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Forcing Babylon to the Font
Lewis
Goldberg
11/25/2003
We
have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human
passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our Constitution was
made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other.
--John Adams
Though
many people seek to use Founding Father quotes as proof of rampant deism in
those Revolutionary times, let us take this one at face value. Many people
may misunderstand the above Adams quote to imply that the government of
these united States is a Christian government, but no such thing is meant.
Quite the opposite - Adams saw that no people other than a moral, Christian
people could flourish within the bounds set out in the Constitution, a
highly revered but very flawed document. Adams must have foreseen the
abuses that have become rampant in our era - abuses committed by a
decidedly un-Christian nation.
The
first amendment to the Constitution says nothing but what the Federal
government may not do - and specifically Congress. No mention is
made of the states following the same rules, and in fact, in the tenth
amendment is reserved the power to the states to set forth it's own laws
where the Constitution does not previously bind. However, the tenth
amendment has been under heavy assault since the War of 1812, and we have
not much of it left today. It should, therefore, be no surprise that a
Federal judge has ordered the 10 Commandments monument, placed in the
Alabama Supreme Court Rotunda by former Chief Justice Roy Moore, to be
removed.
Christian
groups of every stripe have been picketing the action against the monument,
and marching to support Moore in his defiant stand against both his State's
laws and the Federal action. Moore's contention is, of course, that he is
within the law, as it was intended, and in that assertion he may be
correct. But law in the USA is not based on the intentions of a bunch of
dead guys in powdered wigs - it is decided on the opinions of elected and
appointed judges, who are beholden to the special interests and political
machines that got them their jobs. If we were ever a "nation of
laws" [as Neal Boortz likes to say] it didn't last long, and we are
now a nation governed by pagan priests in black vestments.
This
is not to say that all judges are evil - there are notable
exceptions, and we should appreciate these people for 'standing in the
gap.' But they are in the minority, and to affect real change in the way
laws are enforced is pure futility. Walking into a courtroom nowadays is
like walking into a Lakers/Knicks game, and all the refs are wearing big
Lakers buttons - you wouldn't really expect the Knicks to win in that
situation. Judges - for the most part - wear the garments of secular
humanism, and unfortunately our Constitution, as I believe John Adams
perceived, supports them.
Unlike
the Ayn-Randians and the Unitarians, who take out-of-context quoting of the
Founding Fathers to an art form to prove their point that the U.S. is not a
Christian nation, I think the secularity shines loudly in the way those
men, both Christian and non, wrote constitution. John Adams admonition that
the Constitution is "made only for a moral and religious people"
alludes to the fact that it was written too loosely to sustain any other
society. Christians could understand the covenantal nature of the document,
while anyone else would be able to drive a 20 Mule Train through its drafty
language devoid of obedience to God's Laws.
So
fight as they may, Judge Moore and his supporters are engaged in a battle,
not to return the monument to its podium and Moore to his court, but to
force 'the system' - which is decidedly pagan - to the Baptismal font. This
is an impossible task, and not one that has any support in Scripture. God
has always dealt with His nation of faithful by separating them out of 'babylon.'
Forced acceptance of Christianity, whether by litigation or by the sword,
is not God's way - this is the way of the heathen, and is not to be
imitated.
In
our age, the political tool we have closest to righteous separation is
secession, and while there may be occasional rumblings and threats of
political splits, it is not a weapon that Christians are ready to employ
yet. In the meantime, let us not gallop after pointless 'pissing contests'
staged to show the world who is righteous and who isn't. The Book said
there'd be times like these, and no mention of the forming of political
action committees to deal with them. True victory against the enemies of
God are not won by playing in the enemy's court, so let us instead seek
after God to provide the victory - which He will certainly provide in His
own time.
Your comments and questions are encouraged. [editor@patriotist.com]
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