmic Jesus??? \u00a0 John 9:1-3:\u00a0 Almost like Job\u2019s friends, the disciples employed a reductionistic binary attempting to identify and ascribe blame as to why a certain man was blind; Jesus rejected their pagan-based binary:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                            As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, \u201cRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d<\/b> Jesus answered, \u201cIt was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.17<\/sup><\/li>\n

                                          3. An Observation:<\/b>\u00a0 The GOP today stands to the Left of Bill Clinton\u2019s implemented policies<\/i> \u2013 not his positions<\/i> – at significant points\n
                                              \n
                                            1. RFRA18<\/sup><\/li>\n
                                            2. DOMA19<\/sup>\n
                                                \n
                                              1. \u201cDon\u2019t Ask Don\u2019t Tell\u201d20<\/sup><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                              2. Abortion: \u201cSafe, Legal, and Rare\u201d21<\/sup><\/i><\/li>\n
                                              3. The Hyde Amendment supported and in place22<\/sup><\/li>\n
                                              4. Entitlement reform23<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                              5. A Distinction:<\/b>\u00a0 Don\u2019t confuse Positions<\/i> with Particular<\/i> Policies<\/i>:\n
                                                  \n
                                                1. Position: the normative perhaps, aspirational endpoint\n
                                                    \n
                                                  1. Example:\u00a0 The Bible proscribes the taking of innocent life<\/li>\n
                                                  2. 13th Amendment \u2013 proscribing involuntary servitude, except for lawful punishment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                  3. Policy: the negotiated political compromise or settlement, often an incremental step toward the position:\n
                                                      \n
                                                    1. Example:\u00a0 Banning all abortion except for rape and incest reduces the taking of innocent life \u2192 thereby Lessening Evil<\/li>\n
                                                    2. The Missouri Compromise \u2192 cabined the evil of slavery geographically thereby Lessening Evil<\/li>\n
                                                    3. Avoiding Utopian Political Absolutism:\u00a0 \u201cUnless my actions directly and immediately terminate Hitler, I should not otherwise resist the Nazis or the Japanese by making parts for the Norden bombsite as part of the war effort\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                    4. Current examples:\n
                                                        \n
                                                      1. Suppose two bills limit abortion:\u00a0 one abolishes it completely, yet has zero chance of advancing out of committee, and the other allows it only in the cases of rape or incest, which in effect would ban the vast majority of abortions,24<\/sup> and would make it out of committee\n
                                                          \n
                                                        1. Both lessen evil, but only ONE reflects political feasibility<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                        2. Partial Birth Abortion Bans25<\/sup> \u2192 Moved the needle culturally, in part, causing the public discourse to refer to the unborn as \u201cbabies\u201d instead of \u201cproducts of conception\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                        3. DNC v. GOP: If we are ethical relativists, the GOP is relatively and decisively better than the DNC.\u00a0 But a thinking Christian cannot finally rest his analysis upon relativism.\n
                                                            \n
                                                          1. Compare the parties\u2019 positions as to Creational Norms:\n
                                                              \n
                                                            1. Both are increasingly Statist \u2013 grow the State and Impose<\/i>, rather than Incentivize<\/i> \u2192 State as Savior<\/i>, not Servant<\/i><\/li>\n
                                                            2. Cf. the slogans of the New Right:\n
                                                                \n
                                                              1. The Purpose of Winning Elections is to \u201creward friends and punish enemies\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n
                                                              2. \u201cFight Fire with Fire\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n
                                                              3. \u201cCivility be damned\u201d<\/i> \u2013 as if the Fruit of the Spirit has an expiration date<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                              4. Both affirm and favor economic intervention and protectionism<\/li>\n
                                                              5. Both affirm same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d<\/li>\n
                                                              6. Both affirm homosexuality as acceptable sexual conduct with no qualms about homosexuals being \u201cout\u201d<\/li>\n
                                                              7. Both affirm abortion as a right:\u00a0 the DNC is \u201cpro-abortion\u201d while the GOP is \u201cpro-choice\u201d \u2013\u201cLet the States decide\u201d<\/i> \u2013 That\u2019s a fine rationale regarding (say) State income tax or educational choice, but not so fine regarding, for instance, keeping chattel slavery legal ala John Calhoun and Stephen Douglas (Popular sovereignty as the highest good v. Justice) \u2013 however, both Parties are united in opposing a national abortion ban<\/li>\n
                                                              8. Both affirm IVF as an acceptable means of producing<\/i> \u2013 instead of procreating<\/i> \u2013 children; children become products and commodities under IVF and surrogacy schemes<\/li>\n
                                                              9. Both seek to restrict free expression, especially on social media:\n
                                                                  \n
                                                                1. What was once a New Left novelty from the mind of CT Herbert Marcuse \u2013 Repressive Tolerance26<\/sup><\/i> \u2013<\/li>\n
                                                                2. Is NOW the stated policy goal of \u201cconservative\u201d senators, like Josh Hawley<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                3. Some differences in kind<\/i> (as opposed to degree<\/i>) do exist between these parties:\n
                                                                    \n
                                                                  1. \u201cTransition Care\u201d aka chemical castration and genital mutilation for minors \u2013 the DNC supports; the GOP opposes<\/li>\n
                                                                  2. State funding of abortion \u2013 the DNC supports; the GOP opposes<\/li>\n
                                                                  3. Religious liberty exemptions for abortion \u2013 the DNC opposes; the GOP supports<\/li>\n
                                                                  4. NONE are actually \u201cconservative\u201d in any historic sense of that term as BOTH deemphasize, restrict, if not explicitly oppose\n
                                                                      \n
                                                                    1. The Virtuous Market and Economic Liberty<\/li>\n
                                                                    2. A Limited State<\/li>\n
                                                                    3. Individual Liberty<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                                                      9) A word on \u201cCharacter\u201d<\/p>\n

