Jeff Shaara: Rise to Rebellion-Book Review

September 5, 2008 – 2:24 pm

It’s the wife’s turn to write a post on Early Christian America’s blog, so I’m going to do a book review.  I just finished reading Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Sharra.  I couldn’t  help but think how very pertinent this book is to the times in which we live. 

By definition, Rise to Rebellion is a novel. It is a masterpiece in Historical Fiction, encompasing the time of Early American History during the rise up to the Revoutionary war.. Jeff Sharra, like his father Michael, has brought their voices, and thoughts of the men and women of the Revolution, into my very heart.

 

 

Early Christian America’s Sons of Liberty

The similarities between the struggles the Son’s of Liberty had then, and the struggles the Son’s of Liberty undergo today, are poignant and thought provoking . Although we have no "King",  the tyranny we are about to undergo, and are already undergoing has a commonality to that of the Revolutionary war period,  that for me,  is becoming more and more uncomfortable. 

In this work we hear the heartbeat of the men who struggled with the necessary steps towards independence.  Ben Franklin, John Adams, George Washington and Paul Revere, all echo through the pulse of our society.

Early Christian America and the First Continental Congress 

As the first Continental Congress convenes… we hear the reading of the Imprecatory Psalm… "Contend O Lord, with those who contend with me: Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and bucker. and rise up for my help.  Draw the spear and the javelin, against my pursuers…"  Is that not how we pray, or should be praying,  today? Our enemies surround us on all sides…taking our freedoms, taxing us into oblivion, masking themselves as Christians when terror is written all over their speeches.  

Early Christian America’s Wives 

We’re reliving, to a certain, though different extent, the rise of the rebellion against a tyrannical government.  I was encouraged by this book. I was encouraged by the wives who would stand by and undergird  their husband’s callings, for theirs was a difficult task.  Husbands were taken away for months at a time, while the wives were left to be strong and encourage the folk around them… raising children with British soldiers quartered in their homes… surrounded by disease and struggles you and I can barely  imagine today.  If they can do it, we can and must stand firm as they.

In Chapter 5 of Rise to Rebellion…John Adams thought of the sermon he had heard, the preacher calling for God to intervene, to set all things right.  No, (thinks Adams) that is not what  God does.  God has given us the power to act, to change our own lives.  He does not judge us on how we think, how pure we keep our thoughts.   We are judged on what we do. If we believe that we are right, we must fight for that belief. If we lose the fight, we cannot be condemned for the failure.  But if we do not fight, if we simply endure what we believe to be wrong, no piety, no sermons, no prayer will save us.

Read Rise to Rebellion and be encouraged.  The Lord blessed this nation abundantly… and though we will suffer, perhaps in His  infinite mercy, He will once again, providentially Raise a Nation from the Dead.

Submitted -Lori C Sedlak, ICHR (Institute for Christian Heritage Research)

For a ten minute message on John Adams and the Revolutionary War Click below.

Click…For a postcard of the entire message

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Christian America? Our Heritage in Constitutional Redress Part V

August 27, 2008 – 12:32 am

Christian America: The Background

The problem with so much of the debate surrounding whether "we were a founded a Christian nation" involves a poor understanding concerning the constitutional crises which led to our establishment.

Our heritage - with its attendant maturities - first originated in English and Scottish struggles against tyranny. The history of Christian involvement is one of STRUGGLE against evil in society, including the usurpations of magistrates (see the last half of Psalm 149 for a surprise perhaps you’re not expecting in the Bible).

This Christian heritage, cited by our forefathers, was NEVER something deliberated by school men or theologians sitting in forums, deciding the beliefs of the churches.

It has always been the common folk of the faith who have borne the struggle for Christian "maturity in righteousness". Theologians usually develop their positions later, after the culture war has raged for some time, with only a few lone voices (pastors, elders, deacons, and a few "theologians") among them providing leadership for common, everyday Christian folks.

