The formation of the American form of Government began long before the New England colonies were in existence. The hand of divine Providence was at work in enumerable ways beyond our comprehension, yet some are so obvious they cannot escape notice. The influence the Clergy imposed upon the thinking and understanding of the culture cannot be underestimated.
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind require that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
There was a source drawn upon that deserves recognition, (the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God) to which the appeal was laid for its foundation. By this appeal, it is understood as the general principles of justice and equity under which men were conceived to have lived before the founding of any society or civil state and which gave men therefore their so-called natural rights. This understanding of law and order was believed the be written in the heart of man and more fully developed in revelation by the written law of God.
"[T]he Law of Nature stands as an eternal rule to all men, legislators as well as others. The rules that they make for other men’s actions must . . . be conformable to the Law of Nature, i.e., to the will of God." ~ John Locke, Two Treatises on Government (London: J. Whiston, etc., 1772), Book II, p. 285, Chapter XI, §135.
"[L]aws human must be made according to the general laws of Nature, and without contradiction to any positive law of Scripture, otherwise they are ill-made." ~ John Locke, Two Treatises on Government (London: J. Whiston, etc., 1772), Book II, p. 285, Chapter XI, §135, n., quoting Hooker’s Eccl. Pol. 1. iii, sect. 9.
It is through these Laws of Nature that the Clergy gained their influence. For the most part, the American preachers were very well learned, being graduates of Harvard or Yale universities. They were not only very able men in conveying the Gospel to their parishioners but also in conveying a Biblical understanding of both civil and church government. Civil government being separate from Church government, serving in different spheres, yet being governed by the same principles. For example, the church members were joined together and given the power to choose their own officers, to whom they were then willing to submit themselves. However, in case of some unworthiness or delinquency, they also had the power to depose of them, to chose or refuse, to elect and remove them from the said office. This carried over into the understanding of free civil government institutions and aided in their formation.
Many practices and applications of the United States Constitution find their wisdom from the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. This formed a culture capable of being governed by a free republican form of government. It gave the people the understanding of how to choose their civil leaders in order that they might then submit to their authority. However, it also laid the groundwork for the revolution, giving them a right cause being able under God to through off or remove the authority which then governed in an unworthy or oppressive measure. Those measures were articulated in their Declaration of Independence as a just and right defense of the measures they were to undertake. They were not rebels against law and order, but an advocate for a truly peaceful and just society.
This proved to be true and History has demonstrated to us the fruit of their work, viz, the American experience we have now enjoyed for more than two centuries. From their framework, the greatest experience of human freedom the world has ever know has now been a reality. That is not to say it has been perfect freedom, for there have been many flaws. But it is to say it reached levels of human freedom that man had not yet attained.
This freedom was made possible in our civil society because of the theological minds of those who were its architects. Through their Biblical understanding of the nature of man, they were able to devise a civil government that provided extended civil and religious freedoms while still binding the hand of government through separated powers and safeguards against tyranny. The government was aided by the church through the propagation of the Gospel and its instruction concerning Biblical law.
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle. At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, not any one sect [denomination]. Any attempt to level and discard all religion would have been viewed with universal indignation. . . . In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity; that, in its general principles, is the great conservative element on which we must rely for the purity and permanence of free institutions
This combination built a culture of people who were capable of self-government. Their government and their church worked hand in hand, seeking peace and justice among the people. They were not rivals but friends. The Clergy were quick to preach elections sermons where right law and justice were developed from Scripture, demonstrating the people's responsibility to obedience and the government's responsibility to justice and equity. If anyone became disobedient the government had the authority to punish, if the government became oppressive, the people had the authority to remove the official from that office. In short, we were a nation of law, of which both the government and governed were accountable.
However, as all things do over time, the system is showing serious symptoms of erosion. Many of the factors that were in place to keep things well oiled and working are no longer in place. The safeguards that are in place men have found a way to circumvent them. Men may not be ever so wise, but they are clever when it comes to finding ways to do what they want. The largest block of Christianity today in America is not the Christianity of our forefathers. The Gospel they preach is a selfish man-centered Gospel where practically nothing is said concerning Biblical law and justice and how it relates to our society. Major issues are avoided by the Clergy and self-help prosperity feel-good message fills its place.
What we are left with is a government that has grown to proportions far outside the scope and range of the Constitution. We can read the Constitution fairly quickly and be amazed at its wisdom; but when you lay that wisdom over the workings of our government you discover agencies, departments, czars, and all kinds of government workings that the Constitution knows nothing about nor has any strength to restrain. In many cases, the departments are not responsible to the entity that created them. Couple with that a people without the knowledge of how their government works and why. A people in a very diverse culture now without the influence of well equipped Clergy and an even larger populous who cares not for any religious instruction at all. Whereas previously the law carried strength for it was seen as a just and right law because its source was Biblical. Now it is simply understood as a law created by some human senate or congress, probably with a political motive resulting in both lack of respect and reverence, carrying little power over the individual.
"[W]hen all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another." ~ Thomas Jefferson, Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington D. C.: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XV, p. 332, to Charles Hammond on August 18, 1821.
In many cases, they are correct, as the political parties scramble to shape and form a society to fit and form their agenda without any concern for Biblical law and justice. This continues to sharpen the divide between government and people, breaking it into factions and groups. The justice system breaks down and peace is disrupted.
To fix such a system is most difficult, it would require the shrinking of the national government, the people weaning themselves off their created dependencies of that government, and a united effort to restore those Laws of Nature our founders leaned upon. This is impossible without a strong Church with strong and well-equipped Pastors and teachers. As you can see we are a long way from any of that.
If this system survives without these changes above, it will emerge as something other than it was intended to be in the beginning. It may be something that people can live under with some measure of freedom, and then it may not. It may be that eventually something altogether different will be implemented to replace it to instill some kind order and way of life. These things are not something strange to human history, they are just strange to us who have been blessed with such high achievement of human freedom in the last few hundred years.
Regardless of the world or national system of government, Christians need to be faithful and trust in the Saviour. God has brought His people through all of human history, offering them His Grace and hope of salvation. He has not done that to lose us now, He remains faithful. He has not promised a paradise here, quite the contrary. But we can have peace in the midst of suffering, hope in the midst of despair.
We have been given wisdom in His word to build and govern a peaceful society and produce a culture by which people can prosper, the American experience had demonstrated that to its highest measure thus far. However, man has never been able to get over the idea that they know a better way all the while being tempted with their desire and lust for power and authority. The hope of the soul is the Gospel, the hope of society is the Laws of nature, we remove them to our detriment.
May God bless,
David
