_________________________________________________________
"In
the beginning of the
Contest with Great Britain,
when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for
the divine
protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were
graciously answered.
All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent
instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind
providence
we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of
establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten
that
powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?
I
have
lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing
proof I see
of this truth that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow
cannot
fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire
can rise
without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings,
that
“except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that
build it.” I firmly
believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we
shall
succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of
Babel: We
shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects
will be confounded,
and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future
ages. And
what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance,
despair of
establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war
and
conquest.”
— Benjamin
Franklin (1706-1790) Statesman, Scientist, Inventor, Printer and
Philosopher
“Unless
the
LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the
LORD
watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
— Psalms
127:1-2 RSV
_________________________________________________________
“On
the evidence of two
witnesses or of three witnesses he that is to die shall be put to
death; a
person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one
witness.”
— Deuteronomy 17:6 RSV
"Treason against the United States
shall consist only in
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them
aid and
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the
testimony of two
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open
court.”
— United States
Constitution: Article
II!, Section 3:1.
_________________________________________________________
“You
have
rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be
repealed or
restrained by human laws; right derived from the Great Legislator of
the
Universe.”
— John
Adams (1797-1801) Second President of the United States
and Patriot
_________________________________________________________
“The
soul that sins shall
die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the
father
suffer for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous
shall be
upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
himself.”
— Ezekiel 18 :20 RSV
"The
Congress shall have
power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason
shall
work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the
person
attainted.”
— United States
Constitution: Article
III, Section 3:2.
_________________________________________________________
"God
commands you to choose for rulers, 'just men who will rule in the fear
of God.'
The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge
of this
Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in
office,
the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the
public
good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent
men will
be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be
squandered on
unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or
disregarded. If
[our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it
must be
because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to
make and
administer the Laws."
— Noah
Webster (1758-1843) Father
of the
Dictionary & American Patriot
“The
fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is
insight.”
— Proverbs 9:10 RSV
“Wisdom
abides in
the mind of a man of understanding, but it is not known in the heart of
fools.”
— Proverbs
14:33 RSV
“The
fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do
abominable deeds, there is none
that does good.”
— Psalms 14:1 RSV
“Thus
you will know them by
their fruits.”
—
Matthew 7:20 RSV
_________________________________________________________
“From
the
day of the declaration … they (the American people) were
bound by the laws of God,
which they all, and by the laws of the gospel, which they nearly all,
acknowledged
as the rules of their conduct.”
— John Quincy
Adams, (1767-1848) 6th
President of the United States
_________________________________________________________
“Among
the
objects of the Constitution of this Commonwealth, Liberty &
Equality stand
in a conspicuous light—It is the first article in our
declaration of rights, "all
men are born free & equal, & have certain natural, essential
& unalienable rights."—In the supposed state of
nature, all men are equally
bound by the laws of nature, or to speak more properly, the laws of the
Creator:
They are imprinted by the finger of God on the heart of man. Thou shalt
do no
injury to thy neighbor, is the voice of nature & reason,
& it is
confirmed by written revelation. In the State of nature every man hath
an equal
right by honest means to acquire property & to enjoy it; in
general, to
pursue his own happiness & none can consistently control or
interrupt him
in the pursuit. But, so turbulent are the passions of some, &
so selfish
are the feelings of others, that in such a state, there being no social
compact, the weak cannot always be protected from the violence of the
strong,
nor the honest and unsuspecting from the arts & intrigues of
the selfish
& cunning—Hence it is easy to conceive that men,
naturally formed for
society, were inclined to enter into mutual compact for the better
security of
their natural rights. In this state of Society, the unalienable rights
of nature
are held sacred: And each member is intitled to an equal share of all
the
social rights—No man can of right become possessed of a
greater share: If any
one usurps it, he so far becomes a tyrant; & when he can obtain
sufficient
strength, the people will feel the rod of a tyrant. Or, if this
exclusive
privilege can be supposed to be held in virtue of compact, it argues a
very
capital defect; & the people, when more enlightened will alter
their
compact, & extinguish the very idea….
