The Role of Faith in Conservative American Politics
Larry (Scratch)
The Role of Faith in Conservative American Politics
By Rev. Mark H. Creech
Failing to realize almost every nation that ever existed was founded on
some theistic basis, Americans have offered little resistance to the
radical effort of "progressives" to remove every vestige of America’s
Christian heritage and completely secularize matters of public policy.
Churches of the late Middle Ages are well known for embodying a
Christian worldview in their architecture. No where is this better
demonstrated than in the Gothic Cathedral at Chartes, France. This
cathedral, which was built during the 12th century, supposedly pictures
the kingdom of heaven on earth. In his book, Earth Restored, John Barber
says "[t]he west façade, one of the most glorious of all Gothic
structures, is harmonized through decoration and proportion to give it
an upward, reaching effect — reaching toward the purity of paradise
itself." Barber further adds: "The south side of the cathedral displays
Old Testament figures whose message is to proclaim that the rulers of
France are not independent of God, but in fact stand in the line of the
great kings and prophets from before the time of Christ. The worldview
of the cathedral is summed up through a figure of Christ appearing as
Judge and Lord of the Universe above the doorway with an assembly of
twenty-four elders in the archivolts." The message of the Cathedral is
clear, claims Barber: "the ideal society consists in a harmony of
spiritual and secular injunction, where Christ is the head of both."1
Interestingly, America was founded on a similar view. Dating all the way
back to the Mayflower Compact, the nation’s birth certificate reads: ".
. . Having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the
Christian faith . . . a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern
parts of Virginia . . . do by these presents solemnly . . . covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civil body politic."2 When the New
England settlements gathered, they formed what is known as the
Constitution of the New England Confederation, which reads: "Whereas we
all came to these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to
advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties
of the Gospel thereof with purities and peace, and for preserving and
propagating the truth and liberties of the gospel."3
The documentary evidence that the United States was based on the concept
that society should be built on a harmony between the secular and the
sacred is solid. In 1832, Noah Webster published his History of the
United States, in which he concluded: "The brief exposition of the
constitution of the United States will unfold to young persons the
principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the
writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source
of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New
Testament or the Christian religion."4
Today, however, the religious premise of the nation has largely been
wiped from the collective mind. Failing to realize all nations that ever
existed were founded on some theistic basis (with the exception of the
anti-theistic countries such as the former Soviet Union) — whether it is
the Hinduism of India, the Confucianism of Asia, the Islamic religion of
the Arabic states, or the Christianity of the western nations —
Americans have offered little resistance to the radical effort of
"progressives" to remove every vestige of America’s Christian heritage
and completely secularize matters of public policy.
Certainly the mantra of progressives has been the so-called doctrine of
the "separation of church and state." Terry L. Johnson, a Presbyterian
minister from Savannah, Georgia, best summarizes the current
circumstances, contending:
The progressives have been saying for a generation or more that
there is an impenetrable 'wall of separation' between church and state.
This phrase, by the way, is not found in our national documents . . .
What is wrong with a manger scene at City Hall? What is wrong with a
Menorah on city property? What is wrong with a prayer at graduation, or
at the beginning of a football game, or at the beginning of the day in
our public schools? Common sense tells us, of course, that nothing is
wrong with it. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution at a time
when ten of thirteen colonies had state-supported churches, and
authorized government-paid chaplains for the military, opening the daily
sessions of the Supreme Court and Senate with prayer. Moreover, the
printing of the Bible at public expense never imagined the degree to
which fanatics would go to remove religion from the public square.5
Unfortunately, this wrong-headed approach by progressives, who have
dominated the political landscape in recent decades, has wreaked havoc
on the nation’s character and institutions. Their misguided intent to
unite the country under a secular multi-cultural banner has instead
deeply divided it by removing its moral compass.
Such has precipitated a cultural war with a revival of sorts for
"orthodox" or "conservative" values, which are fundamentally biblical in
nature. A number of areas where the battles are currently being fought
and must be won if the nation would be redeemed are:
1. The battle to preserve the sanctity of human life (Psalm 139:13-16;
Isaiah 42:2, 24; Luke 1:41-44; Exodus 20:13). America’s wholesale
slaughter of innocent life at its earliest stages through abortion and
destructive embryonic stem-cell research is unacceptable. Neither is the
practice of euthanasia or forms of assisted suicide tolerable. The Bible
argues life is sacred at every stage and that government has a
responsibility to vigorously protect it. The late Mother Teresa said at
the 1996 National Prayer Breakfast, "If a child is not safe in his
mother’s womb, nothing is safe." The attack on innocent human life at
any juncture is an attack on all of life.
2. The battle to preserve the traditional monogamous family (Genesis
2:21-24; Ephesians 5:22-33). Divorce is epidemic in America with nearly
half of all marriages failing. For the first time in the nation’s
history more people are cohabitating than are married. Diverse forms of
family such as homosexual marriage, polygamy, and group marriages are
being advocated. These family scenarios are rejected by God. Moreover,
they open a Pandora’s Box of ills that strike at the very heart of a
stable society. They create circumstances where, unfortunately, children
suffer the most. The ideal plan God ordained for the family simply
begins with one man and one woman who legally marry for life.