Case in Point: "The Great Protestation"

In the reign of King James I of England (1603 - 1625) the King insisted he had the "divine right" of kings to regulate and tax as he pleased (perverse understanding of Romans 13). Parliament, then dominated by the House of Lords, tended to "go along to get along" with the king."

However, the common folk were sick of the fact that their version of "Congressional leadership" in the House of Lords had no problem allowing the king to control and regulate commerce, government (national and local, judicial) and the churches.

The Puritan movement produced quite a few very savvy pastors and businessmen who knew that God gave wealth so as to patronize righteous causes. They also knew that the king’s policies, like all "tax and spend" administrations, was invariably rapacious and ruinous.

Kings and governments are history’s WORST stewards of wealth and productivity. While the King entertained lavishly a court and entourage, providing monies for a terribly ambitious and consequently ruinous foreign policy, his people languished in poverty and sorrow.

 

Though many businesses could do well in actual trade, the king’s taxes and regulations were so extravagant, many businesses fled the realm seeking other lands to reestablish their commercial enterprises.

The people of England wearied of such practices. They began to elect Puritan businessmen to the House of Commons, which at this time, was quite weak. But, it was the only voice the people really had. The House of Lords always sided with the throne in matters of policy and money (Guess who got the lucrative government contracts from the king?)

The king and members of Lords gained control over massive industries such as salt, iron works, granaries, gunpowder, shipping, mills. They gained control of much of the forests, lands and grazing meadows.

In like manner, the Federal and state governments today own the forests, parks, mineral rights, national lands, waterways… of course, in "the name of the people." They have declared the right of eminent domain for any commercial or other enterprise which seeks government largesse so as to cooperate with the governing bodies and receive YOUR landed inheritance when desirable.

In England, farming, herds and flocks were increasingly gathered under the authority of such aristocrats through "banking" and loans to poor farmers.

Adding bloodshed to "legal theft", the Lords and king repeatedly sought ambitious ends (and lucrative advantages) by finding reasons to send young English men as soldiers of the realm into foreign wars. Many households saw the loss or maiming of sons and husbands to wars, the cause and object of which were often strange and confused. The recent war in the Palatinate was one such instance among many during this era.

It seemed that almost any struggle among people of foreign lands - often struggles lasting for centuries - somehow provided the king with an excuse to intervene with lives of English young men. People wondered why longstanding hatreds and strife among foreign peoples, religions, or countries just had to be "…settled by English troops and policy".

The People Act: The Rise of the House of Commons

The Puritan churches were noted for their heroic, outspoken sermons and publications against tyranny. They had been fighting for religious freedom and rights for two generations.

But, in this era, they did something about it in a little different manner.

Many of their businessmen were elected to the House of Commons. That House grew in popularity in a very short period. One of the leaders, the Puritan John Pym, trained a number of young Puritan Parliamentarians (Hampton, Eliot, Cromwell), as to HOW to gradually (but legally) take back the powers of local authority and the national Parliamentarian authority.

The key here was "a faith inspired courage". The House took up a public Protest against the authority of the king and his repeated usurpations. Their repeated acts of outspoken resistance to the King, gained them the popular support needed.

Christian America: The Model Found in "The Great Protestation"

On December 21, 1621, the House of Commons, despite opposition from the House of Lords, made a public declaration which read (in part):

"… That the Liberties, franchises, privileges, and juridictions of Parliament are the ancient and undoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects of England and that the arduous and urgent affairs concerning the king, state, and defense of the real… are proper subjects and matter of council and debate in Parliament."

Note: Parliament included "affairs concerning the KING…" meaning, the king was to be a man UNDER AUTHORITY, not an authority unto himself. He was to be a man responsible to the covenant of his nation. Not the reverse. (Deuteronomy 17).

The king knew what he was facing and tore the page containing the Protestation from the journal of the House of Commons.

• He dissolved the Parliament.
• He jailed John Pym, Lord Coke (see future entries about Coke - pronounced "Cook"), Southhampton, and John Selden and…
• He demanded, through edict, that the realm obey his orders strictly without reference to Parliament.