Before the
formation of this Constitution it had been affirmed as
a self evident truth, in the Declaration of Independence, very
deliberately
made by the Representatives of the United States of America
in
Congress assembled that 'all men are created equal, and are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights' This declaration of Independence was received and
ratified by all the States
in the Union
& has never been disannuled.
May we not from hence conclude, that the doctrine of Liberty
and Equality is an article in the political creed of the United States.”
—
Samuel Adams
(1722–1803) Father of the American Revolution, Patriot and
Statesman
“But
he who looks into the
perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that
forgets
but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing. So speak and so
act as
those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.”
—
James
1:25, 2:12 RSV
“Live
as free men, yet
without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants
of God.”
—
1
Peter 2:16 RSV
**
The Law of liberty, equal in God's eye.
_________________________________________________________
“Blessed
is
the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his
heritage! The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men;
from
where he sits enthroned he looks forth on all the inhabitants of the
earth, 15 he
who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds. A
king is
not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great
strength. The
war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot
save. Behold,
the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his
steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep
them alive
in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield. Yea,
our
heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let thy
steadfast
love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.
— Psalms 33-12-22
RSV
_________________________________________________________
“He who states
his case first seems right, until the
other comes and examines him."
— Proverbs 18:17
RSV
"No person shall be held to
answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or
naval
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or
public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use
without
just compensation "
—
United States Bill of Rights: Amendment V,
Provisions concerning prosecution
_________________________________________________________
“I
have
read it through many times; I now make a practice of going through it
once a year.
It is a book of all others for lawyers, as well as divines; and I pity
the man
who cannot find in it a rich supply of thought and rule for
conduct.”
— Daniel
Webster (1782-1852) Author, Lawyer and Patriot
_________________________________________________________
"This
principle, that a whole nation has a right to do whatever it pleases,
cannot in
any sense whatever be admitted as true. The eternal and immutable laws
of
justice and morality are paramount to all human legislation. The
violations of
those laws is certainly within the power of a nation, but it is not
among the
rights of nations."
— John Quincy
Adams, (1767-1848) 6th
President of the United States
"Righteousness
exalts a
nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
—
Proverbs
14:34 RSV
_________________________________________________________
"If we
abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on
prospering
and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions
and
authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us
and bury
all our glory in profound obscurity."
—
Daniel
Webster (1782-1852) Author, Lawyer and Patriot
“Wisdom
abides in
the mind of a man of understanding, but it is not known in the heart of
fools.”
—
Proverbs
14:33 RSV
_________________________________________________________
"'Observe
the sabbath
day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you
shall
labor, and do all your work; 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the
LORD
your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your
daughter,
or your manservant, or your maidservant, or your ox, or your ass, or
any of
your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your
manservant
and your maidservant may rest as well as you
— Deuteronomy 5:12-14 RSV (The
Ten Commandments.)
“Remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is
a
sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or
your
son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your
cattle, or
the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made
heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh
day;
therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.”
— Exodus 20:8-11RSV
…
If any bill shall not
be returned by the president within ten days (Sundays excepted) after
it shall
have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as
if he
had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its
return, in
which case it shall not be a law.
— United States
Constitution: Article I, Section 7:2.
** Bible, the Sabbath day
_________________________________________________________
"A
nation which does
not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor
what it
is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know
where we
came from or what we have been about.....The Bible is the one supreme
source of
revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual
nature and
needs of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the
spirit in the
way of peace and salvation. America
was born a Christian nation. America
was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness
which are
derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.”
—
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)
28th President of the United States
_________________________________________________________
"The
fundamental basis
of this nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental
basis of
our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St.
Matthew,
from Isaiah and St. Paul.
I don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have the
proper fundamental
moral background, we will finally wind up with a totalitarian
government which
does not believe in rights for anybody but the state."
