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America was again attacked this week, and in grander scale than on 9/11.
Our brave soldiers in the Middle East are attacked daily, and we need to
hold them up in prayer, but this week, it happened again…on
our own soil…and this time, it was not by Muslim terrorists,
but by American citizens,
including Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired from the Supreme Court a
week too late!
Ill.—the film
“Independence Day” told of an attack which came at the hands of aliens,
but this Independence Day we are under siege from many claiming to be
patriotic Americans.
Sept. 11 was one of the
darkest days in all of human history…we’re still reeling from it, we all
remember where we were and what we were doing and how we felt. We were
glued to the news and in shock! But our true colors shined brightly…the
terrorists only brought out the best of what we Americans have inside of
us! But I tell you today that this week we were once again attacked. It
was a sad week in America!
Here is a list of the
ten ways we were attacked this week:
The first
attack—
The
1st commandment was not only broken, but banned.
The other 9 attacks were
simultaneous as the 10 Commandments were once again maligned in our country
on the eve of our Independence celebration!
The Supreme Court of the
US, in one of their most puzzling sessions of all time, ordered the removal
of 2 displays in Kentucky and allowed another to remain in Texas…the only
difference being what they judged to be the “motive and intent” of those who
posted them. Now, other displays are being defaced…And already, many other
places are taking them down…places which haven’t been ordered to remove
them…about 2 hrs. from here in Olney, IL courthouse officials took down this
framed picture, just donated last year…it’s a tribute to heroes of Sept. 11
that includes the 10 Commandments…they said they were just following
precedent and trying to avoid any trouble. I think we should all be
adding displays, not taking them down!
Ironic, isn’t
it? That the Supreme Court bldg - built in 1935 – has carved on
front and above it’s mighty pillars Moses and the Ten Commandments. [The
justices must enter back way!] Will they have to remodel now? How about
the House of Representatives – across the speakers’ seat is a
sculpture of Moses?
This is the final nail
in the coffin built for the Ten Commandments when the memorial in the
rotunda of The Alabama Judicial Building was ordered removed. This is the
Supreme Court, and our only appeal now is to God!
Alabama Supreme Court
Justice Roy Moore authorized the memorial as a reminder that the biblical
laws stand as the moral groundwork of American law…he was right!
Here’s a little info.
about the “motive and intent” of our founding fathers as it applies to the
10 Commandments:
*
Twelve of the original 13 colonies incorporated the entire Ten
Commandments into their civil and criminal codes.
*
President John Adams stated,
"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal code as well as a
moral and religious code. These are laws essential to the existence
of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every Nation which
ever professed any code of laws. Vain
indeed would be the
search among the writings of secular history to find so broad, so complete
and so solid a basis of morality as the Ten Commandments lay down."
(Note that the American Bible Society was started by an act of Congress and
John Adams, our second president, served as its first leader.)
Our laws are
based on the 10 commandments and the Bible.
“America is great because America is good and if America ever
ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
Alexis De Tocqueville, “Democracy In America”
Several Pieces of Evidence To Consider: [based largely on “Defending The 10 Commandments” by Dave Kinney] 1. The Northwest Ordinance.
Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, we have our backyards! Because the NW Territory
he scoped out and helped us expand into includes our fair state! Congress
first enacted the Northwest Ordinance in 1789, when the nation was still
operating under the Articles of Confederation. The purpose of the Ordinance
was to create a temporary government for the Northwest Territory (a huge
patch of land that extended from the great lakes to the Ohio river valley),
and to establish a procedure by which territories could apply for admission
into the Union. The Ordinance was reenacted with very minor changes in 1789,
after the passage of the Constitution.
The first sentence of Article III of
the Northwest Ordinance reads as follows:
“Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government…and
the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever
be encouraged.”
My Point: The Northwest Ordinance received final House approval on July 21,
1789, Senate approval on August 4, 1789, and was signed into law by
President George Washington on August 7, 1789, in the midst of this; the
same Congress was formulating the First Amendment (from June 7, 1789, to
September 25, 1789). The 1st
amendment {freedom of religion} wasn’t
meant to give people “freedom FROM religion” but “freedom OF
religion!”
2. Our Natural Laws Come From God’s
Laws.
The Ten Commandments have been the foundation upon which much of America’s
legal system has been built. To deny this fact, one would have to rewrite
American history.
Former President Harry S. Truman said: “The fundamental basis of this
nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our
Bill of Rights comes from the teachings… If we don’t have the proper
fundamental moral background, we will finally wind up with a totalitarian
government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the state.”
