Thus far, the last decade of 20th
century America has been characterized by the senseless destruction of a country (Yugoslavia) and over one million of its inhabitants (Iraq), and the outrageous murder of human
beings and destruction of nearly a billion dollars' worth of property by racists in Los
Angeles. This is keeping with the rest of the century - the most atheistic and the most violent in human history.
In contrast, the first
decades of America[1] were characterized by the drafting
of legal penal codes which were taken
verbatim from the Bible, such as the Body of Liberties adopted
in 1641 by the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, which explicitly provided that no law was to be prescribed contrary to the
Word of God, and was annotated with appropriate Scripture references by John Cotton. Crime
was low; the country prospered.
Sandwiched between these two contrasting decades is the
Revolutionary War against Great Britain, which resulted in the formation of the United
States of America as a rival "power." Our nation celebrates this event every
Fourth of July. |
1. It's
fascinating the way our recent "bicentennial" erased nearly two centuries of
prior Christian society. The Puritans were explicitly dedicated to making America a
"city upon a hill," by concretely putting God's Law into effect. By saying
America is only 200+ years old, instead of more like 400, Christian Theocratic history is sent down the
"Orwellian Memory Hole." [Return to Text] |
The Declaration of Independence (published July 4, 1776) and the
new Constitution (written a few years later) were part of America's repudiation of
Biblical authority. The Declaration, which never mentions Jesus
Christ, focuses on "Independence" and "rights," and by losing sight of the
Suffering Servant, helped change the official character of the nation from the evangelical
to the materialistic, and thus helped create the selfish, violent nation in which we now
live.[2]
Which America was greater:
that which existed on July 3, 1776,
or the America of July 4, 1999?
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2. America
covenanted with God to be a "light to the
world." America has instead shown a light of secularism and violence over the
globe. A substantial proportion of the 200 million government-inflicted deaths in this
century were capitalized by American financial and technological interests, with the
approval of America's politicians. America's exports of weapons are substantially greater
than her exports of Bibles. America has been a missionary for the wrong side. [Return to Text] |
In our day taxes are ten times as great as they were in 1776,
illiteracy is also about ten times as great (compare an 8th grade final exam from 1776
with an exam from today's public schools), and the State is incomparably more unGodly. Can
anyone seriously maintain that America under George XI (or whoever the king might have
been had we remained British) could have been any worse than America under Clinton I?
Clearly, what matters most is the virtue of the
people. The system of government really doesn't matter at all. A two percent tax
rate and an abstract political theory certainly didn't justify the killing that took place
in the war that began July 4, 1776.
Many Christians are very patriotic, and support
the Declaration of Independence and America's Revolutionary War for Independence.
How can this be?
The War for Independence was so plainly unBiblical.
Analyzing America's Declaration of Independence from a Biblical standpoint is an
easy task. The following passages should be consulted:
Romans 12-13 / 1 Peter 2:13ff
/ Matthew 5:38ff / Luke 17:7-10 / Jude 8-10 / 2 Peter 2:10-12
An anachronistic "translation" follows for your convenience.
Then we can look at the Declaration of Independence.
Romans 12-13 {1} I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
{2} And be not conformed to the world of the Scottish Enlightenment: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
{3} For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to
think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
{10} Be kindly affectioned one to the
British with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
{11} Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit;
serving the Lord;
{12} Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer;
{13} Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitable quartering of troops.
{14} Bless the "Red
Coats" which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
{16} Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not
high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
{17} Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things
honest in the sight of all men.
{18} If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with the British.
{19} Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather
give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith
the Lord.
{20} Therefore if an enemy soldier
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head.
{21} Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good.
{13:1} Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that
be are set in place by God.
{2} Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power, throwing tea into the harbor, or firing muskets upon them from behind trees,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves
damnation.
{3} For archist
red coats are not a terror to good works, but to the
evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt
have praise of the same:
{4} For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But
if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is
the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
{5} Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for
wrath, but also for conscience sake.
{6} For for this cause pay ye
taxes without representation: for they are God's ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing.