As you will see, the reaction of the people began to develop as a broiling undercurrent among the people of England who were in no mood to be meekly compliant to a spendthrift king who, as the Bible describes elsewhere "… frames mischief by a law."

It certainly appears that the same broiling is now occurring among Americans today. The churches should NOT be countenancing the rise of compromised politicos who "know nothing of Christ" but are alleged (falsely) to be "less evil" than other candidates.

The Puritans - following the old example of John Knox - began to build a NEW voice in the House of Parliament, arousing opposition through their churches and local government. The key was local businessmen and the heroics of powerfully deep and convicting preaching from the pulpits.

That doctrine of local involvement in local governance redounded to national representation in the House of Commons, which, in turn, produced the great struggle for constitutional understanding in our history… and that of England.

Our forefathers took the same model and erected our Christian heritage in what can be called the rise of a distinctively Christian America.

-submitted, Wayne Sedlak, ICHR

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Video of the CFR

August 23, 2008 – 7:56 pm

 

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Christian America: Raising America from the Dead? Part IV Constitutional Law

August 22, 2008 – 2:15 pm

(See Parts I, II and III for earlier episodes in our history).

Christianity and Constitutionalism: Church and State - How they Really Got "Separated" in the legacy of our rise as a "Christian America".

Hampton Court Conference (1604): King James I Stuart, the King of a United Great Britain convened a conference between his bishops and the Puritan ministers throughout the realm.

The problem?

 

For several decades the Puritan ministers had been conducting worship in churches built by private funds throughout the realm. Being heavily influenced by the late John Knox of Scotland, they had been petitioning the Queen (the late Elizabeth I -who had just passed away) for redress of grievances in their churches. Their petitions were unheard by her.

 

 

• They believed their churches should be free of her state controls. At the very least, they wanted a relaxation of the rules of the State Church - the Anglican Church. That is the position they now took with James I at the Hampton Court Conference.
• They taught that the pulpits should be allowed to address the sins of a people and, when necessary, their civil magistrates at all levels of governance, without reprisal.
• Ministers should be trained by their churches, they insisted, not statist institutions nor statist controlled churches.
• They also insisted that the Laws of God (excluding, of course, the ceremonial and dietary laws) should be used to "oversee" the laws of the realm and that, ultimately, those laws should hold ultimate authority within the realm.
• Even though they had not yet "worked out" a clear understanding of a full separation of church and state GOVERNMENTS (incidentally, the doctrine includes FAMILY government as well), they did understand that the Laws of God mandated such governments be free from the tyranny of the others. They rejected, for example, statist control of the doctrines and offices of churches.
• They petitioned the king for changes in the churches. They demonstrated the powers of "the bishops" were misused and that the position itself was not biblical.

Statist Control of the Churches

James I depended upon his bishops to keep control of the pulpits, thereby controlling what people "heard" in their Sunday messages each week.

1. The Puritans contended that the messages were rarely true expositions from the Scriptures. They asserted that the bishops and their subordinate ministers, at best, often only entertained the people with cheap tales, folklore, kings opinions, and erroneous traditions.
2. At worst, the bishops punished the Puritan pulpits and worship, often closing down the churches as "opposed to the king’s wishes and safety of the people".
3. The bishops also were used as state agents for statist propaganda so as to "help the people to properly understand" the wishes of their king.

What was coming into play here was again the old worn-out "divine right of kings" doctrine which, in essence, stated that the king was ordained by God and that what he decreed was God’s will for the realm.

The Puritans reacted, citing consistently the Laws of God, teaching that those laws (with their commentary from the prophets and Apostles) explain properly God’s Will for ANY REALM and ALL REALMS.

The issue was shaping up into a battle, symbolized in a phrase,

• "Rex, Lex" "The king is law" - The kings position
• "Lex, Rex"- "The law is king." - The position of the Puritans and Presbyterians.

Because Puritanism had not yet worked out fully its views on the separation of church and state governments, the demands of the Puritans at Hampton Court only asked for redress of grieviences.

