Did you know that one of the biggest challenges to Christianity comes during the Christmas season? It is centered on who Jesus’ family was. In our day when people challenge us about who Christ was, they sometimes argue against Jesus’ divinity. They might say that Jesus was a good teacher, or a holy person, or a talented teacher, but he … Learn More
This is the final page in my American Genesis series. It is nothing more than a collection of all Christian principles found in America’s first state constitutions. North Carolina—1776 Section 32. That no person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the protestant religion, or the Divine authority of the Old or New Testaments, or who … Learn More
In all things, there are at times a mixing of the good and the bad, the righteous and the evil. It is true in our churches as it is true in our government, where those without a basic respect for morality, and constitutional values work to undermine what America has stood for the last 200 years. Knowing that the evil … Learn More
In the Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, both pro–abortion, and pro–life advocates came away from the Court’s ruling with mixed emotions. Pro–lifers missed an important precedent set by the Court. In Casey, the Court upheld that a married woman does not have to inform her husband if she wants an abortion. As a result, the legal status of … Learn More
Judicial activism is the practice of using assumed judicial authority to create law apart from a constitutionally established legislative process. The roots of judicial activism are found in English Common Law. Under the Common Law system, judges had the authority to strike law down, and even create new law apart from the parliamentary process. Judicial activism, while not foreign to … Learn More
While many of the states recognized a right to worship, Vermont went further, adding in Chapter I, Article III of its Declaration of Rights: “All men have a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences and understandings, as in their opinion shall be regulated by the Word of God.” Vermont’s Framers believed … Learn More
There is another interesting document in American history, which has brought great controversy to the debate over the Christian roots of our nation, the 1796 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Tripoli. Following the Revolutionary War, America’s next war was with Tripoli of Barbary, otherwise known today as Libya. Tripolian vessels would often attack American merchant ships engaged in trade … Learn More
As noted earlier, separation of the church from governmental or societal affairs is not found in the Federal Constitution, but rather, in an address by President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association. His comments were in response to a rumor that an official state religion (denomination) was to be recognized. Jefferson countered with the constitutional answer that there would … Learn More
As if advocating worship wasn’t enough, the Framers also set a course to promote moral values within government; this was done by encouraging public morality within their constitutions. They affirmed that the citizenry represented had a right to require their leaders to live in a moral manner. Massachusetts Part I, Article I, Paragraph 18: “A frequent recurrence to the fundamental … Learn More
The type of conscience a person has forms over time, as a person learns through experience, observation, and upbringing. While today’s education may focus on the feelings, attitudes, and even the aptitude of students, America’s first educational institutions were founded as what John Adams called the “architects of the soul.” Most intriguing in Maine’s Declaration of Rights is its first … Learn More
