Biblical
Principles: The Basis for America's Laws
By Charles Meeks
Many people today
reject the notion that the Bible should be used as a basis for law. “Narrow
minded and outdated!” they say. Ideas have consequences. Let’s examine the implications
if the Bible is or is not the standard for society and its legal system.
Without an objective standard of truth upon which to base
society, the result is that whoever gains the most political power will dominate.
Christians believe that the Bible offers ultimate, objective, and absolute
truth -- as opposed to relative “truth” (i.e., arbitrary “absolutes”). There
was a general consensus on this point in America from the earliest settlers
until only very recently.
So it was natural for early Americans to turn to the Bible
for guidance as to how to make civil law. This was the standard for law beginning
with the Mayflower Compact all the way through the constitutions of all
50 states.
For example, the first state constitution was the Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut (1639). You may read this document at http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/orders.html.
The framers of this document desired that every aspect of it be based on the
Bible. This document was a model for other constitutions including the
U.S. Constitution which followed.
Biblical absolutes enshrined into law offered a consensus that meant freedom
without chaos. One aspect of this is that, as stated in the Declaration of
Independence, there exists “unalienable rights” of men. Rights were unalienable
because they were given by God. This is very significant because in most societies
up until that time (and indeed even today) rights are only conferred by whoever
is in power at the time.
Because the American consensus was that the Bible was
TRUTH, the tyranny of a few or even the tyranny of the majority could be overcome
by one person standing up and appealing to the Bible. The freedom of
expression in general in America is a result of our biblical system. Those people
who feel free today to condemn the Bible are, ironically, among those
who benefit most by the freedoms inherent in our biblical system!
Another aspect of our system of government is that it is based
on the Rule of Law. This concept is a direct descendant of Hebrew law and the
Ten Commandments. Together with the concept of unalienable rights from
God, these concepts helped ensure a way of life that respected the dignity of
every individual.
Man’s v. God’s System
It is
helpful to compare and contrast the American Revolution of 1776 with the French
Revolution of 1789. While the American Revolution began with an appeal to the
sovereignty of God, the French Revolution was founded on the sovereignty of
man. The French movement was a product of Voltaire’s philosophy which specifically
attempted to replace biblical Christianity with man’s reason as the ultimate
standard.
But the French revolution was a disaster. Anarchy and tyranny
reigned with 40,000 people being murdered, the favorite method being the guillotine.
Their new constitution only lasted 2 years. Indeed, France has had seven constitutions
during the time that America has only had one.
Another important aspect to America’s Constitution
is that it has as its basis the distinctly Christian idea that man is basically
sinful. Every one of our founding fathers understood this truth. The result
was that they built into the Constitution an elaborate system of checks
and balances. This is evident in the horizontal plane of executive, legislative,
and judicial branches of government. It is also evident in the vertical plane
of federalism—states’ powers versus federal powers.
Again, let’s look at the evidence by contrasting the American
system with other systems. Other systems are based on the idea that man is basically
good or at least perfectible by law and education. This is the basis for communism
as well as the religious states of Islam. But states based on these utopian
ideas are always failures and particularly repressive to their citizens. These
governments end up as a police state and take away rights of the citizens.
Failures of Man, Not Biblical
Christianity
There are, however, two areas in which the American system
failed— (1) racial slavery and (2) compassionateless
wealth. But both of these flaws are failures to implement biblical Christianity,
rather than being caused by it.
A few comments about slavery are important because so many
people throw it in the face of Christians. Racial slavery is not a biblical
ethic. Yes, a form of slavery—indentured servitude— is condoned in the Bible.
But this was a method in which people could pay off debts and was not what we
think of as racial slavery. In fact, the Bible specifically condemns
the slave trade (1 Timothy 1:10). The Bible offers a unique framework
for people as being equals: We were all are made in the image of God (Genesis
1:27) and we are all equal in God’s sight (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians
3:28). Race, interestingly, is never even mentioned in the Bible.
Professing Christians who held slaves prostituted the Bible
by letting culture influence their faith. Yet, the abolition movement was primarily
a Christian movement. Slavery was stopped in England largely as a result of
the tireless efforts of an evangelical Christian by the name of William Wilburforce.
Through his work in Parliament, England stopped the slave trade in 1807 and
abolished slavery totally in 1833. Unfortunately, there was no such early dynamic
abolitionist leader in America.
The other problem in western culture has been un-redistributed
wealth. The industrialization of the West brought great wealth to a few, while
many were victimized. The working class was victimized to a degree in the early
days of the industrial revolution, and even women and children suffered. Fortunately,
laws are now in place that protects the worker. And we have child labor laws.
But again, the flaws are not in biblical
Christianity, but the failure to implement it. If the compassion of Christ were
to dominate society, poverty would disappear and the workplace would offer dignity
for all. The solution is not forced redistribution of wealth, which is tantamount
to stealing. The solution is public emphasis on biblical ethics.
Somewhat related to these other problems, is unrestrained
capitalism. Later in our history, America instituted anti-trust laws. These
laws can be seen as consistent with biblical capitalism as opposed to Darwinian
capitalism. Instead of capitalism based solely on the survival of the fittest,
modern American capitalism uses law to make the playing field more equal while
still encouraging entrepreneurism.
We Must Reverse the Trend
In summary, let’s refer to our nation’s creed—The Pledge
of Allegiance—which sums up our way of life. It is a based on a three-legged
stool of God, liberty, and justice. All three must be there. If God is not there,
ethics and rights are defined by whoever has the most power. And in order to
have liberty, we must have justice. The first role of government is to prevent
evil (Romans 13:1-5, 1 Peter 2:13-17) so that the rest of society
can live in peace. Evil is only meaningful within a biblical context.