— Harry S. Truman
(1884-1972, 33rd President of the United States
_________________________________________________________
“History
affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of
measures
ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of
laws in favor
of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another,
is certainly
the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of
protection,
rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to,
and
ought to enjoy.”
— Benjamin
Franklin (1706-1790) Statesman, Scientist, Inventor, Printer and
Philosopher
"Where
there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of
law but
that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the
members of
the community."
— Benjamin
Rush (1745-1813) Founding Father& signer of the Declaration of
Independence
"Equal laws, protecting equal
rights … the best guarantee of loyalty and love of country
as well as best calculated
to cherish that mutual respect and good will among citizens of every
religious
denomination, which are necessary to social harmony and most favorable
to the
advancement of truth."
—
James
Madison (1751-1836)
Father of the Constitution, 4th President of the United
States
**
“That
all
men are created equal”…. Equal application of the
law.
_________________________________________________________
“With
consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life from its
commencement to its
close, is protected by the common law. In the contemplation of law,
life begins
when the infant is first able to stir in the womb. By the law, life is
protected
not only from immediate destruction, but from every degree of actual
violence,
and in some cases, from every degree of danger.”
— James
Wilson (1742-1798) Founding Father, assisted in drafting the
Constitution,
Supreme Court Justice
“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, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” …
(without life there is no
liberty)
_________________________________________________________
“Woe
to you
lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not
enter
yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."
— Luke 11:52 RSV
_________________________________________________________
“In
short
it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one or any
number of
men at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural
rights,
or the means of preserving those rights when the great end of civil
government
from the very nature of its institution is for the support, protection
and defense
of those very rights: the principal of which as is before observed, are
life
liberty and property. If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in
terms renounce
& give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of
reason and the great
end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation; the right to
freedom
being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to
alienate this gift,
and voluntarily become a slave.”
— John Adams
(1797-1801) Second President of the United States
and Patriot
_________________________________________________________
“Another
source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be
efficient,
must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which
they can
command: for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first
exercise
of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must
be
disarmed ; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe.
The supreme power in America
cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the
people are
armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops
that can
be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.
A military force, at
the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people
perceive
to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and
jealousy
will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a
law which
appears to them unjust and oppressive. ' In spite of all the nominal
powers,
vested in Congress by the constitution, were the system once adopted in
its fullest
latitude, still the actual exercise of them would be frequently
interrupted by
popular jealousy. I am bold to say, that ten just and constitutional
measures
would be resisted, where one unjust or oppressive law would be
enforced. The
powers vested in Congress are little more than nominal; nay real power
cannot be
vested in them, nor in any body, but in the people. The source of power
is in
the people of this country, and cannot for ages, and probably never
will, be
removed.”
— Noah
Webster (1758-1843) Father
of the
Dictionary & American Patriot
“He
said to them, "But
now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him
who has
no sword sell his mantle and buy one.”
—
Luke
22:36 RSV
**
Biblical right
of self defense and defense of country.
_________________________________________________________
“In
short,
it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any
number
of men, at the entering into society, to renounce their essential
natural
rights, or the means of preserving those rights; when the grand end of
civil
government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the
support,
protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which,
as is
before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. If men, through fear,
fraud,
or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural
right, the
eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely
vacate such
renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it
is not in
the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.
These may
be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of
the
great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found
clearly
written and promulgated in the New Testament.”
— Samuel Adams
(1722–1803) Father of the American Revolution, Patriot and
Statesman
_________________________________________________________
"Our
ancestors established
their system of government on morality and religious sentiment. Moral
habits, they
believed, cannot safely be trusted on any other foundation than
religious principle,
nor any government be secure which is not supported by moral truth.
‘Whatever
makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.’
Our
fathers came here
to enjoy their religion free and unmolested, and, at the end of two
centuries,
there is nothing upon which we can pronounce more confidently, nothing
of which
we can express a more deep and earnest conviction, than the inestimable
importance of that religion to man, both in regard to this life and
that which
is to come."
— Daniel
Webster (1782-1852) Author, Lawyer and Patriot
_________________________________________________________
"The future and
success of America
is not in this
Constitution, but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is
founded.”