Noah Webster, the man personally responsible for Article I, Section 8 of the
U. S. Constitution, explained two centuries ago: “The duties of men are
summarily comprised in the Ten Commandments, consisting of two tables; one
comprehending the duties which we owe immediately to God-the other, the
duties we owe to our fellow men.”
The Ten Commandments are a smaller part of the larger body of divine law
recognized and early incorporated into America’s civil documents.
For example, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut-established in 1638-39 as
the first written constitution in America and considered as the direct
predecessor of the U. S. Constitution -declared that the Governor and his
council of six elected officials would, “Have power to administer justice
according to the laws here established; and for want thereof according to
the rule of the word of God.”
Also in 1638, the Rhode Island government adopted, “All those perfect and
most absolute laws of His, given us in His holy word of truth, to be guided
and judged thereby”. Then they sight, Exodus, 2 Chronicles, and 2 Kings.”
The following year, 1639, the New Haven Colony adopted its “Fundamental
Articles” for the governance of that Colony, and when the question was
placed before the colonists: “Whether the Scriptures do hold forth a perfect
rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they
are to perform to God and men as well in the government of families and
commonwealths as in matters of the church, this was assented unto by all, no
man dissenting as was expressed by holding up of hands.”
In 1672, Connecticut revised its laws and reaffirmed its civil adherence to
the laws established in the Scriptures, declaring: “The serious
consideration of the necessity of the establishment of wholesome laws for
the regulating of each body politic hath inclined us mainly in obedience
unto Jehovah the Great Lawgiver, Who hath been pleased to set down a Divine
platform not only of the moral but also of judicial laws suitable for the
people of Israel; as...laws and constitutions suiting our State.”
Those same legal codes in those days, in a separate section, were given the
Bible verse on which that law was based because: “No man’s life shall be
taken away...unless it be by the virtue or equity of some express law of the
country warranting the same, established by a general court and sufficiently
published, or in case of the defect of a law, in any particular case, by the
Word of God.”
There are other similar examples, but it is a matter of historical fact that
the early colonies adopted the greater body of divine laws (10 Commandments)
as the overall basis of their civil laws.
The 3rd Commandment - “Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain”
Civil (common) laws enacted to observe this commandment were divided into
two categories: laws prohibiting blasphemy and laws prohibiting swearing and
profanity.
Noah Webster affirmed that our laws were derived from the third commandment
of the Decalogue: “When in obedience to the third commandment of the
Decalogue you would avoid profane swearing, you are to remember that this
alone is not a full compliance with the prohibition which [also] comprehends
all irreverent words or actions and whatever tends to cast contempt on the
Supreme Being or on His word and ordinances [i.e., blasphemy].”
Reflecting the civil enactment of these two categories embodying the third
commandment, a 1610 Virginia law declared: “That no man speak…maliciously
against the holy and blessed Trinity or any of the three persons...upon pain
of death.”
A 1639 law of Connecticut similarly declared: “If any person shall blaspheme
the name of God the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost, with direct, express,
presumptuous or high-handed blasphemy, or shall curse in the like manner, he
shall be put to death.” Leviticus 24:15, 16
Similar laws can be found in Massachusetts in 1641, Connecticut in 1642, New
Hampshire in 1680, Pennsylvania in 1682, 1700, and 1741, South Carolina in
1695, North Carolina in 1741, etc.
Commander-in-Chief George Washington issued numerous military orders during
the American Revolution that first prohibited swearing and then ordered an
attendance on Divine worship, thus relating the prohibition against
profanity to a religious duty. Typical of these orders, on July 4, 1775,
Washington declared: “The General most earnestly requires and expects a due
observance of those articles of war established for the government of the
army which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness; and in like
manner requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged on
actual duty, a punctual attendance on Divine Service to implore the
blessings of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense.”
This civil prohibition against blasphemy and profanity drawn from the 10
Commandments continued well beyond the Founding Era. They also appeared in
the 1784 laws in Connecticut, the 1791 laws of New Hampshire, the 1791 laws
of Vermont, the 1792 laws of Virginia, the 1794 laws of Pennsylvania, the
1821 laws of Maine, the 1834 laws of Tennessee, the 1835 laws of
Massachusetts, the 1836 laws of New York, etc.