Liberty also demands ethical obligation. We must have a common
understanding of moral absolutes, or as John Adams said, “We have no government
armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality
and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest
cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution
was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other.”
The warning for Americans is that there is no longer a consensus
that biblical ethics are truly absolute. Our liberties are eroding as big government
tries to take over where our biblical consensus left off. Tyranny is the logical
result unless we reverse this trend.
The list below outlines the
wide spread influence of biblical thought on America’s legal system.
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Principle
Sovereign authority of God, not
sovereignty of the state, or sovereignty of man
Legal Document
Mayflower Compact, Declaration,
Constitution, currency, oaths, mention of God in all 50 state constitutions,
Pledge of Allegiance
Biblical Principle
Ex. 18:16, 20:3, Dt.
10:20, 2 Chron. 7:14, Ps. 83:18, 91:2, Isa. 9:6-7, Dan. 4:32, Jn. 19:11,
Acts 5:29, Rom. 13:1, Col. 1:15-20, 1 Tim. 6:15
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Principle
Moral absolutes, Fixed
standards, Absolute truth, Sanctity of life
Legal Document
Declaration (“unalienable”
rights—life, etc., “self-evident” truths)
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:13, Dt.
30:19, Ps. 119: 142-152, Pr. 14:34, Isa. 5:20-21,
Jn. 10:10, Rom. 2:15, Heb. 13:8
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Principle
Rule of law rather than authority
of man
Legal Document
Declaration, Constitution
Biblical Principle
Ex. 18-24, Dt.
17:20, Isa. 8:19-20, Mat. 5:17-18
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Principle
All men are sinners
Legal Document
Constitutional checks and balances
Biblical Principle
Gen. 8:21, Jer.
17:9, Mk. 7: 20-23, Rom. 3:23, 1 Jn 1:8
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Principle
All men created equal
Legal Document
Declaration
Biblical Principle
Acts 10:34, 17:26, Gal. 3:28, 1
Pet. 2:17
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Principle
Judicial, legislative, and executive
branches
Legal Document
Constitution
Biblical Principle
Isa. 33:22
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Principle
Religious freedom
Legal Document
First Amendment
Biblical Principle
1 Tim. 2:1-2
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Principle
Church protected from state control
(& taxation), but church to influence the state
Legal Document
First Amendment
Biblical Principle
Dt. 17:18-20,
1 Kgs. 3:28, Ez. 7:24, Neh. 8:2, 1 Sam. 7:15-10:27,
15:10-31, 2 Sam. 12:1-18, Mat. 14:3-4, Lk. 3:7-14,
11:52, Acts. 4:26-29
*********************************************
Principle
Democracy/Republic
Legal Document
Constitution
Biblical Principle
Ex. 18:21, Dt.
1:13, Jud. 8:22, 9:6, 1 Sam. 8, 2 Sam. 16:18, 2 Kgs.
14:21, Pr. 11:14, 24:6
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Principle
Bottoms up government, Self-control,
Limited federal powers
Legal Document
First, Second, Ninth, and Tenth
Amendments
Biblical Principle
Mat. 18:15-18, Gal. 5:16-26, 1 Cor. 6:1-11, 1 Tim. 3:1-5, Tit. 2:1-8
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Principle
Establish justice
Legal Document
Declaration
Biblical Principle
Ex. 23:1-9, Lev. 19:15, Dt. 1:17, 24:17-19, 1 Sam. 8:3, 2 Sam. 8:15, Mic. 6:8, Rom. 13:4
*********************************************
Principle
Fair trial with witnesses
Legal Document
Sixth Amendment
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:16, Dt.
19:15, Pr. 24:28, 25:18, Mat. 18:16
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Principle
Private property rights
Legal Document
Fifth Amendment
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:15,17
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Principle
Biblical liberty, Free enterprise
Legal Document
Declaration
Biblical Principle
Lev. 25:10, Jn.
8:36, 2 Cor. 3:17, Gal. 5:1, James 1:25, 1 Pet. 2:16
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Principle
Creation not evolution
Legal Document
Declaration
Biblical Principle
Gen. 1:1
*********************************************
Principle
Biblical capitalism not Darwinian
capitalism (service and fair play over strict survival of the fittest)
Legal Document
Anti-trust laws
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:17,
Mat. 20:26, 25:14-30, 2 Thes. 3:6-15, 1 Pet. 2:16
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Principle
Importance of the traditional family
Legal Document
State sodomy laws, few reasons for
divorce
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:12, 14, Mat. 19:1-12, Mk.
10:2-12, Rom. 1:18-2:16, 1 Cor. 7:1-40
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Principle
Religious education encouraged
Legal Document
Northwest Ordinance
Biblical Principle
Dt. 6:4-7,
Pr. 22:6, Mat. 18:6, Eph. 6:4
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Principle
Servanthood
not political power
Legal Document
Concept of public servant
Biblical Principle
Ex. 18:21, Rom. 13:4, Php. 2:7
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Principle
Sabbath day holy
Legal Document
“Blue laws”
Biblical Principle
Ex. 20:8
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Principle
Restitution
Legal Document
Restitution laws
Biblical Principle
Lev. 6:1-5, Num. 5:5-7, Mat. 5:23-26
Charles Meek, and his wife
Cindy, are the founders of the Christian Information Foundation (CIF), a Bible-based,
para-church ministry that is not affiliated with any denomination. Seeking to
use reason and evidence to promote Biblical Christianity, their mission is to
further the Gospel so that others may find a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ and the blessings of Christian living. The preceding article was taken
from their Faith Facts web site which is one of their services. For more information
regarding CIF or other articles from Faith Facts, visit their web site at http://www.gospelcom.net/faithfacts.