— James Madison
(1751-1836) Father of the Constitution, 4th
President of the United States
_________________________________________________________
“By
renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon
all moral subjects. …It is the only correct map of the human
heart that ever
has been published. …All systems of religion, morals, and
government not founded
upon it [the Bible] must perish, and how consoling the thought, it will
not only
survive the wreck of these systems but the world itself.”
— Benjamin
Rush (1745-1813) Founding Father& signer of the Declaration of
Independence
"To
keep Satan from
gaining the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his designs."
—
2 Corinthians
2:11 RSV
_________________________________________________________
“Now
we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness
and not
in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you
yourselves know
how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, we
did not
eat any one's bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked
night and
day, that we might not burden any of you. It was not because we have
not that
right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate.
For even
when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not
work, let
him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere
busybodies,
not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord
Jesus
Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living.
Brethren, do
not be weary in well-doing. If any one refuses to obey what we say in
this
letter, note that man, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be
ashamed.
Do not look on him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
— 2 Thessalonians
3: 6-13 RSV
“If
any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for
his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever.”
— 1 Timothy
5:8 RSV
**
Free enterprise, not communal or Communism
_________________________________________________________
"Charity is no part of
the legislative duty of the government."
—
James Madison (1751-1836)
Father of the Constitution, 4th President of the United States
** Example of
christian charity by George Washington
Washington in a letter
estate keeper Mr. Lund November,
26, 1775: “Let the
hospitality of the house with respect to the poor be kept up. Let no
one go
hungry away. If any of this kind of people should be in want of corn,
supply
their necessities, provided it does not encourage them in idleness; and
I have
no objection to your giving my money in charity to the amount of forty
or fifty
pounds a year, when you think it is well bestowed. What I mean by
having no
objection is that it is my desire it should be done. You are to
consider
neither myself nor wife in the way to do these kind offices.....fill a
corn-house every year for the sole use of the poor in my neighborhood,
to whom
it was a most seasonable and precious relief, saving numbers of poor
women and
children from extreme want, and blessing them with plenty.”
Washington to Rev. James
Muir, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Alexandria,
Virginia,
in
regard to his annual subscription to the Orphan School:
“I have
received your letter of the 12th instant, and will direct my manager,
Mr.
Pearce, to pay my annual donation for the education of orphan children,
or the children
of indigent parents, who are unable to be at the expense themselves. I
had
pleasure in appropriating this money to such uses, as I always shall in
that of
paying it. I confess, however, I should derive satisfaction from
knowing what children
have heretofore received the benefit of it, and who are now in the
enjoyment
thereof.”
— George
Washington (1732-1799) Father of the Country, 1st President of the United States
“What
does it profit, my
brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith
save him?
If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one
of you
says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving
them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by
itself,
if it has no works, is dead.”
— James
2:14-15 RSV
"Do
not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where
thieves
break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“
— Matthew 6:19-21 RSV
“’Good
Teacher, what must I
do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him,
‘Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do
not kill, Do not
commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not
defraud, Honor
your father and mother.’ And he said to him,
‘Teacher, all these I have
observed from my youth.’ And Jesus looking upon him loved
him, and said to him,
‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the
poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ At that saying
his countenance
fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And
Jesus
looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be
for those who
have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’
And the
disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again,
‘Children,
how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is
easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom
of God.’
And they were exceedingly
astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be
saved?’ Jesus looked at them and
said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all
things are possible
with God.’”
— Mark 10:17, 27 RSV
“Above
all hold unfailing
your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Practice
hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift,
employ it
for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever
speaks.”
— 1 Peter 4:8-10 RSV
**
Charity by the people, not by government
_________________________________________________________
"The moral
principles and precepts
contained in the Scripture ought toform the basis of all our civil
constitutions and laws. All the miseriesand evil men suffer from vice,
crime,
ambition, injustice, oppression,slavery, and war, proceed from their
despising
or neglecting the preceptscontained in the Bible."
