Losing the Republic

Sunday Paper - July 4th, 2010

Americans celebrate their independence today in a very different society from the one born in 1776. The beliefs the Founders held most dear, and upon which they built a uniquely free society, are largely alien — even objectionable — in today’s America. I am not referring to the changes brought about by President Obama, but to a deeper change that preceded Obama and which fueled his ascendancy.   

The principles of freedom upon which America was built — such as the ideas that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights — arose from religious beliefs held firmly by the Founders. Even the less religious Founders accepted the truth of those beliefs. But in recent decades, America has replaced its history with a narrative that resembles the French Revolution more than our own. We have reimagined ourselves as a secular nation based on secular principles. While many Americans believe secularization increases our freedom, it in fact reduces our freedom and will eventually destroy it. The Founders tried to tell us, but we refuse to listen: Secularism and freedom are incompatible.

The Essential Equality of All People. One of the pillars of American freedom is the belief that all people are created equal. By this, the Founders did not mean to imply that all people share equal intelligence, productivity, social status, or physical gifts. Rather, the Founders believed all people are “equal” in the sense that all are created personally and individually by God, in His image. This gives people of all different talents and shortcomings inherent dignity that cannot rightfully be diminished by others, even by government. The Founders learned this idea from its original and only source: the book of Genesis.      

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A Nation of Laws. Because the Founders believed all people are equal in the eyes of God, they formed a nation not of kings or tyrants, but of laws. All citizens — from the weakest to the most powerful –would be subject to the same public rules. The Founders envisioned a citizenry living in submission to laws enforced equally, leaving people free essentially to govern themselves without micro-management by overbearing government. But the Founders knew the law could not create a moral burden to obey it. The moral burden to obey the law, even when no one is watching, arises only from the biblical belief in a holy God who knows people individually, watches them, and prizes personal and civil obedience. Apart from belief in this God, a self-governing society is unworkable. A nation of laws will crumble when a significant number of citizens — especially those in power — no longer feels morally bound to submit to those laws. 

Limited Government. America is one of the few countries where government authority was initially limited to a short list of powers. The Founders separated even those few powers into different branches, creating a system of checks and balances. But this idea arose from the Founders’ shared beliefs in two biblical truths: that God, not government, is the highest authority in the life of the citizen, and that man is a fallen race. The Founders knew that concentrated power is dangerous in the hands of fallen people. Their belief in the biblical teaching of original sin compelled them to carefully apportion and limit government power. Apart from the biblical doctrine of the Fall, one would struggle to justify such an inefficient structure of government.

Unalienable Rights. The Founders believed that limits on government power were essential to protect individual rights they considered “unalienable.” In other words, the Founders believed that certain rights should be out of government’s reach because they originate from a higher authority. These rights could not be overruled by government unless the individual forfeited them by breaking the law. But how could rights truly be “unalienable”? Only if they are bestowed on all people by the Creator, apart from any act of government…

by Adam G. Mersereau

Read more at American Thinker - July 4th, 2010

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/07/losing_the_republic.html

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