Popes, political pundits, politicians—and most importantly, WE THE PEOPLE—have railed against institutional corruption since the beginning of time. A brief survey of my Concordance will serve the purpose:
The Bible addresses political and institutional corruption in many passages, warning of the dangers when leaders and systems become unjust, exploitative, or self-serving. While it does not use modern terms like “institutional corruption,” it consistently denounces the abuse of authority, bribery, unjust laws, and the exploitation of the vulnerable by people in power.
Isaiah 1:23:”Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow’s case never comes before them.”
This passage indicts leaders who perpetuate injustice through bribery and neglect of the vulnerable.
Proverbs 29:12: “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.”
This proverb warns that the character and choices of leadership profoundly affect the entire governing structure, leading to systemic corruption.
Isaiah 10:1-2:”Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people…”
Here, the prophetic warning is against systemic corruption through unjust legislation and administration.
A few classic verses from the New Testament continue the warning:
Matthew 23:14, 23:Jesus condemns the religious-political leaders (scribes and Pharisees) for “devouring widows’ houses” and neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness, calling them hypocrites and exposing institutional exploitation.
Matthew 26:14-16; 28:11-15:These verses depict the priesthood bribing Judas and, later, the guards, displaying corrupt institutional actions even within religious leadership.
For years—since college, for me—we have been told that our Founding Fathers not only allowed for slavery to continue when they wrote our Constitution, but that they actually facilitated and encouraged the practice. In THE GREAT CONSTITUTION, Joseph J. Ellis argues that the founders failed to make a document with clear anti-slavery implications. An Amazon book review reinforces this
“An astounding look at how America’s founders—Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams—regarded the issue of slavery as they drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. A daring and important work that ultimately reckons with the two great failures of America’s founding: the failure to end slavery and the failure to avoid Indian removal.”
In a brief letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Michael Warder Sr. makes the following succinct argument that is seldom presented today to students and citizens:
“Often overlooked is Article I, Section 9, which states: ‘The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.’ In 1807, Congress passed and President Jefferson signed a bill prohibiting the importation of slaves. It went into effect on Jan 1, 1808, the first day allowed by the Constitution. Several years later, a new law punished slave-trading with death. That constitutional clause, subsequent actions, and the language of the Declaration of Independence are among the facts that caused Abraham Lincoln in 1858 to declare that the founders put slavery ‘in the course of ultimate extinction.’ Historians can argue otherwise, but not ‘convincingly.’” WSJ Nov. 8th
In Britain, William Wilberforce led a twenty-year crusade in Parliament that resulted in two landmark laws: the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
The United States and conservative Christians on both sides of the Atlantic played a leading role in this effort.
To finally close the loop regarding the Christian-American contribution to the abolition of slavery—a practice that unfortunately continues today throughout the world, even in our own country (think of human trafficking and the sex trade that has run rampant across our southern border under Joe Biden)—consider Paul’s letter to his friend Philemon about his slave Onesimus.
In that letter, Paul urges Philemon to welcome Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother… both in the flesh and in the Lord” (Philemon 1:16). Paul’s request is grounded in Christian love and brotherhood, suggesting that Philemon should now view Onesimus as family—effectively advocating for his freedom and a new relationship.
The thread connecting Judeo-Christian theology and Enlightenment political philosophy—including the ideas in our founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—is seldom properly explained by educators who themselves remain “enslaved” by the institutional corruptions controlled by progressive ideologues, many of whom have little understanding of their own histories.