—
Noah Webster (1758-1843) Father
of the
Dictionary & American Patriot
_________________________________________________________
“When
Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
The name of his first-born
son was Jo'el, and the name of his second, Abi'jah; they were judges in
Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but
turned aside
after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders
of Israel
gathered
together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him,
"Behold, you
are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a
king to
govern us like all the nations." But the thing displeased
Samuel when
they said, "Give us a king to govern us." And Samuel prayed to the
LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Hearken to the voice of the people
in
all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have
rejected
me from being king over them. According to all the deeds which they
have done
to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt
even to this day, forsaking
me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then,
hearken to
their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways
of the
king who shall reign over them." So Samuel told all the words of the
LORD
to the people who were asking a king from him. He said, "These will be
the
ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and
appoint
them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his
chariots; and
he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of
fifties,
and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his
implements
of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters
to be
perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields
and
vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will
take the
tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers
and to
his servants. He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the
best of
your cattle and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the
tenth of
your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry
out
because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD
will
not answer you in that day." But the people refused to listen
to the
voice of Samuel; and they said, "No! but we will have a king over us,
that
we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us
and go out
before us and fight our battles." And when Samuel had heard all the
words
of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. And the LORD
said to
Samuel, "Hearken to their voice, and make them a king." Samuel then
said to the men of Israel,
"Go every man to his city."”
— 1 Samuel
8:1-22 RSV
** Biblical verse
for support of representative government over divine right of Kings to
rule.
_________________________________________________________
“It
has
been said with much vivacity, that the felicity of the American
colonists
consisted in their escape from the past. This is true so far as
respects
political establishments, but no further. They brought with them a full
portion
of all the riches of the past, in science, in art, in morals, religion,
and
literature. The Bible came with them. And it is not to be doubted, that
to the free
and universal reading of the Bible, in that age, men were much indebted
for
right views of civil liberty. The Bible is a book of faith, and a book
of
doctrine, and a book of morals, and a book of religion, of especial
revelation
from God ; but it is also a book which teaches man his own individual
responsibility, his own dignity, and his equality with his
fellow-man.”
— Daniel
Webster (1782-1852) Author, Lawyer and Patriot
_________________________________________________________
"Take heed
lest you forget the LORD your God, by not keeping his commandments and
his
ordinances and his statutes, which I command you this
day: Beware lest you
say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me
this
wealth.' You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives
you power
to get wealth; that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your
fathers,
as at this day. And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other
gods and
serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you this day that you
shall surely
perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so
shall you
perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
— Deuteronomy
8:11,17-20 RSV
"It cannot be emphasized too
strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by
religionists,
but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!
For
this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum,
prosperity,
and freedom of worship here.”
— Patrick Henry (1736-1799)
Patriot, Lawyer and Orator
“Those
things doth the Lord
hate: A proud Look, a lying Tongue, and Hands that shed innocent
Blood.”
— Jonas Clark (1730-1805)
Minute Men Leader, Patriot Pastor at the Church of Lexington
& Author
**
Wealth, personal
and wealth of a nation
_________________________________________________________
“The
Ten Commandments and
the Sermon on the Mount contain my religion...”
— John Adams (1797-1801)
Second President of the United States
and Patriot
“The
duties of men are
summarily comprised in the Ten Commandments, consisting of two tables;
one
comprehending the duties which we owe immediately to God-the other, the
duties
we owe to our fellow men.”
—
Noah
Webster
(1758-1843) Father
of the Dictionary
& American Patriot
“The Law given from
Sinai
[The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and
religious code.”
— John Quincy Adams,
(1767-1848) 6th
President of the United States
The Ten Commandments
1.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the
house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
2.
You shall not take the
name of the LORD your God in vain.
3.
Remember the sabbath day,
to keep it holy.
4.
Honor your father and
your mother.
5.
You shall not kill.
6.
You shall not commit
adultery.
7.
You shall not steal.
8.
You shall you bear false
witness against your neighbor.
