“In the Name of God, Amen” vs. “We the People”*

By: Nathaniel C. Nelson and Richard C. Nelson

 *Published in the November 2012 edition of "The Good News Today"

“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, it is He who will save us.” Isaiah 33:22

As I pen this work, eager politicians and political strategists are engaged in what will be the 2012 battle of the ballot box.  Democrats are campaigning to maintain their hold over the Executive Branch (and Senate).  Republicans are planning strategies to remove the Democratic presence from the halls and executive offices of Washington.  In both cases, each party will be seeking to convince the American people that their cause is true and just.  Each will be arguing that only their way is “patriotic.” Further, each will declare that only their Party can lead Americans to the prosperity promised by the American dream.  In these uncertain and challenging times, each could echo the belief of one of America’s most progressive reformers, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself….”  This will be followed by each Party’s claim that only they and their version of the State can bring the required change needed that can instill hope and that much sought after “freedom” from fear.  Unfortunately, both will be making baseless proclamations and speaking only half-truths.  Neither Party’s view of the role of State offers the true change or hope that this country and its people truly need.  The change required needs to be inspired by something greater than any political party or government can offer, and that can only be found in the hope in things unseen.

The philosophical role of the American State has, since the Progressive movement, experienced a significant paradigm shift.  As historian Susan Dunn notes, many in America, prior to the New Deal, believed they had the right to be free from government.  Following the New Deal, Americans began to believe that they had the right to be free through government.  Thus, the State, as an ever evolving and progressing institution, became, and now is, the guarantor of freedom through the ages.  Self-proclaiming its own insight and relinquishing social groups (e.g., the Catholic Church, YMCA) of their former duties, the democratically elected State has now assumed the roles and responsibilities previously held by the individual and its social institutions. Dunn was correct that the New Deal era forever changed how the People view and value the State. However, I contend that this shift started long before Roosevelt.

Since the infant days of the American experiment, the belief in the power and role of the democratically elected State has been evolving.  Despite being smaller in size and stature, the America of the founding era had respect for the distinction between the public and private, the State and individual, and the secular versus atheistic government and there was certainly a reverence for the Judeo-Christian God.  Even prior to the founding era the acknowledgement of God in the realm of politics was evident; for example, the introduction of the Mayflower Compact starts with, “In the name of God, Amen.”

However, the very nature of the Revolutionary War was change, with its pursuit of the idea that Man and their institutions, instead of “divinely-inspired” kings, could create and lead a more perfect union.  Granted, many of our Founding Fathers believed the source of the government’s power to be the Judeo-Christian God, yet the institutions and philosophy they helped inspire allowed for God’s hand to be slowly replaced by Man’s (for example, the “free exercise of religion” has now evolved into a complete separation of church and state and the removal of prayer from schools).  It wasn’t until what some historians say was the last battle of the Revolutionary War, that the Union’s victory in the Civil War solidified the fact that the Union (read, the State) was the sole provider and guarantor of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  In essence, the State and its agents protected the right of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”  Since this time—from the Reconstruction Era to today’s overhaul of the healthcare system, it seems that the Federal union has continually trumped the individual’s rights, and, in so doing, has affirmed the belief of the omnipotent and omnipresent state.

This cursory overview of American ideological history was had in order to show that from the beginning there has been an ever growing shift from a reliance on God and an acceptance of individual responsibility (e.g., Mayflower Compact) to the reliance on the Government and increased corporate, government control (e.g., ObamaCare).  Put another way, early Americans surrendered to God for divine direction and the realization of prosperity. Now, America (and the world) surrenders to Man’s institutions.
Throughout this shift, we have lost our way due to a great confusion of the intended order.  Instead of focusing our efforts “In the Name of God”, we have become accustomed to focusing our efforts in the name of Man and “We the People.”   In Man’s effort to build nature in his diverse image, the halls of Washington have become overcrowded with the ideas of self-serving, competing interests (i.e., political parties and interest groups).  Indeed, as The Federalist 10 emphasizes, competing interests are a healthy part of any democratic society.  However, with the removal of a solid foundation, we have lost the ability to measure the validity of these Man-inspired pursuits.  Further, the importance and validity of these factions sway with the breeze of the changing political winds.

There are many negative implications to this transition. For example, in light of recent abuses in the housing and financial markets, Washington now spends much time in “regulatory” mode. With every failure, the government steps in and opines, “We can fix it.”  Unfortunately, the question over why there is a failure is never addressed.  Political reasons aside, the ultimate reason why there is an increase in regulations is because we, as Man, have lost trust in ourselves.  Lacking a foundation in the Truth, we have lost virtue and honor among men, especially as Man’s sinful nature has become more evident.  Thus, we have this increasing need for regulation.  The question must be asked, can fallen Man truly regulate themselves by the institutions they create?

Therefore, we need to go back to the center; to an absolute.  There needs to be that recognition, as there was in the beginning, that Man needs help from something higher.  There needs to be a call back to the days when it was realized that leaders, and the institutions that they establish, cannot provide the ultimate change, security, and hope that is needed.  Without this recognition each of the political strategies currently being worked behind closed doors is only going to lead us further astray.  We need to focus less on the laws and the people that create them and more on that which provides our laws—to reference George Washington, “Kind Providence.”

In essence, God must be, once again, allowed to enter.  Whether realized or not, President John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address (1961), went right to the core of the solution. “The rights of man”, he stated, “come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God” (author added emphasis).  Obviously, President Kennedy was not speaking anything new, for the Apostle Paul wrote, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1).  Thus, we need to come back to the reality that the state and its agents do not provide.  Rather, it is God that provides.  Further, Man must understand and respect the line between Caesar and God- “…Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).  Yes, laws and institutions can help craft and order our lives.  However, ultimately, lives need to be changed by the power of God, not laws, regulations, or Government control.

Indeed, Washington, its politicians, and its parties can help bring about peace and prosperity.  But, we cannot forget who is the giver of such.  America should remember the warning from our first president: “…the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained” (George Washington, Inaugural Address, 1789; author added emphasis).  Thus, we must call on our leaders to remember where their power came from.  More importantly, we must continue to lift up our government and its leaders through prayer (1 Tim 2: 1-4).
Yes, we want to be that shining city upon a Hill, which Governor Winthrop and, later, Ronald Reagan, aspired to.  And, America should be.  However, the light from the shining city should not be lit by Man.  Further, this aspiration shouldn’t be for the government’s glory, but God’s.  Let’s not forget where the authority of the state comes from.  The pens of politicians are surely promising of “hope” and “change”, but none can provide the change that comes from the true giver of life and authority.  As Scripture reminds us, everything built upon sand will surely sink.