But, King James saw further than his adversaries (our enemies often do see the consequences TO THEM if we are successful in our biblical positioning, preaching and teaching).

He knew that, despite their claims to the contrary, the demands of the Puritans would wreck his control over the churches in the realm. Without his bishops, his policies would be questioned and opposed by an angry people who already did not like his "tax and spend" policies, would loathe his foreign policy soon, and his ruinous regulations. The only thing keeping them "in check" was his hold on their consciences through his bishops.

He saw that if the Puritans were allowed their positions, their "Laws of God" would hold sway over the minds of men. After all, King James had read the Bible. He knew what could, would or should compel these Puritans.

More fearfully to him, these Puritans were excellent preachers and teachers. They gained great credibility by the fact that they were often outstanding scholars in their own right as well.

The Power of Preaching

Their preaching produced the following (all detrimental to statist control)

• powerfully changed lives,
• changed, peaceful families,
• honest, effective and productive businesses and entrepreneurship,
• "Calling" as a function of lawful stewardship to God and neighbor.
• charitable relief through private endeavor
• schooling of children in homes and churches,
• the rise of church controlled seminaries (later especially in the 1600s)
• flourishing arts, the rise of science out of the bosom of Protestant churches (The famous Royal Society which advanced scientific endeavors was patronized by many Puritans and Protestants, for example).
• an ever growing discernment of the people in the pews, as pulpits made it their calling to continually raise the capacity for critical thinking, discernment and godliness of individuals (a clear MANDATE of the pulpit).

All of these would become the legacy of Puritanism.

Hampton Court: The King’s response to the Puritan position propels them to build elsewhere…

James I responded to the Puritan clergy assembled at Hampton Court. His reply was to the point: "No bishops, no king!" He drove them out and swore, "They will conform .. or I will harry them out of the land!"

The Puritans were harassed as he promised. Our Pilgrim fathers left England within a few years as a result, and moved to the Dutch Netherlands where they could be free. Others followed in time.

For our Pilgrim fathers, this move, in turn, did not work out well. Finally, they moved to New England. There, they and those who followed them, created the freest economy and commonwealth in the world.

The Puritans changed the world in many areas, including law. The events at Hampton Court freed many churches, despite the king, as the Puritans would not obey his decrees, citing Scriptural support. Thus, the events which "carried them along" ended up determining the doctrine called the "separation of church and state."

 

Christian America: Stalin and the Puritan legacy

These are the reasons in our own era, Communist Russian dictator Joseph Stalin both terribly feared and admired the Puritans. He feared there would a resurgence of a new Puritanism within the churches of America because he knew such people had once changed the world.

He correctly saw that the Puritans had provided the institutional strength for America’s deep foundations and massive power and influence.

Of course, the Puritans would not stop because of a king’s decree. They erected an entire society on this side of the Atlantic. In that society, the church influence was paramount. The pulpits, in the words of one historian, "…were aflame with righteousness."

Perhaps our pulpits need to take a second look at the sermon topics offered each Sunday. Of course, 15 minute excursions upon a "topic" comes off as little more than an advertisement, as opposed to more serious world view training.

Perhaps, if our ministers had something to say, they might covet the time necessary to teach a people "majestic truths". That would mean serious preparation, Biblical expertise, mature experience, and true scholarship (God’s Laws, Scriptural "soundness", languages, logic, history, counseling, communication skills, mature applications to economics, law, society, issues, and people).

We need good men in the pulpits.

One fear. Will the men in the pulpits today succumb to the statist controls which ensnare them? The Puritans PROTESTED such controls.

• Will they, for example, be used by the state as PUBLIC SERVANTS of that state, like the bishops of James I, to call our people to disarm themselves?
• Will they, like the bishops of old, continue to support the miserable public educational system which atheizes our youth?
• Will they succumb to statist mandates to refrain from political or economic commentary from their pulpits…unless they are espousing liberal policies, as James I expected. Then they can "preach" as he would want.
• Will they disarm their people when the state orders them as PUBLIC Servants in the near future to call for the surrender of their people’s right to defend themselves … their guns… all in the name of love and peace, of course?