{7} Render therefore to all their dues: taxes to whom
taxes are due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
{8} Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
{9} For this, Thou shalt not
commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
{10} Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore
love is the fulfilling of the law.
1 Peter 2:11-24 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers
and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
{12} Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles:
that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they
shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
{13} Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the
Lord's sake: whether it be to king George III, as
supreme;
{14} Or unto parliament, as
unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them
that do well.
{15} For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye
may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
{16} As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of
maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
{17} Honour all the British.
Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
{18} Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear;
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
{19} For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience
toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
{20} For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for
your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye
take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
{21} For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:
{22} Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His
mouth:
{23} Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when
He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:
{24} Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on
the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye
were healed.
Matthew 5:38-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
{39} But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
{40} And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take
away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
{41} And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain.
{42} Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that
would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
{43} Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
{44} But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you;
{45} That ye may be the children of your Father which is
in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust.
{46} For if ye love them which love you, what reward
have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
{47} And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye
more than others? do not even the publicans so?
{48} Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect.
Luke 17:7-10 And which of you, having a servant
plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, "Come
at once and sit down to eat"?
{8} But will he not rather say to him, "Prepare
something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and
afterward you will eat and drink"?
{9} Does he thank that servant because he did the things
that were commanded him? I think not.
{10} So likewise you, when you have done all those
things which you are commanded, say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what
was our duty to do."
2 Peter 2:10-12/Jude
8-10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and
despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil
of dignities.
{9} Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the
devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing
accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
{12} But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be
taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly
perish in their own corruption;
Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not
associate with those given to change; for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows
the ruin those two can bring?
Exodus 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a crowd to do evil.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
When,
in the course of human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have
connected them with another,[3] and to assume,
among the powers of the earth,[4] the separate and equal station to
which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the
separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator, with
certain unalienable rights; that among these are life,[5] liberty,[6] and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men,[7] deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed;[8] that whenever any
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of
the people to alter or to abolish it,[9] and to institute a new
government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and
happiness.[10] Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long
established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly
all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves[11] by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism,[12] it is their right, it is their duty, to throw
off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such as been the
patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them
to alter their former systems of government. The history of the
present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over
these states.[13] To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
[history of "repeated injuries and oppressions" omitted][14]
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble
terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose
character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler
of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.[15] We have
reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed
to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our
connexions and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which
denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies
in war,[16] in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of
the good people of these colonies,[17] solemnly publish and declare,
That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE and
INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which
INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do.[18] And for
the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of DIVINE
PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred
honour.[19]
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NOTES
3. When does the Bible say it becomes "necessary
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another"? (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2) [Return]
4. Is it the Christian's goal to be "equal" with
"the powers"? (Jude
8-10, 2 Peter 2:10-12, Ephesians
6:12, Romans 13) [Return]
5. Do we have a "right to life"? (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 Peter 2:21; Luke 17:7-10) [Return]
6. If we have a "right" to "liberty,"
why does the Bible command us to work for our slavemasters as if we were working for
Christ Himself? (1
Corinthians 7:20,24; Ephesians
6:5-8; Colossians
3:22-24; 1 Timothy
6:1-11; Titus 2:9-10;
1 Peter 2:18-21) [Return ]
7. Are governments instituted by men? (Romans
13) [Return]
8. According to the Constitution, the State has the power to
tax, and to declare war. Are these powers made "just" on the mere say-so of
those who voted for the exercise of this "power to destroy"? According to the
Bible, from Whom (or whence) do governments derive their "just powers"? [Return]
9. Does the Bible say we have a right to "abolish"
the State? Do slaves have a right to "abolish" their masters? Do children have a
right to "abolish" their parents? (1 Peter 2) [Return]
10. If we were instituting a new State, upon which
principles should we build? [Return]
11. If we are suffering under harsh masters or tyrants,
does the Bible say we should "right ourselves"? (I Peter 2,
Romans 12, Matthew 5) [Return ]
12. Scholars estimate that the total of taxes imposed by
the British government upon the colonists was less than 5% of income. We are now taxed at
a rate approaching 10 times that amount. Was the British government really the
"absolute despotism" that warranted an armed revolution? [Return ]
13. Imagine a young
man about 23 years old. As an agent of the British Empire, he wears a red coat. He
believes that the colonies face a situation of "anarchy" and chaos. For
generations, the British government has maintained law and order, and he has been told
that this stability is threatened by lawless hoardes who vandalize tax-paying merchants
while dressed as Indians. Based on reports of a large cache of arms in Lexington and
threats of armed revolution, he has been sent away from his family in Liverpool to help
maintain order in the colonies.
