Biblical Foundations of American Government

I wrote the following article in response to an email sent out on a Conservative email list I belong to, about the continual loss of liberty & freedom.

I can tell you precisely why we are losing our Liberty & Freedom, and it is certainly not a new concept. Not only can I tell you WHY we are losing it, but HOW to get it back, as well.

I have watched this topic closely because it is so near & dear to my heart. In fact, it is the topic of a series of articles I am working on that I hope will eventually be published in book form.

I know, after watching the activity on this group for some time now, that some of you may not be very receptive to religious ideas & beliefs. That is your business, not mine or anyone else's on this list. I will not begin to think that I am in any position to judge anyone based upon their religious beliefs or lack thereof. That being said, it doesn't really matter if anyone believes what I am about to write or not - it doesn't make it any less true. In fact, even our Founding Fathers realized this when they wrote the following line into the Declaration of Independence:

"Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue." - John Adams

Contrary to what some might argue, America was not actually founded as a Christian Nation. It is, however, deeply rooted in Biblical and Christian principles. Everywhere one looks at the American system of government, the American Republic, one will see the hand of God, and the wisdom of His people.

The most glaring resemblance is the similarities between our American Republic and the Hebrew/Christian Republic set up during Moses' time. For example, the gathering of representatives & leaders, to discuss the laws proposed by God (Exodus 19:7). Further, Moses presented the commandments which had been proposed, and the people voted on them (Exodus 19:8). And finally, the structure of government is exemplified in Exodus 18:20-22, when Moses' father in law provides council on setting up a judicial system for the people:

20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

Our Founding Fathers realized the need for Biblical/Christian Foundations as a means to secure our rights. Although they were by no means perfect (they were men of God, in most cases, but men nonetheless), God used them and guided them in forming what is arguably the most important thesis statement of American culture and values. And they wrote it into the most important historical document in the History of America, the Declaration of Independence.

Sure, some would say that the Constitution is the most important document. Not true. Without the public Declaration, we would have no Constitution. Moreover, the items outlined in the Declaration of Independence are again true, regardless of what anyone believed then or believes now. The Constitution, on the other hand, is arguable in many cases and amendable.

So then, let's take a look at the most important thesis statement in the history of America:

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are, Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness."

Breaking that down even further, we see the full extent of the Founding Father's religious beliefs. "We hold these truths to be self evident..." It doesn't matter what faith or religion you or I believe in, the fact is that ALL men are created equal. How do we know this? Because God said so - we are all created in His image. Moreover, 'self evident' in this case clearly means that it does not matter if you believe it or not. It is true. It is a faith based statement.

In the interest of brievity (I am afraid I may be long winded no matter how much I summarize), I will just sum up the rest of the statement in that, knowing that they had a new opportunity to turn things around - understanding that in order to have true freedom, we must seek God's will in our lives, the Founding Fathers included the 'pursuit of happiness' as an unalienable right. Now, this is not the pursuit of hedonism, as most will argue - "I can do whatever I want to, as long as it feels good". It is the pursuit of happiness in doing God's will in our lives. Further, they realized that, without liberty, one could not pursue happiness and, finally, in order to have any kind of liberty, one must first have life. Our unalienable rights are all dependent upon one another, and endowed upon us by our Creator.

This, then, leads into my final point. If God has endowed us with these rights, then it follows that only God can take away these rights, correct? But what about the fact that people are being murdered everyday right here in America, where they are guaranteed the right to life? It doesn't matter. Regardless of what man does here on earth, we are given these rights and guaranteed these rights by God. And it has nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. It has everything to do with our personal, individual walk with God. It is known as Christ's perfect law of liberty, and can be found in Galations 5:1 -

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Now, I promised to let you know HOW we can get back to where our Founding Fathers, and God, first intended for this once great Nation. The answer can once again be found in the Bible, II Chronicles 7:14 -

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Of course, the Bible has so much more to offer in the way of political activism. It would prove to be much to involved for one email. Thus, I would urge each of you to take the time to read the Bible. Go out and get a copy of Nave's Topical Bible, and look up government. You will be utterly surprised at what you find. In fact, I will even provide some links below for those interested in seeing what God has to say about current political issues, and how to solve our serious problems - including the loss of freedom & liberty.

I thank those who took the time to read this far, and encourage feedback on what I have printed here. I would be happy to go more in depth on other topics, if you so wish.

Please note, I am in no way affiliated with the links below. They are independent sites which I use in my own research and reading.

Nave's Topical Bible Online
Containing 5324 entries cross-referenced and cross-linked to other resources on StudyLight.org, this concordance can be classified as a required reference book for any good study library.
http://www.studylight.org/con/ntb/

Koinonia House
Excellent articles on Biblical prophecy and current issues.
http://www.khouse.org

Good quote - true enough. What's your point re: origins of our form of overnment and rights on this one.

