In God s eyes this is not true. There were churches, even denominations, in this country who were leaders of segregation, who resisted the civil rights movement. Individuals and corporations as institutions are not just accountable to the law of the land, or the principle of supply and demand, they are accountable to God. This is how the Nazi party gained control in Germany by refusing accountability to God. The Nazi party infiltrated individuals and corporations as institutions with idolatry of hate.
Sin is institutional as well as individual.
This is implied in the use of the phrase, the conscience of a nation. This is why we could not ignore the policy of ethnic cleansing or genocide in Serbia. The conscience of one nation challenged the conscience of another. John the Baptist s message exposes the prevalence of idolatry not just in the time of Jesus but in our time as well. John the Baptist exposes our spiritual naivete.