"WE THE PEOPLE…."

"We the People…."

by Dr. Norman L. Geisler*

                Introduction

America belongs to "We the people."  It does not belong to the Congress.  It does not belong to special interest groups.  It does not belong to the Courts.  It belongs to "We the people…."  The original Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay, declared:

 "Providence [God] has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty-as well as the privilege and interest –of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."  Yes, he preferred those who follow a Christian ethic and voted accordingly.  And contrary to a widely misinterpretation of the First Amendment, the Constitution does not forbid establishing morality but only establishing one national religion.  It says, "Congress [The Federal Government]. Shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion…."  Indeed, historically Congress (upheld by the Supreme Court) did establish the Judeo-Christian morality, including virtually all of the Ten Commandments at one time or another.

Politically speaking, the basic problem in America is that "We the people" have lost control of our government.  How have we done this?   Three things come to mind.  First, "We the people" are not all registered to vote.  Second,  "We the people" who are registered do not all vote.  Third, "We the people" who do vote do not all vote our convictions.

"We the people" are not all registered to vote.

    A. 35% of eligible Americans are not registered.  So, the people who don't vote decide almost all the elections.   Yet "we the people" complain about our government when we have not all even participated in it.  The truth is the "we the people" who don't vote could change America.

"We the people" are not all registered to vote.

Further, "We the people" who are         registered do not all vote.  In 2004 only 64% of us voted.  And in the off presidential year of 2002 only 43% voted.  That is minority rule.  But if we don't vote, we don't have a voice-and should not voice a complaint!

 "We the people" who do vote do not all vote our convictions.

            Sadder still, is the third problem: those who are Christians and do vote do not always vote their convictions. Two exit poles of one relatively recent elections revealed that about two-thirds of Americans put issues over character.  Indeed, a large percent of people admitted that they voted for a president they did not even trust!  The solution to this situation is simple.

            First of all, we should vote principle over party

    We expect preachers to rave about the need for morality in public like, but listen to the words  of a famous non-Christian, Mark Twain: "This is an honest nation--in private life.  The American Christian is a straight and clean and honest man, and in his private commerce with his fellows can be trusted to stand faithfully by the principles of honor and honesty imposed upon him by his religion.  But the moment he comes forward to exercise a public trust he can be confidently counted upon to betray that trust in nine cases out of ten, if `party loyalty' shall require it...." (Twain, Christian Science, 359).

    That hits the nail right on the head. Most Americans-even politicians-have good private ethics, at least in principle, if not in practice. But how many times have we heard them say: "I personally do not believe in doing X, but I would not vote for a law that forbid others from doing it."  This is a private ethic with no public ethic.

            Second, we should vote morals over money.

Recently, a presidential candidate, when asked when human life began, replied: "That is above my pay grade."  I radio talk show host ask me what I thought of that answer.  My reply was, "Lower his pay grade!"  I could have added, raise his moral standard.  The only sitting president ever to write a book was Ronald Reagan-and it was on abortion. When asked a similar question, he replied, "If you aren't sure, then don't shoot."  The fact is, we are sure.  Human life begins at conception. It is a scientific fact. An unborn pig is a pig.  An unborn horse is a horse.  And an unborn human is a human. We don't even need science; we just need common sense.

            Third, we should vote conviction over convenience

What would we think of a political leader who said, "I personally do not believe in killing little children (infanticide), but I would not vote for a law that forbids others from doing it."  What about rape, incest, spouse abuse, and child abuse?  Is it all right as long as this is part of our private practice but not our public policy?  Does anyone really want to live in a country where our civic leaders claim not to practice murder privately but refuse to pass a law to forbid it publicly!

The Persistent Myth: We Cannot Legislate Morality

    One of the underlying problems is that even many Christians have bought into the legal and social myth that "We Can't legislate morality."  But this is constitutionally, historically, and socially wrong.  The High Court pronounced: "We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity…. [We are] people whose manners…and whose morals have been elevated and inspired…by means of the Christian religion" (Ruggles, 1811).

    Socially, all laws affirm that one behavior is right and another wrong.  But right and wrong are a matter of morality.  So, all good laws legislate morality.  We cannot avoid legislating morality. The only question is whose morality is going to be legislated.

    Historically, our leaders had no hesitation in answering this question.  In Colonial days,

Sixth President of United States asserted that  "If 'Thou shalt not covet' and "Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free" (The Right Constitution …, Letter VI).

Even the Declaration of Independence speaks of "Nature's Law's" that come from "Nature's God" and are manifest in "unalienable" God-given rights.  President John Adams saw it correctly: "Private and public Virtue is the only foundation of Republics."   When the Mormons taught and practiced polygamy, the Supreme Court ruled (Beason, 1889): "Bigamy and polygamy are crimes by the laws of all civilized and Christian countries…. They tend to destroy the purity of the marriage, to disturb the peace of families, to degrade woman and to debase man."