My point is that assertions that "the founders" intended the newly emerging republic to be "biblical" in it's foundations, or "Christian" at it's core, are blanket statements which attempt to characterize "the founders" as a collective being of one mind.

Clearly this was not the case. "The founders" opinions were widely varied and considerably at odds on many issues including religious faith and it's role in government. Some of the most prominent among the American founders were deists, placing no particular value in the Bible or in Christianity. Some were devout Christians, and wished to install the Christian faith as a cornerstone of the republic. Still others, were devout Christians who rightly recognized the inherent dangers in the intermingling of faith and government, and warned strongly against it.

In short, I approach all assertion which claim to characterize the mind of "the founders", with great suspicion. "The founders" were not one mind, but many.

It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses.... --John Adams, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" 1787

This is a beautiful quote by Adams! Moreover, I think it really illustrates the fact that we allknow God works in mysterious ways.

The substance of many of your quotes is that the Founding Father's believed they had done a very good job at creating a government that would not, and could not interfere with religious establishments. And in the quote above, Adams takes it a step further to say that the government was the result of reson and the senses.

However, are you aware that, aside from being a student of law, Adams was also a student of religious studies? During the founding of the Nation, a great many individuals were strongly grounded in the Christian faith, and it was never a big deal to them. You cannot tell me, after looking at Adam's background, that faith in no way played into or had influence upon, his 'reasoning and senses' when it came right down to it!

As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of government to protect all conscientious protesters thereof, and I know of no other business government has to do therewith. --Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776.

I think it is quite obvious what Paine is saying here. It is the duty of the government to protect EVERYONE, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof, and that the government should have no other say in religious matters.

That still does not disprove my thesis that the foundations of America are deeply rooted in Biblical principles, of which many of the Founding Fathers were well schooled in.

You see, my argument here is simply that the foundations of American government can be found in the Bible. The similarities are too striking to overlook when one gets deep into it. I am not trying to say that the Founding Father's wanted this to be a Christian Nation, which I think is what you are arguing against. If you reread my article, you will find that I stated that right out - Contrary to what some might argue, America was not actually founded as a Christian Nation. It is, however, deeply rooted in Biblical and Christian principles.

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the foundations of American government can be found in the Bible.

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. However, there did preceed the Bible and Christianity various philosophies and philosophers. These ideas influenced the bible writers and also continued on in parallel.

If the proposition is that Christianity influenced western civilization, the answer is probably yes. If the proposition is that a US like government could not exist without Christianity, not only is the case not proven, but there are many historical examples of democracies (as opposed to tyrannies) that pre-date Christianity.

And I believe your skepticism is well founded. As several of your quotes illustrate, even the best-conceived forms of government (or religion) can be perverted men with a variety of intentions. We must protect against that. Even today, people of every ideology - including conservative religious - will attempt to obscure, ignore or alter the foundations of our form of governance in order to further their personal agendas.

But most of what you quoted seems to be warnings and exortations to be watchful and try to prevent just such corruption as opposed to supporting or refuting the contention that the founding fathers' believed that our rights were/are conferred divinely. That's my point.

That's all.

There are those who will say that the U.S. Constitution grew out of this or that civilization -- but they are dead wrong. The principles of the U.S. Constitution were the culmination of 1750 years of governing and administering the affairs of churches throughout Europe and Christianized Asia.

The ability to "govern" was one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God. Churches established their own rules for self-governance, electing leaders and appointing administrators with limited authority that were accountable to both God and the people of that church.

Self governence was practiced by the first churches found in the New Testament for they served the Son of God whose word said "the government shall be upon his shoulders". It may very well be that these charters were an expression of what was the "binding and loosing" authority that Jesus gave to Peter and the Apostles, Paul and the NT church.

Anyway, a constitutional or chartered self-government by those affected by that government came from self-governing churches of the Waldensians, Albigenses, some Greek churches, and the Reformation churches.

Lessons learned in these churches about how best to govern and administer were subsequently incorporated in the charters of all of the American colonies and then their later state constitutions, most of which required that officeholders pledge allegiance to the Christian religion and the Bible as the Word of God.

These state governments, descended from lessons of church governance in England and parts of Europe, were supposed to be the foundation of the new federal government of America -- and were -- but as people forgot their Bibles and what it t means, they have subsequently forgotten their Constitution and what it means.

The backbone of the Constitution is the Scriptures and the people who believe therein. As people have turned from the Scriptures, they have lost their backbone.

Thank you OWK - I'm enjoying your stance. Please allow me to throw some logs on your fire.

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more that half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a daemon that the word of God. It...has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind."

"Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is none more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory in itself, than this thing called Christianity. Too absurd for belief, too impossible to convince, and too inconsistent for practice, it renders the heart torpid, or produces only atheists and fanatics. As an engine of power it serves the purpose of despotism; and as a means of wealth, the avarice of priests; but so far as respects the good of man in general, it leads to nothing here or hereafter."

from The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

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