9.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife.
10.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's house, or his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,
or his
ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
“I
am the LORD your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the
house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make
for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven
above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the
earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD
your God am
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
to the
third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast
love to
thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not
take the
name of the LORD your God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him
guiltless who
takes his name in vain. Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as
the LORD
your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
but the
seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do
any work,
you, or your son, or your daughter, or your manservant, or your
maidservant, or
your ox, or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the sojourner who is
within
your gates, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well
as you.
You shall remember that you were a servant in the land
of Egypt,
and the LORD your God brought you out thence with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the
sabbath
day. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God
commanded you;
that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in
the land
which the LORD your God gives you. You shall not kill. Neither shall
you commit
adultery. Neither shall you steal. Neither shall you bear false witness
against
your neighbor. Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife; and you
shall not
desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his
maidservant,
his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
— Deuteronomy 5:6-21 RSV
“And
God spoke all these
words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a
graven
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not
bow down
to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,
visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth
generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to
thousands of
those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name
of the
LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who
takes his
name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you
shall
labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the
LORD your
God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your
daughter, your
manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who
is within
your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all
that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed
the
sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your
mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God
gives
you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not
steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not
covet
your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his
manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that
is your
neighbor's.”
— Exodus 20:2-17 RSV
** Biblical basis of Law, the Ten Commandments
** Biblical basis
of the Sunday "Blue Laws" or the Sabbath Day
“And
as he was setting out
on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good
Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to
him,
"Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the
commandments: 'Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do
not bear
false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"
—
Mark
10:17-19 RSV
** Biblical basis of Law, the Ten Commandments
_________________________________________________________
“Now
we know that the law is
good, if any one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is
not laid
down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly
and
sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and
murderers of
mothers, for manslayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars,
perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in
accordance with
the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been
entrusted.”
— 1 Timothy 1:8-11 RSV
** Biblical basis of Law, to restrain the wicked, not the good.
_________________________________________________________
"For
inquire, I pray you, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have
found; for
we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days on earth are a
shadow. Will
they not teach you, and tell you, and utter words out of their
understanding? "Can
papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is
no
water? While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any
other
plant. Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the
godless man
shall perish. His confidence breaks in sunder, and his trust is a
spider's web.
He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it,
but it
does not endure. He thrives before the sun, and his shoots spread over
his
garden. His roots twine about the stoneheap; he lives among the rocks.
18 If
he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him,
saying.”
— Job 8:8-16
RSV
_________________________________________________________
Other
Quotes
on the Biblical Basis of Government
_________________________________________________________
"This is
what is called the law of nature, "which, being coeval with mankind,
and
dictated by God himself, is, of course, superior in obligation to any
other. It
is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No
human
laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are
valid,
derive all their authority, mediately, or immediately, from this
original."
— Sir William
Blackstone (1723-1780) English jurist & author of
Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
“We
Americans are so used to
[brain washed] thinking that government authority should come from the
people
that we might see nothing wrong with the political ramifications of
Liberalism.
We need to be reminded that all authority comes from God, and if
authority is
not exercised in harmony with God’s law, then it is not
legitimate the standard
is not,”Is it the will of the people?” but,
“Is it the will of God?”
— Anne W. Carroll - Author of
Christ
and the Americas
“Upon
these two foundations,
the law of nature and the law of revelation [the Bible], depend all
human laws;
that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these."
— Sir
William Blackstone (1723-1780) English jurist & author
of Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
“Politics
are a part of a
religion in such a country as this, and Christians [& citizens]
must do
their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems
sometimes as
if the foundations of the nation are becoming rotten, and Christians
[&
citizens] seem to act as if they think God does not see what they do in
politics. But I tell you He does see it, and He will bless or curse
this
nation, according to the course they take.”
— Reverend Charles G. Finney
(1792-1792) Minister in the Second Great Awakening.
“Government
exist not so much
to create laws as to secure laws, to apply God’s laws to
general and specific
situations, and to act as an impartial enforcer of such laws.”
