Sunday, January 5, 2014

To what extent is the US Constitution grounded in the Bible?

Historians have long debated the influence of Biblical values on the writers of the Constitution and the delicate balance to prevent America from becoming overly theocratic regarding political policy. If you believe the writers were uniform of the Christian faith, then interpreting the Consitution from a Biblical perspective is not a stretch. Conversely, if you believe the writers were of diverse denominations or beliefs and observe how the organized church in Great Britain, France, and a great deal of Europe had undue influence on governance, then you accept the premise the founders while religious were far more interested in creating a secular government.
The secular view does not preclude the notion that Biblical values were present as an influence in the Constitution. Those values were interpreted as natural rights, and the secular view protects religious freedom in matters of government establishing a state-sponsored religion. This view coincides with the idea religion is separate from governing. What historians can agree is the writers were educated in philosophy, world history, and the humanities. Influences from these fields are threaded throughout the fabric of the Constitution.
Arguing in favor of a robust Biblical influence as the foundation of the Constitutional principles are the numerous historical documents, compacts, and land grants leading to the Constitution that contain references to God. Presumably, since most of the documents were created by Christian denominations (Puritans for example), the text is Christian and Biblical. The Declaration of Independence, which foreshadows the Constitution, references explicitly God four times. The Constitution says it was "done in the year of the Lord," a reference to Jesus. The founders frequently quoted Biblical passages in speeches or writing and attributed the success of the new government to God. It would be incorrect to characterize Biblical influences on the founders not having an impact and at minimum reflected in the words of the Constitution.
The argument against significant Biblical influence comes from an extensive and close reading of the correspondence between the writers, notes taken during the conventions, and the Federalist Papers. Historians argue that reading the Constitution only as a finished product without the contextual background characterized in the written record of the founders skews the real intent of the founders and that was to create a secular government. Biblical references were intentionally left out of the final product so as not to overlap the church with state. In contrast with the Declaration of Independence, which begins with references to God and a Creator, the Constitution begins with "We the People." If the founders intended to create a Biblically based Constitution, then they would have included specific Biblical references. The ending line "in the year of the Lord," was the customary way in which dates in documents in that time were recorded and had nothing to do with the content of the Constitution having a Biblical base.
Measuring Biblical influence on the Constitution is difficult. It is worth noting that the book most prevalent in print during this time was the Bible. The Bible was used as a textbook to teach in most schools during that time. No doubt, the founders were influenced by the Bible. It is hard to fathom how the relationships between the government and the people were not influenced by Biblical ideas. Equally, it is not too difficult to view the Constitution as a technical document describing how the government is to operate and describing the specifics of the organizational structure. Biblical references would not be needed in this instance.
As with many things, the reader ultimately decides how much Biblical influence is found in the Constitution. What we can agree is the incredible durability and relevance the Constitution has in American society since being ratified more than two hundred and twenty years ago.
https://constitutionus.com/

https://www.au.org/resources/publications/is-america-a-christian-nation

https://www.theamericanview.com/the-bible-and-the-constitution/

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