The modern doctrine of "separation of church and
state" is a myth. It is anti-American. Modern secularists
have problems understanding the American relationship between
religion and government because they do not understand that the
Founding Fathers believed:
- Religion was the foundation of government;
- There was a true religion and there were other false
religions;
- It would be suicidal to base a commonwealth on a false
religion;
- The Government, in order to survive, must endorse
and promote the true
religion.
Every single person who signed the Constitution agreed with
these four premises, and they agreed that the true religion was
Christianity. It doesn't matter that they didn't agree among
themselves as to the details of the Christian religion.
It doesn't matter that they made sure that one variety of
Christianity would have no legal power over other varieties of
Christianity. What matters is that not a single signer of the
Constitution believed in the "separation of church and
state" where the word "church" means
"Christianity, the true religion." A secular (that is,
atheistic) government was not in the mind of a single signer of
the Constitution. None of them accepted the possibility of a
Civil Magistrate separated from true religion and independent of
God, owing no duties to God to abide by His Standard of Justice.
Both Church and State were under God,
though there was a "wall of separation" between these
two Christian institutions. And make no mistake: the
"minister of justice" in the State was just as
directly responsible to God as a "minister of the
Word" in the Church.
All of these beliefs were largely deduced by the Founding
Fathers from a single passage of Scripture. All of their
political thinking ultimately rested on this single Biblical
text.
Probably one of the most important Biblical texts in the
history of political science in Western Civilization is the
thirteenth chapter of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans.
Since the time of Augustine,
this passage has been the starting point for all discussions of
government. And that starting point led to the conclusion --
universally held by the Founding Fathers -- that the human task
of forming civil governments was a religious
obligation. If you're a Christian, you probably
don't need to click those links.
Yet most Secular Humanists haven't the foggiest idea what
this passage of Scripture says, nor have they the remotest
sensitivity for how the Founding Fathers reverenced this text.
History shows it pervaded their thinking. It was an underlying
assumption. Even today, when people speak of "the powers
that be" they are using the language from Romans 13, likely
without knowing the source.
If you know nothing about Romans 13, start
by reading the passage here.
Then review some history. Romans 13 and a
Biblical doctrine of government pervades Western thought and
influenced the Founding Fathers. (The ironic thing about the use
of Romans 13 in Western political science is that the passage,
though clearly intended to inculcate non-resistance to the
magistrates, has been most frequently cited in treatises which
advocate violent revolution.)
Romans 13 says that the civil magistrate is "the
minister of God." The Founding Fathers, to a man, agreed.
Here is a sampling of what the Founders believed about
government's dependence on God:
[T]he only true basis of all government [is] the laws of
God and nature. For government is an ordinance of heaven,
designed by the all benevolent Creator.
Samuel Adams
Writings, vol. I, p. 269, Samuel Adams in the Boston Gazette
of Dec. 19, 1768 as "Vindex."
Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief corner
stone? . . . I think it has an everlasting foundation in
the unchangeable will of God. . . . The sum of my
argument is that civil government is of God.
James Otis, mentor of Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty
The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved
(London: J. Williams and J. Almon, 1766) pp. 11, 98.
[W]e will look for the permanency and stability of our new
government to Him who bringeth princes to nothing and teacheth
senators wisdom [Isa. 40:23; Ps. 105:22]
John Hart, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Address, October 5, 1776, in, The Papers of William
Livingston (Trenton: New Jersey Historical Commission,
1979) Vol. I, p. 161.
[T]he rights essential to happiness . . . . We claim them
from a higher source -- from the King of kings and Lord of all
the earth.
John Dickinson, Signer of the Constitution
The Political Writings of John Dickinson (Wilmington:
Bonsal and Niles, 1801) Vol. I, p. 111.
If civil government is ordained by God, and answerable to
God, then the fact that civil government and ecclesiastical
governments were "separate" does not contradict the
fact that both forms of government were "under
God," and based on a religious foundation. The modern
doctrine of "separation of church and state" is not
concerned with a separation between civil and ecclesiastical
powers. It attempts to assert a separation between the life of
man and the Law of God. The modern doctrine is a myth.
Anti-Pluralism
Home Page
The pages below are designed to expose the myth of pluralism
and to show that pluralism was universally denied by the
Founding Fathers. The truths found in the links below stem from
the belief of our Founding Fathers that the
institution of civil government is ordained by God.
The "separation of church and state," as understood
today (the separation of religion and civil government) is a
myth.
Vine
& Fig Tree's Romans 13 Home Page
www.Romans13.com
The most disastrously misunderstood Biblical text in
history!
|| Romans
13 and Parallel Texts || Romans
13 in American History || Romans
13 in Western Political Thought || Romans
13 and the American Revolution || Romans
13 and the "Separation of Church and State" ||
Christian
"Anarchism" is Our Goal | | All
Evil is Predestined by God | | Pray
for a Servant's Understanding | | Angels
and God's Throne of Government | | Stars
and Idolatry | | Why
the State Always Encourages Immorality | | Unlucky
13 -- Romans 13, Revelation 13 and Isaiah 13 |
| A
Roman's-Eye View of Romans 13 | | "Principalities
and Powers" | | Lakes
of Fire in "Smoke-Filled Rooms" | | Romans
13: The Burden is on the Archists | | Taxation,
Representation, and the Myth of the State |
| Why
the State is not a "Divine Institution"
| | Angels
and Autarchy | | 95
Theses Against the State | | Here
is what a Christian Anarchist looks like after he has joined
The
Christmas
Conspiracy.