Is the US Constitution Based on The Bible?
Part 1: Our founding fathers wrote a document suffused with Christian principles
Our Founding Fathers codified a Biblical moral framework for government in the United States Constitution. Here are three examples of how our laws derive from Biblical ideas.
George Washington (1732-1799) issued a thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, “sincere and hearty thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation, particularly for the possession of constitutions of government which united and by their union establish liberty with order.” Our first president said that our nation is based on ordered liberty. Our freedom requires moral and ethical leadership and the proper organization to delegate, operate, and plan for the future. This is a gift of the law from God passed down from ancient Israel and Christendom to America. We spit on it to our own curse.
Leaders
The principles of leadership organization for civil government and the execution of laws were described by Moses in the first chapter of Deuteronomy.
“At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do (Deuteronomy 1:9-18).”
This section of scripture served as a guide for Reverend Thomas Hooker who wrote the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut." It was then translated into districts for the election of representatives in city councils, state legislatures, and the federal congress.
Article I section 2. “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States…”
Article I section 3. “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof…”
Article I section 4. “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof…”
Article II section 1. “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress…”
We choose our leaders. They do not rule over us. We elect governors. They do not select themselves and each other. There is no family, clan, or tribal claim on power. This creates partiality, violates civic law, and destroys a nation. We must have regular and secure elections.
Jubilee
Israel was based on a series of laws that protected private property. But, more importantly, Israel had conventions that allowed for the restoration of original ownership and land use. Distribution of land hinges on purposeful use and the enforcement of a proper deed by a just authority. Land must have a purpose, either for a home, farm, boundary, or park. It was given as a gift by God for the benefit of his people. The land is not inherently claimed because some person once stood on it, or conquered it. It falls out of use by fools and accrues to those who love God and honor his commands as a blessing for future generations.
God knew that generations who follow forefathers in a period of productive land use and the accumulation of wealth would sell off their inheritance to fund their own extravagancies. Thus, the law had interlocking features of oversight and determinations of production for land as well as accountability for debt, the forgiveness of loans, and a process to return the property to families over time. “And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan (Leviticus 25:10).” This land was given to proclaim liberty, freedom, and independence for individuals and their families. The land was a conduit for freedom. Therefore America was set up as a commonwealth of freemen who have private property and must use it wisely to retain it.
Article I section 8. “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States… To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures… To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States… To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces… To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States…”
Localization
America was organized into small manageable units. A representative of each family must have a voice in the public square and a vote in regular elections. Over time each citizen in any family over the age of 18 was given the right to vote as part of his or her civic duty. This follows the city father model in ancient Israel. This principle of local control leads is based on self-government, that individuals must govern themselves and that problems were beset solved at the level where they originated.
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear (Deuteronomy 21:18–21).”
Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, must work together to bring justice. Today, being a rebellious carouser is not a capital offense. It is likely that even then this punishment was rarely enforced. But the process of elders’ rulings, judgment, and accountability is Biblical for all serious crimes in a community. The people elect leaders who are members of the community which they represent.
Preamble: “We the People of the United States… do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Article I section 1. “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
Article I section 2. “No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States…”
Article I section 3. “No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States.”
Article II section 1. “No Person except a natural-born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
Article III section 4. “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…”
Article V “The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments…”
These are but three areas of law that are clearly articulated in Deuteronomy and Leviticus which are in the Torah of the Old Testament that must guide our nation. Israel’s law in the Bible gives America her sense of order, and without this we will blindly fall into anarchy and chaos.
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
Rodney, thanks for your comments. I had not read Weiland's book. So, I looked him up. The site Academia has a good academic summary of his work. I believe that he maintains his own profile by uploading and curating articles. https://independent.academia.edu/TedWeiland
Upon first glance, he uses the name Yahweh for God. While I appreciate the concept of "I AM" as the name for God in the OT, I find this off target. We can refer to God as Lord or Father or even as Jesus. The idea of God trancends his name, and in many ways the Tetragrammaton is the term YHWH which means "I AM" is more like a title that describes God's self existance or aseity. God is the creator and does not need a name. If you want to know the name we should use for God I prefer Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:9-10: "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
He goes on to state that the founders used the phrase WE THE PEOPLE to replace God in the US Constitution. I do not find this plausable either. We used the will of people as a proxy for the consent of the governed to replace the will of the king. This is a good thing. I've made the case for using the democratic process as part of a Constitutional Republic, without allowing mob rule. And, I've pointed out that there is no possible theocracy until Jesus returns. Until then we need THE PEOPLE to repent, believe, and step up to lead as Christian men and women.
Been enjoying your articles and was wondering you have ever read “The Bible Law vs The U.S. Constitution by Ted R Weiland. Very eye opening and a lot of biblical truth compared to what we actually believe. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But he does make some great points. Would love to see your views on what you agree with and don’t agree with. Thank you for your time. God Bless.