                                                                      Paul tells us that when the truth is exchanged for the Lie, a telltale sign is sexual deviance.\u00a0 We are currently seeing the \u201cnormalizing\u201d of sexual sin in the realm of public service.\u00a0 It used to be that even an unsubstantiated hint of sexual infidelity sunk a political candidate.\u00a0 Recall how dashing Gary Hart\u2019s presidential bid crashed following his dalliance with Donna Rice in 1988.27<\/sup><\/p>\n

                                                                      Today in contrast, the fact that the DNC 2024 Presidential candidate Kamala Harris \u201cslept her way to the top\u201d by cavorting with a married political power-broker 30 years her elder mattered little to her party or to the electorate.28<\/sup>\u00a0Similarly, in 2024 the electorate voted for a thrice married candidate who has then nominated a number of candidates with low marks in sexual fidelity and marital commitments:\u00a0 Matt Gaetz<\/i><\/b>, ironically nominated to lead the Justice Department, paid multiple women for sexual favors and allegedly slept with a minor.29<\/sup>\u00a0 RFK<\/i><\/b> diarized and documented his 37 extra-marital exploits, pushing his wife to suicide when she read about his lecherous conduct.30<\/sup>\u00a0Paul Hegseth<\/i><\/b> collected three wives before age 40, and while cheating on his second wife and impregnating his mistress, he slept with a random married woman while at a GOP conference, later paying her to keep it under wraps.31<\/sup>\u00a0 Kristi Noem<\/i><\/b> led an open affair with a political consultant.32<\/sup>\u00a0 Scott Bessent<\/i><\/b> lives openly as a homosexual.33<\/sup> Maybe these folks were\/are qualified to do the job; maybe they are not. Either way, a thinking Christian cannot relegate a pattern of sexual sin to the political dust bin. At some level and at some point, personal sexual integrity matters because humans are integrated embodied creatures. What we do sexually impacts us socially and culturally.34<\/sup> Siloing sexuality from one\u2019s \u201cwork life\u201d fails to produce good things long term because it disintegrates one\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

                                                                      Sexual deviance is a sign of extant and present divine judgment.\u00a0 And, that judgment can manifest itself when lawgivers and rulers give us \u201crules that do not give life.\u201d God sometimes provides a people poor leaders as part of His judgment who then craft unjust laws and policies \u2013 so that they will turn to Him and know Him.\u00a0 Hear the Prophet Ezekiel:<\/p>\n

                                                                      \u201cAnd I said to their children in the wilderness, \u2018Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols. [19] I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules,<\/i><\/b> and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.\u2019 But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

                                                                      \u201cThen I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers\u2019 idols. Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the LORD.<\/i><\/b>35<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                                                                      Because the tomb is empty, Christ is making all things new.36<\/sup> And, part of that renovation project involves the \u201ckingdom of this world\u201d<\/i> becoming \u201cthe kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.\u201d37<\/sup><\/i> We parse political parties in view of this reality – poor leaders, disappointing parties, and bad laws notwithstanding. Christ is King and He\u2019s not running for re-election, nor will His royal office be term–limited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"publisher":[28],"class_list":["post-12697","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","publisher-center-public-legal-theology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nParsing Political Parties in an Age of Paganism: Nine Theses - Trinity Law School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/articles\/parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parsing Political Parties in an Age of Paganism: Nine Theses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.\u201d1 \u201c[H]e pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes\u201d2 \u201cIt is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.\u201d3 Introduction The Center promotes scholarship, training, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/articles\/parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trinity Law School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T20:16:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/articles\/parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tiu.edu\/law\/articles\/parsing-political-parties-in-an-age-of-paganism-nine-theses\/\",\"name\":\"Parsing Political Parties in an Age of Paganism: Nine Theses - 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