Say what you will about the Puritans. Just remember... when your minister tells you to surrender your Second Amendment rights - those Puritans so consistently bashed by today’s churches gave us the legacy of the Second Amendment … and armed a people as a protection against statist authority.

They taught their people to THINK constitutionally (their word was "covenant") … and they taught them "to keep and bear arms" (see future posts on this powerful Puritan influence)… just in case OTHERS in government don’t think constitutionally.

Why?

They learned their "separation of church and state" lesson at Hampton Court.

Remember. "No bishop. No king."

-submitted, Wayne Sedlak, ICHR

Posted in Constitutional Law, American Law, American Colonial History | 1 Comment »

Declaration of Energy Independence: D.O.E.I.

August 21, 2008 – 8:54 pm

DECLARATION OF ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Given that the Course of human events requires energy to run its course, and given that a lack of energy, either by diminishing supplies or prohibitive costs, will severely impede the course of human events, a decent respect to the laws of physics and economics compels us to explicitly outline the manifold reasons for establishing and maintaining a superabundance of available energy from sources untethered to unfriendly or otherwise hostile societies.

We hold these truths to be sufficiently evident to reasonable and informed people, namely:

- that human enterprise requires energy

- that the most efficient source of energy presently is petroleum

- that petroleum is ubiquitous in the modern and developed world, not only as the primary source of energy, but also as a fundamental raw material for innumerable products which unambiguously and positively contribute to human progress, comfort, and life

- that compulsory conservation of energy results neither in economic growth nor a qualitative improvement of the human condition

- that, as human beings, continuing to improve the human condition is a noble pursuit

- that sources of energy other than petroleum will become available once they are practicable and affordable on a wide scale, and that such alternative energies cannot be forced into practicable existence by mere political edict or rhetoric

- that the emergence of these alternative energy technologies would be inevitably delayed within an economic environment hampered by artificial limits on energy consumption

- that, ultimately, plentiful and affordable energy is a prerequisite for continuing human progress and achievement

Given these sufficiently evident truths, and given that

a significant portion of our energy requirements are currently provided by nations that are politically and culturally hostile to The United States,

and that to be beholden to nations that are politically and culturally hostile to The United States severely and profoundly compromises our national security,

and in order, then, to maximize our national security, it would follow, we must take swift action to ensure that we are not beholden to hostile nations,

We therefore declare that Energy Independence for The United States of America is absolutely essential to not only the continuing improvement of the human condition within our borders, but also to our security as a nation henceforward, and, to that end, we must take whatever steps are necessary to secure that energy independence, including the exploitation of all known sources of petroleum within our purview and the discovery and subsequent exploitation of hitherto unknown sources of petroleum, until such time that alternative energy technologies are as abundant, affordable, and easily employed by a supermajority of our citizens. Furthermore, we hold that this energy independence, through both aggressive petroleum extraction and the vigilant pursuit of supplemental alternative energy sources, ought to be undertaken and established with all deliberate speed.

Nothing less than our liberty to pursue happiness is at stake.

Please see Founding Bloggers for more insights!

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Christian America: Raising America from the Dead? Part III Constitutional Law

August 21, 2008 – 3:32 pm

Christian America: How America was Taught Constitutional Principles for its Constitutional Heritage

(Refer to yesterday’s entry on the Early Period of Christian and constitutional impact).

The young United States did not create its own "understanding" of Constitutional rights, freedoms and governance. It inherited foundational teaching from the churches and leaders of the Christian faith in the 16th - 18th centuries. From there, American Christianity contributed to further development in the STRUGGLES for freedom of those centuries.

It should be understood that none of this was a philosopher’s playground. The constitutional moments which occurred (listed below) were the results of persecution, preaching, polemics, judicial tyranny, heavy and ruinous taxation and regulation of businesses and individuals… and the blood of martyrs.

Out of the heroic struggle and the bureaucracy’s wasteful debris arose an indignant citizenry.

