Every Man a God-King: The Danger of Popular Sovereignty (Ideas‪)‬

THE LIBERL BLOGOSPHERE had a ready explanation when Scott Roeder, a Christian of Old Testament convictions, murdered Kansas abortionist George Tiller. Roeder was what Andrew Sullivan calls a "Christianist," someone who believes "that religion dictates politics and that politics should dictate the laws for everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike." The term echoes the description of terrorist groups like al-Qaeda as "Islamist," though Sullivan allows that "only a tiny few" Christian or Muslim extremists are violent. In the West as in the Middle East, the story goes, fanatical believers in medieval moral codes want to impose their views on others, either by force of law or terror. But the trouble with this account is that Roeder's actions cannot be reconciled with traditional Christianity--and what's more, those Islamists may be less religiously motivated than most Americans believe.