Listen to this article
I have recently gotten on the mailing list of American Vision, and am enjoying their magazine, Biblical World View. While some may categorize them as Reconstructionists, I find them to be balanced and informative, though they do feature too much of Gary DeMar’s stuff – I wish they had more contributors. But this latest post, Targeting the NEW Christian Right, has some good stuff in it. Interesting points summarized below.
- David Barton and his organization, Wallbuilders, are gaining visibility
William McKenzie, an editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News….considers Barton to be “on the next wave” of leadership of the Christian Right. The Texas Monthly described him as the “King of the Christocrats.” Time magazine included him in a list of “The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.”
- Christians are not calling for a "stronger union of church and state"
I don’t know anyone today who is calling for “a stronger union of church and state.” Christians believe in a jurisdictional separation between church and state, an issue that is not the point of the First Amendment. The First Amendment dealt with the constitutional relationship between the newly constructed national government and the states. Contrary to Martin’s claim, history is clear on this.
It’s also clear that there was no attempt to wall off religious precepts from political consideration. The history on this is abundantly clear.
- The origins of the separation principle is Christian, not secular
Jefferson’s “separation of church and state” language is not embodied in the Constitution and did not enter the American vernacular until 1802. The phrase and the principle behind it can be found in the writings of Martin Luther (1483–1546), John Calvin (1509–1564), and Richard Hooker (1554–1600). Its origin is Christian, not secular, and has a particular biblical meaning that has been obscured by today’s courts and media.
- Thomas Jefferson was not involved in writing the Constitution
Thomas Jefferson did not participate in the fashioning of
the Constitution. He was in France at the time. The First Amendment was
not originally part of the Constitution. The addition of the amendments
was at the insistence of the states to protect them from the very thing
that is happening today—federal intrusion on state affairs regarding
religion.