3. The battle to preserve common decency (Proverbs 14:34). Alcohol and
drug abuse is rampant, costing the nation nearly $400 billion annually,
not to mention the destruction of countless American youth. Pornography
is a multi-billion dollar business. Television programs and the movies
are rift with obscenity, profanity and vulgarity. Yet many of the
"liberal/progressive" persuasion promote the legalization of illicit
drugs and advocate for lesser government regulation of the media.
Nevertheless, the best way to protect a representative republic is for
the state to defend the national morality. John Adams, the second
President of the United States argued: "Religion and virtue are the only
foundations, not only of republicanism and of all free government, but
of social felicity under all governments and in all the combinations of
human society."6
4. The battle to preserve a limited government (Romans 13:1-7). The
Scriptures teach that government’s primary responsibility is to procure
justice by protecting the life, liberty and property of its citizenry.
It may legitimately tax in order to carry out this particular function.
But contrary to the notions of progressives, God never authorized
government to tax in order to provide matters such as housing, food,
child-care, health-care, etc. Just as individuals have no right to play
Robin Hood and use their coercive powers to relieve poverty, neither
does the government. In fact, governments are charged to do just the
opposite — to protect the private property of its citizens. Governments,
as well as individuals, are required to obey the eighth commandment of
God: "Thou shalt not steal." Although Christianity is concerned with the
needs of the poor, it teaches "the poor you will have with you always"
and poverty concerns are best addressed by acts of private charity.
Sadly, modern America has evolved into a welfare state that has made
government "the opiate of the people." Americans look to the government
to solve nearly all of their problems. Because government is involved in
funding countless projects it was never authorized to take on, there is
now an outrageous tax rate, Eminent Domain abuses, and even state
promotion of vices such as gambling in order to supply the government’s
insatiable desire for additional revenue. America must return to its
moorings, once again embracing the biblical concept of limited government.
5. The battle to preserve the diffusion of government powers. ( Romans
3:10-18, 23; Jeremiah 17:9 ) Most of America’s founders were devout
Christians who believed human nature is sinful and depraved. This
conviction led them to conclude that liberty could only be protected
when power was shared — no person or group of persons should ever be
trusted with total authority. Thus they established that federal power
should be divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Lately, these lines of power have been blurred significantly, especially
by the judicial branches. Nearly every issue currently tearing away at
America’s moral fabric — no school prayer, no posting of the Ten
Commandments, abortion, the repeal of sodomy laws, homosexual marriage,
etc. — have been foisted on the public, not legitimately by the
executive or legislative branches, but solely by activist judges bent
more on making law rather than interpreting it according to the original
intent of the founding fathers in the Constitution. Essentially, this
has placed the neck of the nation under the foot of a judicial dictatorship.
Only a healthy respect for the Bible’s teaching about human nature’s
tendency for corruption will lead Americans to reject, as well as be
leery of any concentration of power, whether it’s an imperial
Presidency, Congress, Judiciary, or something else.
6. The battle to preserve a faith-based educational system (Deuteronomy
6:4-9; Ephesians 6:4). Public schools today are the "golden calf" of the
left. Their influence has literally removed the name of God from the
campus. The worst effect by far is not simply that school prayer, the
Bible, the Ten Commandments, Creationism or Intelligent Design are not
allowed in the classroom, but that students are led to believe that
faith in God, reliance on the Holy Scriptures, or obedience to God’s
commands has no place in the process of education.
The late great Peter Marshall, Chaplain to the U.S. Senate during the
late 1940s, warned: "Let us not fool ourselves — without Christianity,
without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated
into young life, we are simply rearing pagans."7
Obviously, faith is the source of conservative values. Progressives may
often assert that faith is also the premise for their values. But it
should be realized, as James Davidson Hunter (professor of sociology and
religious studies at the University of Virginia) in his book, Culture
Wars, The Struggle To Define America, notes: Progressives embrace the
view that "moral and spiritual truth can only be conditional and
relative."8 In other words, they seek to supplant the eternal verities
of the historic Christian tradition by imposing a faith or dogma of
their own.
In a letter to General Benjamin Lincoln, dated June 29, 1788, George
Washington’s words are a challenge, as well as a word of encouragement
for modern America: "Much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to
neglect the means and depart from the road which Providence has pointed
us to, so plainly . . . The Great Governor of the Universe has led us
too long and too far . . . to forsake us in the midst of it . . . We
may, now and then, get bewildered; but I hope and trust that there is
good sense and virtue enough left to recover the right path."
Indeed! And may God hasten the day when as pictured in the great Gothic
Cathedral at Chartes, France, American jurisprudence will once again
reach toward the "purity of paradise itself" — harmonizing the secular
and the spiritual, acknowledging Christ as the Lord of both.
--
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and then you shall
find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the
sword the faith he preached.”
Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus
Twentylettersintotal
"Larry (Scratch)" <Scr...@Tigard.OR.com> wrote in message
news:qdudnRQMQteOsbbY...@comcast.com...
> October 9, 2006
> The Role of Faith in Conservative American Politics
> By Rev. Mark H. Creech
Well, at least he got the title right.
Had he wrote "The Role of Faith in (All)American History", he would have
been wrong.
Otherwise the rest of the content was straight out of Barton. Full of
distortions and leaps of logic.