Saturday, May 05, 2012
"A Godless Constitution?"
First From Julie's Keyboard:Will Words Never Hurt Me???
It’s
been said that, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will
never hurt me.” Really? Where did this wisdom come from? At any rate,
maybe this was a favorite childhood line to use in an argument, but in
all reality, the very opposite can be more true. Words may often hurt
worse than any physical blow one could receive.Jesus gave so much instruction on speaking correctly, or many times, not speaking at all. All through out the Bible we are admonished to speak with wisdom and care. We are warned of the “unruly evil” that abides within our mouths (our tongues). Therefore, we would be safe to conclude that speech should be guarded and guided by the wisdom of God.
The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Words are containers to convey blessing or cursing. Words may bring edification, or words may tear down. Words may express love, or unfortunately, hate. What a responsibility is given us to be stewards over our very own mouths. Without the help provided by the Spirit of the Lord, this task just couldn’t be possible.
There’s a very wise prayer one may use as a guide to ask for the help of the Spirit regarding this area of our walk in the Lord. It was prayed by none other than the Psalmist King David:Psalm 141:3 “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” KJV
The Scripture teaches us that he who is able to not sin with his mouth is a mature believer. Personally, I’ve a long way to go. But, I’m on the way. He’s faithful to strengthen us in our area of weakness. In Him we will overcome.
What are we speaking today? Are we giving glory to God, or are we locked into conversation about everything we see and hear about us? According to Scripture, it’s far more profitable to be giving Glory to God.
Ask the Giver of Wisdom for His provision today. He’s ready and waiting to answer your call.
Have a blessed week,
Julie
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"A Godless Constitution?"
Would you believe the more you study a subject the more you gain understanding of that subject? Would that sound reasonable to you? Here I find myself confronted with the evolution of my own understanding coming into conflict with my previous ideas.
If you search this blog you will find instances where in an attempt to be reconcilable and because of my own post modern view (I'll talk more about the post modern view later) I have made statements in agreement with the view that the Constitution is a secular document. I argued the fact that it was not anti-religious but simply secular as it dealt with the governing of our social society, something I viewed as our secular lives.
But as I have continue to study our spiritual heritage, I find I must repent of that statement. Before I explain let me define the word secular for use.
sec·u·lar
[sek-yuh-ler]
1.
of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests.
2.
3.
not pertaining to or connected with religion ( opposed to sacred): secular music.
(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.
So by definition, for the
Constitution to be a secular document, or as it has be coined lately "A
Godless Constitution" it would have to pertain to worldly things and
have no spiritual or religious interests. It could not be connected
with religion in anyway.
What I have discovered is this, it simply is not true! And I find it in the words of our Founders, the one's who brought it into being.
In Article 7 of the Constitution we find that the Constitution itself connects to the Declaration of Independence. (Read Article 7)
This is confirmed by Samuel Adams himself as he stated: "Before the formation of this Constitution this Declaration of Independence was
received and ratified by all the States in the Union, and has never been
dis annulled."
The original understanding was that
these two documents were not two separate documents one replacing the
other. The early courts view were that the Constitution was the body of
the letter and the Declaration was the thought and spirit.
The thought and the spirit as described by the Declaration of Independence "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 . . ." is undeniably religious and of a spiritual nature.
The Constitution as a means of
obtaining these rights by which we are endowed by our Creator and
connecting itself to the Declaration of Independence finds itself of a
religious nature.
This is codified by simply going the
grievances in the Declaration and comparing them with the means of
avoiding those grievances in the articles of the Constitution to
understand the connection between the two documents. In the Declaration
you find the problems to be addressed, in the Constitution you find the
solutions to address those problems. You can't understanding the
reasoning behind the Constitution without understanding the problems
outlined in the Declaration. This alone would be enough to disqualify it
as a secular document according to the definition of the word.
In the forming ideas that embody
these documents, the number one source cited by our Founders come from
the Bible being 34% of all the sources named. This again connects the
Constitution to a spiritual and religious source.
You also find comparison to
these sources embodied within the text of Constitution. Compare the
powers granted to Congress in Article 1. Section 8 to establish a
uniform Rule of naturalization to:
Leviticus 19:33 "And
if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him."
19:34 "But the stranger that dewelleth with you shall be unto you as one
born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
Then there is Article 2, Section 1. of the Constitution that reads, "No
Person except a natural-born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States
at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to
the Office of President; . . ."
Why do that? What is the reasoning behind that way of thinking? You don't understand fully until you read Deuteronomy 17: 15 "Thou
shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall
choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou
mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother."
Also there is Article 3, Section 3. of the Constitution which states, "No
Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two
Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
Why two Witnesses? Why not one? You don't understand fully the reasoning until you read Deuteronomy 17:6 "At
the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy
of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not
be put to death."
These are just examples of the connection between the sources drawn upon and the implementation in the Constitution.
You find in the 7th Amendment that ".
. . no fact tried by a jury shall be other wise re-examined in any
court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common
law."
What is all that about? “The
late Judge James Wilson, of the Supreme Court of the United States,
Professor of Law in the College in Philadelphia…for our present form of
government we are greatly indebted to his exertions…In his Course of
Lectures (3d Vol. of his Works, 122), he states that…’Christianity is
part of the common-law.’”
Here Supreme Court Justice James
Wilson connects the common law to Christianity, again according to
definition of the word, the Constitution cannot be a secular document.
To confirm this understanding in the month of two witnesses, Joseph Story states: "I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One
of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a
part of the Common Law... There never has been a period in which the Common Law
did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations."
Another provision is found in Article 1. Section 7. of the United States Constitution, the
(Sundays excepted) clause. There was to be no work done in the Capital
on Sunday as prescribed by the Constitution. The Constitution
therefore recognized and made provision for a religious holiday, not to mention that church was held on Sunday in the house Chamber.
These were called Sabbath Laws, which
were effective in every state in the union until the 1960's. Even
today, according to the United Supreme Court, it is Constitutional for
any state in the union to enact a Sabbath Law if so inclined.
According to definition, this again denies the term secular document being applied to the United States Constitution.
I could continue establishing facts of the Constitution that deny within
itself that it is a secular document, but the point being made I will
save you the read and myself the research and let the evidence here
speak for itself.
May God bless each of you,
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