— David A. Noebel (1937 - )
Christian
writer and author
“Blasphemy
against the Almighty is denying his
being or providence, or uttering contumacious [rebellious] reproaches
on our
Savior Christ. It is punished, at common law by fine and imprisonment,
for
Christianity is part of the law of the land.”
— Sir
William
Blackstone (1723-1780) English jurist & author of
Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
“An
unjust law is no law at all..”
— Saint Augustine
(354-430) Christian theologian, scholar and
bishop
"Upon these two
foundations, the law of nature and
the law of revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human
laws
should be suffered to contradict these."
— Sir William
Blackstone (1723-1780) English jurist & author of
Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
“Freedom
is not the ability
to do what you want to do, it (freedom) is the ability to do what you
should do
according to God’s law.”
— Dr. Stanley Monteith - Author
and Radio show host of Radio Liberty
“For
we must consider that
we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon
us;… Beloved
there is now set before us life, and good, death and evil in that we
are
commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another to
walk in
his ways and to keep his commandments and his ordinance, and his laws,
and the
Articles of our Covenant with him that we may live and be multiplied,
and that
the Lord our God may bless us in the land whether we go to possess it:
But if
our hearts shall turn away so that we will not obey, but shall be
seduced and
worship other gods, our pleasures, and profits, and serve them, it is
propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good
Land
whether we pass over this vast Sea to possess it.”
—
John Winthrop (1588-1649)
Puritan & First Governor of Massachusetts
"Any
single man must judge for himself whether circumstances warrant
obedience or
resistance to the commands of the civil magistrate; we are all
qualified,
entitled, and morally obliged to evaluate the conduct of our rulers.
This
political judgment, moreover, is not simply or primarily a right, but
like
self-preservation, a duty to God. As such it is a judgment that men
cannot part
with according to the God of Nature. It is the first and foremost of
our
inalienable rights without which we can preserve no other."
— John Locke
(1632-1704) British Philosopher & Author with works on the
biblical basis of
government
“To
instance in the case of murder: this is expressly forbidden by
the divine, and demonstrably by the natural law; and from these
prohibitions
arises the true unlawfulness of this crime. Those human laws that annex
a punishment
to it do not at all increase its moral guilt, or superadd any fresh
obligation
in foro conscientice (in the court of conscience) to abstain from its
perpetration. Nay, if any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit
it, we
arc bound to transgress that human law, or else we must offend both the
natural
and the divine. But with regard to matters that are in themselves
indifferent,
and are not commanded or forbidden by those superior laws; such, for
instance, as
exporting of wool into foreign countries; here the inferior legislature
has
scope and opportunity to interpose.”
— Sir William
Blackstone (1723-1780) English jurist & author of
Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
"The Christian
religion, which ordains that men should love each other, would without
doubt
have every nation blest with the best civil, the best political laws;
because
these, next to this religion, are the greatest good that men can give
and
receive."
— Barron
Charles de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political thinker &
writer on separation
of powers of government
“The
Fate
of good men who refuse to become involved in politics is to be ruled by
evil
men.”
— Edmund
Burke (1729-1797) British Statesman, Lawyer, Writer, and Philosopher
"No government
can have a right to obedience from a people who have not freely
consented to it
…whenever the legislators endeavour to take away, and
destroy
the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery, under
arbitrary
power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are
thereupon absolved from any farther obedience, and are left to the
common
refuge which God hath provided for all men, against force and violence.
I Whenever,
therefore the legislative shall transgress this fundamental rule of
society,
either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption endeavour to grasp
themselves, or
put into the hands of any other, an absolute power, over the lives,
liberties,
and estates of the people; by this breach of trust they forfeit the
power the people
had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves to
the people,
who had a right to resume their original liberty, and, by the
establishment of
a new legislative (such as they should think fit) provide for their own
safety
and security, which is the end for which they are in society.”
— John Locke
(1632-1704) British Philosopher & Author with works on the
biblical basis of
government
“Power
and
the law are not synonymous. In truth they are frequently in opposition
and irreconcilable.