Oh dear. This nice young man has just had a
large part of his face and shoulders blown away by the musket fire of an outraged
tax-resister. This colonist (and others like him) apparently believed that this young
soldier evinced "a design to reduce them under absolute despotism." As the
officer lies dying in a pool of his own blood, the revolutionary "minute-man"
rejoices in his victory over this red-coat's objective of the "establishment of an
absolute tyranny over these states."
Is this a loving (1
Corinthians 13:5-7) or righteous (John 7:24; Exodus 23:2; Prov. 24:21) judgment of this young
human being? Was this soldier a budding Adolph Hitler, or a "good Christian family
man"?
Was this revolutionary killing the beginning, or the end, of a Christian nation?
[Return]
14. The Declaration of Independence lists many
political acts which are said to justify armed revolution. Many of these abuses are
rampant in our day, yet no one who waves a flag on the 4th of July is taking up arms to
spill the blood of government agents. For example, scholars have estimated that the total
tax required of the colonists by the British government amounted to about 3% of income.
Today, the post-revolutionary government takes 30% of income each year, and up to 90% upon
death.
If the killing of government agents was justifiable
in 1776, why isn't it mandatory now? [Return]
15. Did Nero have a "warrantable jurisdiction"
over Jewish converts to Christ when the Apostle Paul penned his letter to the Romans? [Return]
16. What is our duty toward our "enemies?" (Matthew 5; Romans 12; Luke 17)
It is true that in the Old Testament God commanded His People to kill entire nations,
which were idolatrous and made a public practice of committing capital crimes, such as
infant sacrifice (Leviticus
18:24). These "Holy Wars" were a form of national capital
punishment. Is there any such justification for war
after the Priestly work of Christ? [Return]
17. In Whose Name did the Apostles govern the early church?
(Acts 4:7) [Return]
18. Would the BATF or the FBI be alarmed if some sizeable
Christian group declared that it had these powers: the power to levy war, contract
alliance (with foreign nations), and challenge the authority of the Federal Reserve Board
and the Interstate Commerce Commission? Is it any surprise that the British government was
alarmed? If you were a king would you be alarmed at militias and revolutionary
pamphleteers? If you were President what powers would you exercise if armed
"extremists" threatened to declare their state a separate nation and exercise
all those governmental powers? Did Jesus and His Apostles claim these powers?
[Return]
19. Is the Declaration of Independence a document
that can be supported by a Christian committed to "submission to the powers" (Romans 13) and the "Ministry of Reconciliation" (2
Corinthians 5:17-21)? [Return]
Theonomy comes from two Greek words, and means
"God's Law." That shouldn't be too controversial, but it is -- for two reasons:
(1) "Theonomists" believe God's Law is found even in the Old Testament; (2)
God's Law does not leave "neutral zones" in which we can "be as gods"
(Gen. 3:5)
and decide for ourselves what constitutes good and evil. [Return to
Beginning]
Americans are great for empty support of the American War
for Independence. Many government officials are leery of such Christians taking the
revolutionary rhetoric of the Founding Fathers too seriously. Some do: they store arms.
Others don't: they claim to be followers of the Founders, who took up arms against a tax
rate of less than 5%, but do nothing in the face of the current rate ten times greater.
The militia groups at least have consistency on their side, and the government is
justified in worrying. Christians animated by Micah's Vine &
Fig Tree vision are no such threat. [Return to
Text]
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