Judeo Christian Foundation to America's Social Justice

David Hethcock’s editorial from April 18th on the state of the Bible skims the surface of the hotly debated topic regarding the nature of America’s Judeo-Christian political philosophy. He refers to the Fox News article which discusses the implications of American’s lackadaisical usage of the Bible, usage which is limited to theory versus real life application. His point is that American’s hold the Bible in increasingly low regard. Though it sits on the vast majority of American bookshelves, there it remains, unused. As the owner of a 1592 Geneva Bible (lucky man!), the fact that mere ownership at one time entailed a potential death sentence begs his question “Would we own the Bible if that were the case today?” However worthwhile the query may be, I nonetheless think that Mr. Hethcock is missing the more pertinent discussion regarding the relationship between America’s version of liberty and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is built.

This is significant  because there is a social justice movement in the US which would replace the concept of liberty and equal opportunity (as it is constitutionally espoused), with liberty based on equalized outcomes, a fundamentally different approach. The chasm here is tremendous and so the opinion Mr. Hethcock renders needs more attention.

To summarize, Judeo Christian values in American government honor God as the author of life, liberty and happiness. It is this relationship to God that is most fundamental to the social justice worked out in our Constitution. The necessary separation between church and state was intended to allow reason and common sense to prevail over secular or religious influences coming out of Old World traditions. Though church was separated from state, God was not. Indeed, God was specifically named as the creator of our rights. In addition, His inclusion in the documents and laws that are at the heart of our Constitutional government were intended to provide a Biblical morality that would prevent tyranny and encourage justice. Thus this Biblical morality and acknowledgement of God in our founding documents effectively combined with astute political reasoning and common sense are uniquely American and are very much a part of our government.

This is evidenced by John Quincy Adams statement “The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." Also, the signers of the 1783 Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War, required that the treaty start with the statement, "In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity”. In addition in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (1892), the Supreme Court ruled, simply, that America is a "Christian nation."

Many argue against this relationship. These arguments provide an important thread to theories of social justice that are in favor of a redistribution of wealth, a key element of ongoing political debate. They argue that the early Christian church advocated this redistribution by asking members to place their goods into the hands of the church in order to redistribute wealth on behalf of the poor, but this justification is faulty. It is necessary to first consider the nature of leadership in the Biblical church, initially that of Jesus Christ, a perfect man, and the apostles, many of whom were personally school by Him. The point is then made when one considers the nature of leadership in our current government. That wealth could be redistributed to mutually benefit the rich and the poor requires inspired leadership that is morally capable of such a responsibility. This alone defies the reach of government per se.

Mr. Hethcock mentions the use of “In God We Trust” on our coins as a recent trend that does not necessarily demonstrate a Judeo-Christian tradition in our founding laws and documents. However, I would venture to say that this is incorrect. The phrase has been used sporadically on money coined as early as 1864 and as recently as 1957. It is significant that the clause became our national motto, engraved on the wall before which the Speaker of the House stands. Its use came about as an acknowledgement by a joint Congress after WWII wherein God was being recognized as the nation’s source of success in the war, not US weapons or economic strength.

I realize that Mr. Hethcock is not necessarily disputing any of these points, and probably supports them. However, the fact that he did not make use of them as they were inferred in his source article does little to convey the importance of American’s use of Biblical morality and their understanding of its influence in our government.

 http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/18/state-bible-2012/#ixzz1t45ooPkh
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/cherry/080128
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2009/05/07/obama-is-wrong-when-he-says-were-not-a-judeo-christian-nation
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/judeo-christian-principles-and-socialism/
http://www.fredsauermatrix.com/64-Can-JudeoChristian-Principles,-Values-and-Ethics-Survive-Obama-Care.html