Dakota Beacon

DENNIS PATRICK: HOLD FAST OUR HERITAGE

Fourth of July is upon us and understanding our Christian heritage is vital to preserving our liberty. A person need not be a Christian to grasp the fundamental wellspring of our unique concept of freedom. With the Fourth of July just around the corner, now is a good time to reflect on the Biblical precept of our American government.

The culture and government of any society inevitably reflects the religion of its people as a very strong internal driving force. Be it the culture of the American Indian, a Muslim society, or the beliefs of the Papua New Guinea people, are all driven by closely held religious beliefs.

Ideas have consequences. We cannot separate the ideas of the Founding Fathers from their Christian thinking stemming from Reformation Europe. To do so would be to forfeit the blessings of their beliefs. The Founders understood two kinds of government: external and internal. External government pertained to civil government (civil control). Throughout history external governments like monarchies, tyrannies, and dictatorships imposed the will of the few on the many. Alternatively, internal government pertained to self-government (self-control). It flowed from within each person out into the family and then into the community. The idea of self-government emphasized responsibility and self-discipline and was predicated on Christian values. Limited government and maximum freedom rested solidly on the assumption of internal self-government flowing from Christian beliefs.

Our founders presupposed that self-government started from the inside out and that Christian belief spurred self-control. Without Christian internal self-control, the reasonable expectation was external control imposed by the old forms of government with which mankind was all too familiar. Herein lay the genesis of a new experiment in governing.

One thing is certain. American colonials did not wake up one fine day on July 4 and decide to have a picnic in the park with watermelon and fireworks. Once again, ideas have consequences and the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution remain firmly rooted in the rich soil of Europe’s Reformation. Even Deists at the time concurred with this.

In 1636 Rev. Thomas Hooker’s “Fundamental Orders of Connecticut” provided the first attempt at a written constitution. Rev. Hooker’s premise was outlined in a sermon based on Deuteronomy 1:13-14. Moses spoke to Israel according to what the Lord had related to him. “Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you. And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’”

Another attempt in the evolution of American government from Christian roots is found in a body of laws drawn up by Rev. Nathaniel Ward in 1639. The Massachusetts “Body of Liberties” lay down for the first time the basic principles relating to the sacredness of life, liberty, property, and an individual’s reputation based on a Biblical perspective. These laws were, in effect, a declaration of independence 135 years before the event we celebrate on July 4. (See John Palfrey’s “History of New England, Vol. II,” published in 1865.)

Many other examples of America’s Christian roots abound. In 1682 Quaker Minister William Penn established his “Frame of Government” for the region of Pennsylvania. The intent was “...to make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in all opposition to unchristian...practices, whereby God may have his due, Caesar his due, and the people their due....” (See Verna Hall’s “The Christian History of the Constitution,” 1980.)

The development and refinement of local self government between 1640 and 1776 might be summed up in a statement by Samuel Adams in the “Boston Gazette” on March 28, 1773. “...still there is the great and perpetual law of self-preservation, to which every natural person or corporate body hath an inherent right to recur. This being the law of the Creator, no human law can be of force against it....”

For decades prior to the American Revolution pastors preached a specific style of sermon called the “Election Sermon.” Copies were printed and sent to representatives, other pastors, and newspapers for circulation. Such sermons were deemed proper and were expected to be decent, serious, and instructive. Biblical themes included “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17), “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32), and “…remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord” (Ezekiel 45:9).

Rev. Jonathan Mayhew holds the distinction as one of the earliest preacher-patriots. A sermon delivered in 1750 so closely paralleled the Declaration of Independence it has been appropriately called “The Morning Gun of the American Revolution.”

Today, a consuming awareness of the here and now without regard for our Christian heritage yields an incomplete appreciation of liberty. Attack and remove the premise of an argument, and the argument cannot stand. In today’s American culture, marginalizing Christianity and replacing the Biblical premise of liberty with a secular premise of socialism or Critical Race Theory may well result in reverting once again to imposing external government.

Every generation must determine for itself the precepts by which it will live. Some generations are up to the challenge. Some are not.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).