The primary struggle, later encapsulated in a Christian America, arose in the form of the persecution in the 16th century and finally during the Stuart dynasty of kings of Great Britain. This struggle for the very heart of the British Isles, including control of church, family, business, civil and criminal procedures, the courts, and foreign policy.

In short, it comprehended all aspects of the lives of a people - very much as our culture is in the throes of a struggle for freedom.

Here’s is a listing of the major acts of that era…and the basis for a later Christian America, so to speak.

Christian America: A Listing of Major Constitutional Moments during the 16th century persecutions, followed by the reign of Elizabeth.

Henry VIII (1509-1547): Henry’s sole contribution to constitutional liberty was breaking the hold of the Medieval Church and the Power of the so-called "Holy Roman Empire" upon England. He instituted a strangle-hold upon preaching and teaching, criticism, and assembly.

Edward VI of England (1547-1553): Reversing many of his father’s policies (Henry VIII), Edward took England into the Protestant orbit, allowing great latitude for preaching and teaching. His death and the bloody persecutions of Henry’s daughter "Bloody Mary" brought England into a resolved Protestantism, allowing the Bible and preaching afterwards much fuller range and scope in commentary upon English society.

 

Bloody Mary (1553- 1558): Bloody Mary undertook a savage attack against the Bible and against Protestants who called for the free existence of their churches, preaching, charity and evangelism. This led to a more general call for freedom in many areas, such as …

• freedom to worship
• freedom of assembly
• freedom of speech (preaching)
• freedom to publish
• freedom to travel uninhibited
  call for unbiased, non-regal control of representation in Parliament (which did not develop until much later)

 

 

 

 

Reign of Elizabeth (1558-1603 )and the Rise of Puritanism: Even Elizabeth who followed Mary did not allow all of these freedoms in an unrestricted manner. She did oppose many of them - at different times, and in differing details of application.

She especially found opposition in her "loyal followers" the Puritans and Presbyterians who, though remaining loyal to her name and authority, called her and the nation to understand that she was UNDER God’s authority as queen and was called to obey His Word, the Bible. All of the above freedoms were called for by the Puritan movement.

Elizabeth had many Puritans and Presbyterians (at that time a branch of Puritanism) jailed or mutilated as sanctions for their preaching, teaching, and writing.

The Rise of John Knox and Scottish Presbyterianism(1559 ff.): Using the Laws of God, Knox brought to the forefront of the cultural struggle in Scotland, the foundational truths which grew into greater constitutional understandings.

Deeply seated habits were challenged in Scotland by Knox. Such truths as the following contributed heavily to both English liberty and later American Christian values and ideals.

• Derived authority of all governments under God. This is one of the most important concepts in the Bible. All of those who exercise authority in any capacity, are called by God’s Word to understand they have ONLY derived status. They do not have authority to do as they please. Husbands may NOT do as they please with their wives or children. Church officers may not speak or act as they please with their doctrines, preaching, or people. Magistrates may not do as they please with the properties, money, freedoms, and lives of the people they are called to serve. Authorities have only derived authority…derived from GOD alone, and responsible to Him according to His Word. (Thou, Lord, hast magnified Thy Word above Thy Name - Psalm 138:6).
• Authorities are called to REPRESENT the Lord’s Will and interest in their sphere of jurisdiction.
• The Church is called to instruct the whole realm including government and commerce, but not to control them.
• The State is called by God to protect (but NOT subsidize with money or regulate) the churches.
• Preaching is the fundamental basis for guaranteeing the rights of speech and worship.
• "Presbyterian" means Representative eldership - a standard for both church and constitutional government.
• The Laws of God were promulgated widely leading to challenges in Scotland, England and Ireland for greater liberty.

When cited for "treason" for teaching such things, Knox was called before Queen Mary of Scots. As he stood to answer her charges that he was preaching these doctrines - leading the people to follow him instead of obeying her authority - Knox replied that it was the duty of the government, in this case her government, to uphold and protect the true churches of Christ in Scotland, according to Scripture.