There is God's Law from which all equitable laws of man emerge and by
which men
must live if they are not to die in oppression, chaos and despair.
Divorces
from God's eternal and immutable Law, established before the founding
of the
suns, man's power is evil no matter the noble words with which it is
employed
or the motives urged when enforcing it. Men of good will, mindful
therefore of
the Law laid down by God, will oppose government whose rule is by men
and, if
they wish to survive as a nation, they will destroy that government
which
attempts to adjudicate by the whim or power of venal judges."
— Marcus
Tullius Cicero (106-43BC) Roman Philosopher, Lawyer,
Statesman and constitutionalist
“What God requires of
individuals among themselves, he also requires of nations. What ever
the moral duties
are of people they are extended to nations. Because nations are
corporate individuals
on the world stage like individuals act in a neighborhood. The
extension of foreign
policy is merely the extension of what happens in private affairs to
what
happens in public affairs, all still covered by God.”
— Paul Jehle - Historian,
Pastor & Director of The Plymouth Rock Foundation (The Law of
Nations I)
"Those
who
cannot remember the past are condemned
to repeat it."
— George
Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish philosopher, novelist and poet
_________________________________________________________
Right Vs Left, Right Vs Wrong
“A
wise man's heart inclines
him toward the right, but a fool's heart toward the left. Even when the
fool
walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to every one that he is
a fool.”
—
Ecclesiastes
10:2-3 RSV
"In
Hebrew and in the Bible
right and left are not directional, they are moral. And think about
this for a
second, according to ancient Jewish wisdom, right and left do not
exist. It’s a
meaningless human convention…
In chapter 13 of Genesis
when Lot and
Abraham separate and Abraham
caries the moral structure of civilization, Abraham is the soul of
monotheism,
Abraham walks not with God, but ladies and gentlemen, before God.
…Leadership
means walking in front of God and knowing that He is behind you. Lot
separates
from Abraham and chooses to go and live in the city of Sodom.
… Lot
goes to live there, Isn’t it odd that he is described
in the conversation with Abraham; he is described as going to the left.
It
should say he is going to the east. … Abraham says
I’ll go right; you are going
to go left.* In the Hebrew, text going left means departing from the
moral
foundations of civilization. Now you will understand ancient Jewish
wisdom on
the closing verse of the book of Jonah. Jonah was all very
upset
that God did not destroy the city of Nineveh.
.. God said how I can destroy them; they are people who don’t
know their right
from their left. …Right and left always means good and evil,
right and wrong,
light and darkness, the moral structure of civilization Vs the
structure
barbarism and emptiness. So God says how can I
destroy the city of Nineveh
when they don’t know right from left or in other words, right
from wrong.**
People who don’t know their right from wrong how can you
punish them. That is
what it means. Up and down in scripture means exactly the same thing,
up is
always toward God, down is away.”
— Rabbi Daniel Lapin (1950- ) Orthodox rabbi, talk show host
and author (WallBuilders Radio Dec 29&30-2009)
*“Then
Abram said to Lot,
"Let there be no strife between you and me, and
between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. Is not the
whole
land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand,
then I
will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to
the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes,
and saw that the Jordan
valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like
the land
of Egypt,
in the direction of Zo'ar; this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom
and Gomor'rah. So Lot chose for himself
all the Jordan
valley, and Lot
journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. Abram
dwelt in the land
of Canaan,
while Lot dwelt among the cities of the
valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Now the men of Sodom
were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram,
after Lot had
separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and
look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward
and
westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your
descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the
earth; so
that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can
be
counted.”
—
Genesis 13:8-17 RSV
**“And
should not I pity
Nin'eveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and
twenty
thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and
also
much cattle?”
—
Jonah 4:11 RSV
_________________________________________________________
When
you are right or doing
right by God it is more likely he will bless and reward your good work.
“Just
as day was breaking,
Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. Jesus
said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him,
"No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the
boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not
able
to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.”
— John 21:4-6 RSV
_________________________________________________________