    Mark Twain was right: "[The Christian] has sound and sturdy private morals, but he has no public ones....  There are Christian Private Morals, but there are no Christian Public Morals, at the polls, or in Congress or anywhere else--except here and there and scattered around like lost comets in the solar system" (ibid., 361).

       What is the solution to our political and moral problems in America?   Well, for starters Christians must vote character over convenience.  We must vote morals over money and principle over party.  And above all, we must vote life over death. 

      Since the right to life is the right to all other rights-the dead have no rights-necessarily the right to life becomes the primary moral principle in judging public officials.  If Germans citizens had a chance to vote for Hitler, knowing he was engaged in a holocaust, and Hitler had a good plan for the economy and the environment, what would be the overriding issue?  Should they vote money over morals.  Should they have voted party (Nazis) over principle?  But Hitler only killed 12 million human beings (I speak as a fool when I say "only").  Americans, since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion (Jan 22, 1973) have killed 48 million unborn human beings by abortion.

How then shall we vote?  For candidates that favor abortion or for those who oppose it?  Every Christian-indeed, every moral person-has a moral duty to put conviction of convenience, principle over party and vote for life.

            President  President James Garfield (1831-1881) wrote: "The people are responsible for the character of their Congress.  If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption."  Yes, "We the people" are response, and "We the people must take responsibility for our actions.  James Madison "the Father of US Constitution" declared:  "Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe." (Memorial & Remonstrance, 1785).  Our first president, George Washington, declared in his First Inaugural Address that "There is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness…. [So] the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."  The Wisest man who ever lived put it this way: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34).

*Dr. Geisler has a BA, MA, ThM, and PhD (in philosophy).  He is an author of some 70 books and has taught philosophy and ethics at the College and Graduate level for fifty years. His articles and materials are available at www.normgeisler.com or www.InternationalLegacy.org.