She replied, "My conscience doth not teach me so."

Knox quickly responded, "Conscience madam requires knowledge, and a sound knowledge I fear you have none."

Puritans, Presbyterians and others taught the culture such truths, many paying with such teaching with their very lives.

Christianity has always grown in her understanding of the Bible due to the cultural struggles she faces as she confronts sin, corruption, tyrranny, and the need for a deeper understanding of righteousness.  The Christian faith gave an outstanding legacy to this nation in ages past.

But during the 20th century  the church…

• Withdrew to her four walls being so heavenly minded, she became no earthly good
• Forgot Evangelism includes discipling
• Refused to acknowledge St Paul’s admonition, in part, to cast down every imagination that vaunts itself against Christ

… and needs to be reminded that Christianity is a new and unique (and better!) way of living, based upon the tenants of God’s Word. That includes all governments-  family-business-civil and church governments.  The Christian  faith is given " the mind of Christ" by her Lord so that as a body she is enabled by His strength to raise up Standards never before seen among men.

As you can see, it has happened before in our civilization. Now it’s our turn.

-Submitted, Wayne Sedlak, ICHR

Posted in Constitutional Law, American Colonial History, “Social Gospel” | 2 Comments »

Christian America: Raising a Nation from the Dead - Part II

August 20, 2008 – 11:35 am

Christian America: Use This Entry - and subsequent ones - for Your Reference

(This entry and a few subsequent entries gives a detailed historical listing for teaching others concerning the Christian influence on Constitutional laws in the rise of a "Christian America". It is designed as a reference listing for your use. Bookmark this entry - and of course, comment.)

One of the most important issues surrounding any debate concerning the early foundational influences which led to the formation of our country would certainly include - perhaps emphasize - the formative acts of governments. To gain our nation "back" we need to understand the long legacy of Christian influence upon our own development as a country.

We all are appreciative of the Constitution of this country and its Bill of Rights. But, do we know the major formative documents in our history that led to our Constitution. And… do we know the Christian heritage of those formative documents?

Remembering that each of the following laws was bathed in a contest over freedom … and one in opposition, of course, to tyranny, we should understand that the precepts embodied in each were hard fought. Each of these enactments had to be "won" over detractors, propagandists, regal authority, police and even armies at times.

Christian America: The Early Period

Christians of the 1st through 4th centuries A.D.: The example of Christians who interposed for the poor, the slave, the innocent, the exposed (unwanted infants), and denounced societal oppression

Edict of Milan:  In 313 A.D. the Christian Church secured tolerance which set an example for the rest of the Middle Ages.

Ambrose v. Theodosius the Great (392 A.D.) : Ambrose, the renowned minister in the city of Milan, publicly withstood the Emperor and barred him from the church service there until he repented of his actions against the people of the city of Thessalonica. The result was that Ambrose helped rewrite old unjust Roman laws using God’s laws in many places. Such notions as "due process", "rights", "pleadings", "habeus corpus", "fair trial", proper evidence, "innocent until proven guilty (a distinctly Christian ideal based upon the 9th Commandment), "rule of law", "impartial rule" and many other ideals were incorporated IN SEED FORM from the Bible by Ambrose into the Late Roman Empire’s Code of laws.

The legacy of Ambrose (late 4th - 10th centuries through Claudius): The legacy of Ambrose, incorporating biblical tenets into law and societal understanding continued through his many successors (not all however), on again off again, through Claudius the great preacher of the later Middle Ages. These ministers and their people provided both examples of constitutional understanding and resistance to the rise of secular and ecclesiastical tyranny.

English kings from the 4th through the 8th century: Used various portions of the Bible to establish different precepts of civil and criminal law and procedure. This body of precepts developed over time and was very popular (for its "justness") that the name "common law" gradually grew up as a name to describe this PROCESS. These common laws were not always biblical by any means. But, they were heavily influenced by the Scriptures throughout the hundreds of years of their evolution.

