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Christianity and the Constitution

By Jackie Van Essendelft

We are here today to commemorate the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America on September 17, 1787.  This was eleven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is actually the Preamble to the Constitution. It was four years after the victory of the Revolutionary War.

Fifty-five delegates from twelve states (Rhode Island was absent) met on May 25, 1787 in what is now Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, Governor of Pennsylvania, was their host.  Their purpose was to form a more perfect union and establish a government that would secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their children. Having served his country valiantly in many and various capacities George Washington was elected president of the Convention.  This gave the proceedings notable credibility. All remarks were addressed to him. Votes were counted one per state. All deliberations were made in secret.

What kind of men comprised that prestigious delegation? Well, they were men who honored the Word of God. They embodied shared values and principles, and believed that people need order and rulers need limits. They were not radicals, but represented the establishment of society. They were experienced, intelligent, and educated. Most of them were professing Christians and were actively affiliated with a church.

• 28 were Episcopalian (Church of England)

• 8 were Presbyterian

• 7 were Congregational (Puritan)

• 2 were Dutch Reformed

• 2 were Lutheran

• 2 were Roman Catholic

• 2 were Methodist

• 2 were deist

• 2 were unknown

Thirty-four percent of their quotations, when referring to law and government, were from the Bible.

• 31 were lawyers

• 19 were military officers

• 28 were congressmen

• 2 were college presidents

• Others were doctors, scientists, or the like

For example, John Jay, although he was not present at the Convention and was Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the time, helped Alexander Hamilton and James Madison write the Federalist Papers which explained the principles of the Constitution and were instrumental in securing its ratification. He was educated at Kings College, which later became Columbia. At age 14 he translated the first ten chapters of the Gospel of John from Greek into Latin as a requirement for entrance into college.

John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration, was a Presbyterian minister who came from Scotland to be president of Princeton University. Nine of the delegates to the convention were his students, among whom was James Madison, the Father of the Constitution. James Madison had served his country extensively and had deeply researched the principles of government. No delegate was better prepared for or contributed more to shaping the ideas of the Constitution or explaining its meaning.

What agreed principles and values did these men have?

	They believed in a higher law than the law of man. They believed there exists a Law of Nature and Nature's God, and that God is the source of authority, which limits the authority of government. Therefore man has natural rights that come from his Creator and cannot be taken away by government. These are rights to life, liberty, and property.
	They believed in the equality of all people, that all men are created in the image of God, and God is no 'respecter of persons’.
	They believed that the nature of man was flawed, that it was corruptible, and that the purpose of government was to restrain evil. But they believed that government could not be trusted with too much power or it would become tyrannical.
	They believed in the priesthood of all believers, that every 'plowboy' should be able to read scripture and come before God individually. This concept required wide spread literacy. They also believed in the sacredness of all vocations which promoted the American work ethic.
	They believed in the separation of church and state, each deriving its authority from God, each being accountable to God.
	They believed in the exercise of self-control--the peoples' willingness and ability to cherish their own rights as well as respect the rights of others. James Madison said "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it...(but) upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves...according to the Ten Commandments of God."

These are the men who gave us our Constitution--a social contract giving certain powers to a central government with the consent of the governed, who are WE THE PEOPLE. The Convention produced a Five-Fold Formula: 

1. Limited delegated powers

2. Vertical division of power-federal-state-local

3. Horizontal separation of power-executive, legislative, judicial

4. Checks and balances

5. Reserved individual rights

This last point is the reason they established a constitutional republic rather than a democracy so that a representative body would prevent narrow interests and unjust views from determining public decisions by majority tyranny.

The document produced with this formula, along with the free enterprise system, has given our nation freedom and stability for over 200 years.

For my last example of the men who established our American form of government I refer to George Washington, the greatest patriot. As he was sworn in as the first President of the United States of America he added "so help me God' to the inaugural oath, thereby setting a tradition that continues to this day. I would like to read George Washington's Prayer for the U.S.A. as it is displayed in St. Paul's Chapel in New York City and at  Washington's home church in Virginia: ALMIGHTY GOD, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection: that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of that Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Can we conclude anything other than that our Constitution was formulated on Biblical principles and that America was established on a Judeo-Christian heritage.? Our foundations are inseparably linked to the God of the Bible. If the foundations are destroyed, how can the building stand? Can we envision a future without declaring that we are "one nation under God"? Can we risk denying "in God we trust"? As Ben Franklin stated in the heat of debate in Independence Hall, when he called for prayer, " And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?" May God help our nation to honor Him and this great Constitution which has made us the most free and successful nation in the world. May God bless America!

Jackie Van Essendelft,

March 28, 2010