In this rebroadcast, Gary DeMar sits down with the late Dr. Gary North for a discussion about the five-point covenant model.
In The Godfather books and films, Don Corleone is a lot like today’s politicians. He’s the man in charge. He grants political favors. He makes and enforces laws. He even collects taxes. The Mafia is run like a government.
Five Points of Government
Vito Corleone began his crime-boss career by working outside the political system and the conventions of morality and law by developing a parallel but counterfeit government. His organization and his governing principles had the five necessary characteristics that make up a functioning governmental structure:
1. Sovereignty: Who’s in charge? (Don Vito Corleone.)
2. Hierarchy: To whom do I report? (Clemenza, Tesio, “buffers.”)
3. Law: What are the rules? (Don’t go against “the family.”)
4. Positive and Negative Sanctions: What happens if l keep/break the rules? (Positive sanctions: advancement, a piece of the action, your own “family.” Negative sanctions: bullet in the eye, bullet in the back of the head, bullet in the front of the head, horse head in your bed, strangulation, sleep with the fishes.)
5. Continuity: Is there a future? (Maintain and perpetuate “the family” at all costs.)
The government of the Godfather lacked one thing: legitimacy, the most important factor in establishing confidence, continuity, liberty, and justice in any form of government. But even without legal legitimacy, the Godfather’s government worked at various levels because it supplied a service to the community. It dealt with heavy-handed criminal rivals, solved problems for the politically disconnected, and granted favors to the dissatisfied, disillusioned, and disenfranchised. People turned to the Godfather out of hopelessness. For these people, the government of the Godfather was considered salvific. The Don was seen as a benevolent dictator. In reality, the Godfather’s government was the exercise of raw and unregulated power with the claim that it was for the good of the people and the community.
Liberty at Risk
Gary DeMar presents a biblical, historical, constitutional, and rational approach to government. Not only has God set forth the principles of liberty in the Bible, He has also equipped us to think through the implications of these principles. Civil government is ordained by God, but it should never be made into a god.
Buy NowIn this rebroadcast, Gary DeMar sits down with the late Dr. Gary North for a discussion about the five-point covenant model. Dr. North shows that the covenant is unavoidable and always flows out from the very first point: “Who’s in Charge?” Every area of human life and responsibility can be viewed, taught, and understood through this covenant model.