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June 20, 2003 On January 14th, 1639 the first constitution was written in America instituting a provisional government and later serving as the model for the United States Constitution. This constitution, called the Fundamental Orders [Constitution] of Connecticut, was written by Roger Ludlow in 1639, after he heard a powerful sermon preached by the famous Puritan minister Thomas Hooker. Assisted by Hooker and his entire congregation, Ludlow founded the state of Connecticut, later to be known as the “Constitution State”. The premise of the Order of Connecticut was simply to make laws, “As near as the Law of God as they can be.” But what was actually in the mind of Ludlow and Hooker when they formulated the state of Connecticut and its constitution? Was it to formulate a Theocracy; a Theocratic form of government where the Church would be the supreme governor of all affairs on earth as in heaven? Was this new constitutional government supposed to act as a model for Theocratic Church Rule, which had already been historically proven to be a complete failure? Or was their intent something other than theocratic rule? Theocracy, even under the banner of Righteousness, controlled by fallible and sometimes wicked men had often degenerated into Despotism and chaos, with the church jockeying for power over the state. If Theocracy was not the goal of the American Republic, then why such an emphasis upon the Law of God as the only secure standard of social law and order? Justinian, (AD 527-565) the infamous Byzantine Christian Lawyer, Emperor and Theologian declared “Learning in the law entails knowledge of God and man, and mastery of the difference between justice and injustice.” Justinian, like Hooker and Ludlow, knew that for law to secure men’s rights it had to be a just system of law. For these men, law then had to be grounded in a larger order of things. That larger order was the Law of God. Law is simply the codification of morals and ethics, which is to be applied to every sphere of life, both private and public. It is the codification of that which is right as opposed to that which is wrong. True law is the law of justice, and it is to be based upon a foundation of unchangeable ethics. Soon after the Constitution of Connecticut was enacted, the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor adopted the constitution and asserted in their preamble, “…according to the Truth of the said Gospel, is now practiced among us; as also in our civil affairs to be guided and governed according to such laws, rules, orders and decrees.” In 1639, at Quinipiack (now New Haven) Connecticut, the first example of a written constitution, with extensive and exhaustive definition of governmental powers, was composed. Some of these articles included: “Article I: That the Scriptures hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties, which they are to perform to God and men, as well in families and commonwealths as in matters of the church. Article II: That as in matters which concern the gathering and ordering of a church, so likewise, in all public offices which concern civil order – as the choice of magistrates and officers, making a repealing laws, dividing allotments of inheritance, and in all things of like nature, they would all be governed by those rules which the Scriptures held forth to them. In other words, it was the Law of God, not the law of the church, which would be the governing standard for the civil commonwealth. Thus, it was a Theonomic (gr. Theo=God Nomos= Law) Rule as opposed to theocratic church rule. John Calvin, widely acknowledged as the Great Grandfather of the American Republic, asserted that the state must live in peace and must cooperate together with the church in subjection to the Word of God. Each was to have its own jurisdiction with limited overlap. They would be distinct yet harmoniously cooperative since they both had God’s honor and glory as their ultimate goal. While the church would tend to spiritual matters, the state would minister in the civil realm. Both would use the Law of God as their standard. Yet for Calvin, as it was for the Founders of the American republic, the government was to be comprised of Christians and not pagans. It was the task of the Christian citizenry to govern the people according to the Theonomic Rule of law and not the arbitrary rule of men. Today’s interpretation of “Religious Toleration” is alien to the original intent of religious toleration and freedom of worship which the framers had in mind. The modern understanding is that America is the dumping ground for any and every religion no matter how obscure or antagonistic to the Law of the Christian Gospel. Yet, there is absolutely no indication that this was the intent of the American Republic, nor can this idea be even remotely found in any of the original source documents of the founders. What is found however is strongly to the contrary. America was founded solely upon the Christian religion. In fact, when England heard of the revolt of the colonies they remarked, “Our sister America has run off with a Presbyterian Parson”, thus indicating the prevailing Christian orthodoxy of the settlement and the force behind the revolution. American religious toleration would be among the various denominations of Christ’s churches, clearly omitting pagan cults and persuasions. Toleration was not directed to paganism, humanism, relativism, Mohammadism, Marxism, or any other anti Christian philosophy. These were considered a threat to the security and prosperity of the American Nation. In fact, patriotism and Christianity were two sides of the same coin to the extent that one could not exist without the other. Using a direct phrase from the New Testament Epistle of James, Founding Father and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Reverend John Witherspoon stated, “He is the best friend of American Liberty who is the most sincere in promoting True and Undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not [hesitate not] to call him and enemy to his country.” Freedom of Religion was to be granted within the confines of Christianity, and Christianity alone. In regard to God’s Law, Andrew Jackson stated it most succinctly on June 8, 1845. “That Book sir is the Rock upon which our Republic rests.” If America ever hopes to regain its honor, strength, liberty and blessing she needs to embrace that Law and that Truth which originally made her the nation that she once was. As the declaration of Independence was being signed Samuel Adams declared: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. HE reigns in Heaven and from the rising of the earth to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.” May God be pleased to raise up Great and Godly leaders that will restore the original intent of this Republic under the Covenant that she once knew. Soli Deo Gloria ------------ About the author: The Reverend Paul Michael Raymond pastors the Reformed Bible Church In Central Virginia and is the Cheif Director of the Institute for Theonomic Reformation, an online Christ-Centered Educational Resource Center. He can be reached at his website HisGlory.us. Email: Pastor@hisglory.us Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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