Should being an active Christian bar you from public service? Yes, say many pundits today. It would seem that the left wants to impose a religious test to bar anyone who truly believes in Jesus from serving in government.
The death of
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left a vacancy on the Supreme Court. In the days
following her death, all of the candidates on President Trump's shortlist to
replace her were dedicated Christians, and the left once again bared their
anti-Christian bigotry.
The
Constitution says there can be no religious test applied to those seeking
office at the federal level (Article VI, clause 3).
A famous
incident in 2017 involved California Sen. Dianne Feinstein scorning Catholic
Amy Coney Barrett (who is now Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court
vacancy), at a Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, for being too
religious. The senator said, "I think whatever a religion is, it has its
own dogma. The law is totally different. And I think in your case, professor,
when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives
loudly within you, and that's of concern."
Washington Post
writer Ron Charles recently criticized Judge Barrett because of her belief that
a "legal career is but a means to an end … and that end is building the
Kingdom of God."
The United States: A
Christian Nation
The classic 1905 book writen by one of America’s greatest
Supreme Court justices is back in print—revised and expanded with a new
introduction by Gary DeMar and enhanced with images and explanatory
footnotes. The United States A Christian Nation is U.S. Supreme
Court Justice David Josiah Brewer’s lecture series on the unmistakably
Christian origins and values of the United States. Drawing from a wealth of
original sources, such as the colonial charters, state constitutions, and legal
statutes of early American history, Brewer makes the undeniable case for the
Christian character of this nation, and encourages his listeners to preserve
and contribute to America’s Christianity in the face of adversity.
When George
W. Bush, an outspoken Christian, was president, one of his biggest antagonists
(at least behind the scenes) was George Soros. The billionaire
venture-capitalist is committed to a secular vision for America. Soros has paid
out billions of dollars to try and impose his godless vision on America. With
Bush 43 in mind, Soros said, "The separation of church and state, the
bedrock of our democracy, is clearly undermined by having a born-again
president."
These are
amazing statements. Why not just hang out a sign on Constitution Avenue: "Government
Service Openings: Christians Need Not Apply"?
One man had
the impertinence to hold a different opinion than these. He said, "Providence
has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well
as the privilege of interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer
Christians for their rulers."
Oh my
goodness. Who was this backwoods rube? Didn't he know anything about the
Constitution and about our nation's sacred institutions—er, make that "secular
institutions"? That quotation was from Founding Father John Jay, one of
the three authors of the Federalist Papers, perhaps the finest political
science writings in American history. John Jay was appointed by President
Washington to serve as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme
Court.
America's Christian
History: The Untold Story
A necessary book if you want to understand how Christianity
served as the foundational operating worldview of most of the early settlers,
from sthe colonial constitutions to the establishment of colleges. For example,
the New England Confederation stated that the purpose of the colonies was "to
advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the
gospel in purity with peace." Harvard College required that each student
believe that "the main end of his life and studies is to know God and
Jesus Christ which is eternal life." John Adams wrote, "The Christian
religion is...the Religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity, and humanity."
I spoke
recently with my friend Dr. Peter Lillback of the Providence Forum on the radio, and I
mentioned the Dianne Feinstein quote to him. He noted that we could turn it
around and observe that Sen. Feinstein is also dogmatic. But her dogma is one
rooted in secularism.
Gary DeMar of American Vision puts it
this way: "The left hates any 'dogma' that questions their 'dogma.'"
Meanwhile, an
honest reading of American history shows that faith—the Christian faith—was
very important to most of the settlers and the founders of America:
- This
year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower.
The Pilgrims said they were establishing their colony "for the glory
of God and the advancement of the Christian faith."
- Rev.
John Winthrop, the leader of the Puritans who founded Boston and Harvard,
said of their colony, "For we shall be as a city upon a hill," providing
a metaphor for the future nation that ultimately came from Jesus Himself.
- George
Washington said, "[T]rue religion affords to government its surest
support."
- In
his Inaugural Address, John Adams said, "I feel it to be my duty to
add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call
themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent
respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public
service …" [emphasis added] Rather than prevent one from
serving, being a devout Christian is an asset to one's
service in government, said our second president.
- Alexander
Hamilton expressed his desire to create "the Christian Constitutional
Society," but his premature death scuttled his plans.
- Thomas
Jefferson, certainly not as orthodox as most of the other founders,
nonetheless said, "Of all the systems of morality ancient or modern,
which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of
Jesus." (Letter to William Canby, Sept. 18, 1813).
The dogmatic
anti-Christian bigots in our society are wrong in their notion that being a
devout Christian should somehow disqualify you from public service. The idea
that there's some sort of anti-Christian magnet over the threshold of
government buildings does not comport with our history nor with our
Constitution.
https://americanvision.org/24533/the-dogma-of-the-anti-christian-bigots/