By Norm Geisler Click here for bio and archived articles

Where does it say that? Posted On: 09/29/08 09:08:42 AM Age 49, CA Where is the Church commanded to pass laws and enforce them? Where is the Church commanded to form armies and liberate the world into democracy? Where is Democracy AKA "The will of the people" Ever spoken of favorably in the Bible much less called for? Abortion is a problem of the heart, not Law. Once again, the abortion problem will not be solved by churches sending fourth SWAT TEams with crosses on thioer kevlar (Which you and your kind advocate) But by having the Gosplel transform people from the inside out to where they obey God's command to avoid sexual immorality. Not be forced to behave through external regulations. Yes, Romas 13 does give governments the power to make and enforce laws, but Laws do not change the person, Laws only restrict ones evil intentions. The duty of the Church is not to regualte the conduct of unbelievers but to win over converts. A true believer does not need a law banning abortion. As far as the Gospel of Bombs & bullets is concerned. The Late Dr. J Vernon McGee once preached "The Lord punished this nation in Southeast Asia because we went in there with bombs instead of Bibles! There is no Gospel of Bombs & bullets and anyone who claims there is will be punished." Sigh... Posted On: 09/27/08 09:20:01 AM Age 48, MO It's difficult to converse with you, since you throw so much into the mix, never answer points, but just spew your retoric. Where did I accuse anyone of judgement? I said you are a peac(h)enik because you think Christians should be harmonious with the world, yet you live in a dream world of "when they come for me, I'll let them have it." You seem to arrogantly forget everyone else as beyond salvation or beyond the dictates of morality. You seem to think that societies morals shouldn't be enforced or propogated, but rather everyone should live by the dictates of their own heart. You know, I've never once heard you witness Christ as Lord and Savior, only that might doesn't make right. Yet, might does make right to those without inner restraint and evil must be restrained does it not? John There IS a gospel of bombs and bullets Posted On: 09/24/08 01:08:05 PM Age 48, MO Friend; your math doesn't add up. You make crazy accusations that are unsubstantiated. You say: crosses on kevlar, evil invader, Swat teams against abortions, firearm permissiveness, etc. Where do you get this stuff, it's not reality. You say laws won't dictate human behavior, yet we all live by laws daily. Try to not stop at a stop light and see what happens. You say there is no gospel of bombs and bullets but you are wrong. There are only two ways to the afterlife. Death without Christ, and death in Christ. Put another way, death or rebirth. Friend, your God is not God if He dictates one and not the other. God is sovereign. If you make yourself the judge of who is to die, live, or accept Christ, then you put yourself in place of God. Our job is to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit to live thru. Those who are not saved, go thru life doing what self dictates under the sovereignty of God's laws and are guilty of disobedience. However, those who live and those who die are still at the mercy of God. Their role in the matter is inconsequential as their destination is still hell. The gospel (or good news) remains that Christ will be glorified, either in us, thru us, or in spite of us. He is sovereign. John You accuse others of judgeing and yet Posted On: 09/24/08 09:11:05 AM Age 49, CA You judge me to be a peachnik. Hardly. Quite to the contrary, I refuse to be terrorised becaue I am more than able to defend myself and don't need to send kids to invade a nation 7,000 miles away because I am in fear of some guy dressed like Lawrence of Arabia kicking in my door and forcing Islamic Law upon me. If it does happen, I am able to deal with him without cowering behind a corrup self serving military industrial complex. You have yet to show me where Christ calls upon one nation to sybdue the world in his name. The self rightious arrogant attitues of "Us good them evil" is about an unBiblical as one can get. As far as Germany is concerned, Nobody argues the fact that the Treaty of Versles is what brought the Nazis to power. Before the ink was ever dry on the treaty, Critics were lamenting "We have planted the seeds for an even greater war" You cite "There will be wars and tuors of wars" So that makes it ok for us to start a war? Just because the Lord claims trhere will be lawlessness does it mean it is ok for Christians to be lawless? Hardly. Evil invader Posted On: 09/23/08 06:25:38 AM Age 49, CA That alone makes him unacceptable. The world is not going to bow to us nd anyonoe who wishes to try is an evil invader. Pro Gun: Even though I am an enthusiast myself, I cannot support the current policy of firearms permissivness the right has been pushing. They couldn't be doing worse if their real purpose was to play th part of the gun crazed idiots the left accsues them of being. The abortion problem is not going to be solved by passing any law and sending fourth SWAT teams with crosses on thier kevlar to enforce them. It can only be solved one person at a time, one church at a time. Currently, the abortion rate inside our churches is no different than those of the godless heathens. Laws will not solve this problem for the Gospel calls for change from within, not regulation from without. I figured you out! Posted On: 09/22/08 03:24:55 AM Age 48, MO You are a peace-nik! You're the type of person who thinks Christ came to bring peace on earth and good will to ALL men. You think that if Christians just live the dictates of the Bible, then all would be happy, harmonious, and blessings. Friend: That is a pipe dream of Satan telling you that you can be like God, knowing good and evil. You speak as if this, then Germany would have...If USA didn't do this, then Muslims wouldn't have... etc. Your statements and ideals are fallacious because only God knows what if. We don't even know what, and can't even fathom if. Christ did not come to bring peace but is the peace. The offering is Christ for all peoples but only those who are found in Him have rest. The rest of the world goes on as it should; some grinding at the wheel, some giving in marriage, some making war, and some justifying themselves. Friend; war is inevitable because evil always wars and righteousness always defends. If righteousness doesn't rise to the defense of innocence (not offense against evil), then our righteousness does not exceed that of the religious who like the places of honor and to talk like men of peace and love. Friend; there IS a gospel of bombs and bullets simply because evil doesn't rest. When Christ returns to the new earth with His bride, then there will be peace on earth because evil will be done away with. Hope this helps. John Unacceptable? Posted On: 09/15/08 07:25:15 AM Age 48, MO We agree in principle (imagine that) but, If McCain is unacceptable, then who is acceptable? It's easy to look at the negatives, and there are many, but what about the positives. McCain is a man of principles (not ALL of mine) but he is pro life, pro military, pro defense, pro American, and pro gun. He has morals that are beyond the flavor of the day and the dept of character to ardently defend them. John Bombs away Posted On: 09/14/08 03:43:00 PM Age 48, MO Friend: Beer is not loaded with vitamins, you may want to consider an alternative source...Your "thinking" that everyone in the military must shoot to be of value to the mission is way below your rank, which causes me to doubt your service. Apparently, your so called 26 years, did nothing to mature your thinking. So why did you waste 26 years in that self imposed hell? Are you into self imposed degradation, sucking the gov’t sow for employment, or just too fearful to get a real life? From my observations of your writing, your knowledge, and your anger, I have serious doubts that you were ever in the military let alone in High School. I'm not trying to offend, just stating that you are gonna have to start trying to make your points in an intelligent, coherent manner if you expect many to take you seriously. Your rants may work in Hollywood and have some sway on those predisposed, but friend, you certainly don’t get me angry, you crack me up. John Well..... Posted On: 09/12/08 06:06:00 AM Age 49, CA The Democrats are Marxist thugs, no doubt about that. However, McCain himself is a RINO (Republican in name only) His record in the Senate has him siding with the Marxist time and tie again. Then to top it off, he wants to expand the Bush policy of Evil invasions. This makes McCain just as unacceptable as any of the Marxist thugs. We the People Posted On: 09/11/08 02:47:55 PM Age 50, OH great article. too many people are apathetic in our voting process, which I find to be very sad. there are people in other countries who wish they had that right. as a christian and american I have always believed it is my duty and a privilege to vote. (one I do not take for granted... someday we may not have it). and I totally agree with you that, above all, we must vote for life!