1) Does the Bible have a proper role in the formulation of law and policy under the Constitution?
You can’t separate scriptural truths from the foundational intent of the Constitution. The writers of the Constitution learned from Blackstone, Locke and other prominent scholars, lawyers, writers and philosophers. Most legal study was based upon Biblical studies.
Understanding Constitutional principles demands that the scriptural precepts used as a foundation for the Constitution are honored and familiar.
The Declaration of Independence explains the proper role and purpose of government:
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” So we, the governed, give the government its power.
One of the most important questions is, “Where do we get our rights from?”
The Declaration says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
How do we understand and where do we find the concept of a Creator God except through religious belief?
Whether that religious belief is Hindu, Catholic, Muslim, Islam, Jewish or Christian, a Creator God is one of the unifying core beliefs in the majority of world religions.
For us in the Western world, the scriptures have been our primer for conduct of law and civil society.
We have experienced a happy, peaceful and abundant society in America, for the most part, thanks to our Judeo Christian heritage and belief.
Let's honor it!
If the Christian faith no longer rocks your world as it did our ancestors, please don't throw it away.
Just as the 10 Commandments requires us to honor our parents, are we not also required to honor the faith and convictions of our ancestors who discovered their souls through Protestant Christianity?
Our forefathers wrote extensively so American descendents could understand that intent of the Constitution and the foundational principles of our self governed republic. Here are some quotations from four of the most prominent founders regarding the relationship between one's faith and a moral government:
“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” George Washington
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams
“A bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district – all studied and appreciated as they merit – are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.” Benjamin Franklin
"I have always said, and will always say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens." Thomas Jefferson
I am convinced that faith in God is elementarily important to self-government. I am convinced that Christianity in its purest form (a relationship between the human heart (conscience) and Truth (God's Spirit)) can you bring you into an instant knowledge of God and grant you the faith of a thousand saints.
Just knowing the name of Jesus is not enough to know His spirit. Matthew 7:23. And you needn’t know the name of Jesus in order to know God Romans 1:20, the requirement is that you know His Spirit.
God’s spirit is TRUTH, JUSTICE and LIBERTY and the founders of our nation were very much aware of it.
Are you?
Anna Yeisley
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