European counterparts to the common laws of England grew in feudal Europe: Much of feudalism was simply a reaction to the breakdown of the central governing authorities of Europe. The concept of "Contract" did arise during this period, as a function of appeal for the common folk of the Middle Ages who could point to a contract in the feudal manor  as a form of rights. This system was not truly biblical but it did utilize some biblical ideals.

Alfred the Great, king of England (late 9th century): Incorporated the tenets of Exodus 20 - 24 into the civil and criminal legislation of the British Isles. This had an immense impact in directing future English laws toward biblical norms of justice. He also established the Witan, the predecessor of the later British Parliament.

Magna Carta (1215): This is the Great Charter of English Liberty.  1) This great stand at the plain of Runnymede was a primary example of Interposition of the Lesser Magistrates, a distinctly Christian concept. It was later used by our forefathers and by the Puritans of England to overthrow brutality and tyrants. 2) It called for Representation in matters of taxation and rights. 3) It established as law the practice of "trial by peers". 3) It disallowed seizure of person or property without trial. 4) It set precedent by haling back to the common laws of England in a variety of rights, no longer utilized today. However, it gave the document the aura representing the concept of individual liberty and rights of citizens, free from usurpation.

Confirmatio Cartarum (late 13th century): The Confirmatio revitalized the Great Charter of Liberty and established the first real foundational enactments for the right of Parliament to exist as a distinct legislative body.

John Wycliffe (14 th century):  John Wycliffe influenced the development of the English Bible for the common folk, no doubt. However,  he also preached and taught the necessity of the following:

• Magistrates who obeyed the Scriptures,
• Magistrates should interpose for their people against the usurping rule of potentates and prelates,
• Magistrates must rule justly and representatively in God’s name (Magna Carta)
• He taught God’s laws should be used by the nation.
• He also taught that nations have a right to their own sovereignty - free from the enactments of the central European powers and Medieval Church.

Part III will list the specific English documents which were actually cited by our Constitutional and colonial heritage in the development of a Christian America.

- submitted Wayne Sedlak, ICHR

Posted in Constitutional Law, Restoring American Foundations, Constitutional Crisis, Christianity & America’s Foundations | 1 Comment »

Christian America: Raising a Nation from the Dead - Part I

August 19, 2008 – 9:57 am

Christian America: Early Testimony of the Foundations of our Christian Heritage

"When a child is born , his first years pass unnoticed in the joys and activities of infancy. As he grows older and begins to become a man, then the doors of the world open and he comes into touch with his fellows. For the first time notice is taken of him, and people think they can see the seeds of the virtues and vices of his maturity taking shape.

That, if I am not mistaken, is a great error.

Go back. Look at the baby in his mother’s arms. See how the outside word is first reflected in the still hazy mirror of his mind. Consider the first examples that stir his attention. Listen to the first words which awaken his dormant powers of  thought . And finally take notice of the first struggles he has to endure. Only then will you understand the origin of the prejudices, habits, and passions which are to dominate his life. The whole man is there, if one may put it so, in the cradle.

 

Christian America:  Something analogous happens with nations.

Something analogous happens with nations. Peoples always bear some marks of their origin. Circumstances of birth and growth affect all the rest of their careers.

If we could go right back to the elements of societies and examine the very first records of their histories, I have no doubt that we should there find the first cause of their prejudices, habits, dominating passions, and all that comes to be called the national character. We should there be able to discover the explanation of customs which now seem contrary to the prevailing mores, of laws which seem opposed to recognized principles and of incoherent opinions still found here and there in society that hang like the broken chains still occasionally dangling from the ceiling of an old building but carrying nothing.

… We seem now destined to see further into human history than could the generations before us. We are close enough to the time when the American societies were founded to know in detail the elements of which they were compounded, and far enough off to judge what these seeds have produced. Providence has given us a light denied to our fathers and allowed us to see the first causes in the fate of nations, causes formerly concealed in the darkness of the past." - Alexis D’Tocqueville, 1848.

- submitted by Wayne Sedlak, ICHR

Posted in Constitutional Law, Restoring American Foundations | 2 Comments »