thedrifter
06-10-05, 08:26 AM
Posted on Fri, Jun. 10, 2005
Founders' state of mind
English journalist and author G.K. Chesterton once observed, "America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence."
Numerous scholars think the preliminary covenant for self-government, the Mayflower Compact, became the foundation of the U.S. Constitution.
Let's look at the state of mind - then and now - relating to the declaration and the Constitution.
The Pilgrims plainly declared they came to this land to spread Christianity. William Bradford, their leader, said, "A great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world."
The education of the settlers and founders of America was uniquely Christian and Bible-based. The New England Primer was used to teach colonial children to read and included the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's Creed and the text of many hymns and prayers.
The first colleges in the New World included rules for religious education.
In 1643, a Harvard College directive stated: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3)."
Yale College included two religious requirements in its 1745 charter: "All scholars shall live religious, godly and blameless lives according to the rules of God's Word, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures, the fountain of light and truth; and constantly attend upon all the duties of religion, both in public and secret."
Christianity played a significant role in the development of the Declaration of Independence.
The Presbyterian Elders of North Carolina drafted the Mecklenburg Declaration in 1775 under the direction of Elder Ephraim Brevard (a graduate of Princeton). One scholar stated, "In correcting his first draft of the declaration it can be seen, in at least a few places, that (Thomas) Jefferson has erased the original words and inserted those which are first found in the Mecklenburg Declaration. No one can doubt that Jefferson had Brevard's resolutions before him when he was writing his immortal declaration."
Samuel Adams regarded individual freedom as "the law of the Creator." At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he said, "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient."
Contrary to liberal thinking, there is no reference to a "separation of church and state" in the Constitution or the declaration, nor a reference to the "wall of separation" noted in many federal court decisions.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist observed, "There is simply no historical foundation for the proposition that the Framers intended to build the 'wall of separation.'"
The First Amendment simply states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The country that the Pilgrims escaped had an established religion, the Church of England. King Henry VIII cared nothing about religious freedom. He required everyone to be church members, and to believe what its clergy told them. Monarchs who followed him continued this principle of government-controlled churches.
Sensible people wrote the Constitution, but liberal federal judges have been twisting it to suit their personal whims, ignoring the First Amendment's equally important mandate for "free exercise" of religion - inside and outside the church doors.
Since there can be no federal law on establishment, there is no lawful basis for any element of the federal government - including the courts - to act for or against religion.
Columnist Thomas Sowell said, "Letting judges change the law by verbal sleight of hand is especially dangerous in a country where the people are supposed to have the power to control the laws they live under via their elected representatives."
To the Framers, Rehnquist and Sowell, I say amen.
Lee Ballard of Macon can be contacted via e-mail at ballardcolumn@cox.net
Ellie
Founders' state of mind
English journalist and author G.K. Chesterton once observed, "America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence."
Numerous scholars think the preliminary covenant for self-government, the Mayflower Compact, became the foundation of the U.S. Constitution.
Let's look at the state of mind - then and now - relating to the declaration and the Constitution.
The Pilgrims plainly declared they came to this land to spread Christianity. William Bradford, their leader, said, "A great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world."
The education of the settlers and founders of America was uniquely Christian and Bible-based. The New England Primer was used to teach colonial children to read and included the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's Creed and the text of many hymns and prayers.
The first colleges in the New World included rules for religious education.
In 1643, a Harvard College directive stated: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3)."
Yale College included two religious requirements in its 1745 charter: "All scholars shall live religious, godly and blameless lives according to the rules of God's Word, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures, the fountain of light and truth; and constantly attend upon all the duties of religion, both in public and secret."
Christianity played a significant role in the development of the Declaration of Independence.
The Presbyterian Elders of North Carolina drafted the Mecklenburg Declaration in 1775 under the direction of Elder Ephraim Brevard (a graduate of Princeton). One scholar stated, "In correcting his first draft of the declaration it can be seen, in at least a few places, that (Thomas) Jefferson has erased the original words and inserted those which are first found in the Mecklenburg Declaration. No one can doubt that Jefferson had Brevard's resolutions before him when he was writing his immortal declaration."
Samuel Adams regarded individual freedom as "the law of the Creator." At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he said, "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient."
Contrary to liberal thinking, there is no reference to a "separation of church and state" in the Constitution or the declaration, nor a reference to the "wall of separation" noted in many federal court decisions.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist observed, "There is simply no historical foundation for the proposition that the Framers intended to build the 'wall of separation.'"
The First Amendment simply states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The country that the Pilgrims escaped had an established religion, the Church of England. King Henry VIII cared nothing about religious freedom. He required everyone to be church members, and to believe what its clergy told them. Monarchs who followed him continued this principle of government-controlled churches.
Sensible people wrote the Constitution, but liberal federal judges have been twisting it to suit their personal whims, ignoring the First Amendment's equally important mandate for "free exercise" of religion - inside and outside the church doors.
Since there can be no federal law on establishment, there is no lawful basis for any element of the federal government - including the courts - to act for or against religion.
Columnist Thomas Sowell said, "Letting judges change the law by verbal sleight of hand is especially dangerous in a country where the people are supposed to have the power to control the laws they live under via their elected representatives."
To the Framers, Rehnquist and Sowell, I say amen.
Lee Ballard of Macon can be contacted via e-mail at ballardcolumn@cox.net
Ellie