Judge Zephaniah Swift, author in 1796 of the first legal text published in
America, explained why civil authorities enforced the Decalogue prohibition
against blasphemy and profane swearing: “Crimes of this description are not
punishable by the civil arm merely because they are against religion. Bold
and presumptuous must he be who would attempt to wrest the thunder of heaven
from the hand of God and direct the bolts of vengeance where to fall. The
Supreme Deity is capable of maintaining the dignity of His moral government
and avenging the violations of His holy laws. His omniscient mind estimates
every act by the standard of perfect truth and His impartial justice
inflicts punishments that are accurately proportioned to the crimes. But
shortsighted mortals cannot search the heart and punish according to the
intent. They can only judge by overt acts and punish them as they respect
the peace and happiness of civil society. This is the rule to estimate all
crimes against civil law and is the standard of all human punishments. It is
on this ground only that civil tribunals are authorized to punish offences
against religion.”
In 1824, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reaffirmed that the civil laws
against blasphemy were derived from divine law: “The true principles of
natural religion are part of the common law; the essential principles of
revealed religion are part of the common law; so that a person vilifying,
subverting or ridiculing them may be prosecuted at common law.”
Key: The court then noted that James Wilson, a signer of the Constitution
and original Justice on the U. S. Supreme Court, had drawn up its State’s
laws against blasphemy: “The late Judge Wilson, of the Supreme Court of the
United States, Professor of Law in the College in Philadelphia, was
appointed in 1791, unanimously by the House of Representatives of this State
to ‘revise and digest the laws of this commonwealth…’ He had just risen from
his seat in the Convention, which formed the Constitution of the United
States, and of this State; and it is well known that for our present form of
government we are greatly indebted to his exertions and influence. With his
fresh recollection of both constitutions, in his course of Lectures (3d vol.
of his works, 112), he states that profaneness and blasphemy are offences
punishable by fine and imprisonment, and that Christianity is part of the
common law. It is vain to object that the law is obsolete; this is not
so; it has seldom been called into operation because this, like some other
offences, has been rare. It has been retained in our recollection of laws
now in force, made by the direction of the legislature, and it has not been
a dead letter.”
The 10 commandments’ influence on our profanity and blasphemy laws was
reaffirmed by subsequent courts, such as the 1921 Supreme Court of Maine,
the 1944 Supreme Court of Florida, and others.
The 4th Commandment- “Keep the
Sabbath.”
Examples of the early implementation of this 4th commandment into civil law
are seen in the Virginia laws of 1610, the New Haven laws of 1653, the New
Hampshire laws of 1680, the Pennsylvania laws of 1682 and 1705, the South
Carolina laws of 1712, the North Carolina laws of 1741, the Connecticut laws
of 1751, etc.
In 1775, and throughout the American Revolution, Commander-in-Chief George
Washington issued military orders directing that the [NT Sunday] Sabbath be
observed. His order of May 2, 1778, at Valley Forge was typical: “The
Commander in Chief directs that divine service be performed every Sunday at
11 o’clock in those brigades to which there are chaplains; those which have
none to attend the places of worship nearest to them. It is expected that
officers of all ranks will by their attendance set an example to their men.”
In 1950, the Supreme Court of Mississippi had similarly legislated: “The
Sunday laws have a divine origin. After the six days of creation, the
Creator Himself rested on the Seventh. Genesis, Chapter 2, verses 2 and 3.
Thus, the Sabbath was instituted, as a day of rest. The original example was
later confirmed as a commandment when the law was handed down from Mt.Sinai: “Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy.”
The 6th Commandment – “Thou Shalt Not
Kill”
Courts have been very candid in tracing civil murder laws back to the 10
Commandments. For example, a 1932 Kentucky appeals court declared: “The
rights of society as well as those of appellant are involved and are also to
be protected, and to that end, all forms of governments following the
promulgation of Moses at Mt. Sinai has required of each and every one of its
citizens that ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ If that law is violated, the one
guilty of it has no right to demand more than a fair trial, and if, as a
result thereof, the severest punishment for the crime is visited upon him,
he has no one to blame but himself.”
The 8th Commandment – “Thou Shalt Not
Steal”
In 1940, the California Supreme Court had made this statement: “Defendant
did not acknowledge the dominance of a fundamental precept of honesty and
fair dealing enjoined by the Decalogue and supported by prevailing moral
concepts. “Thou shalt not steal” applies with equal force and propriety to
the industrialist of a complex civilization as to the simple herdsman of
ancient Israel.”
Significantly, other courts acknowledged the same, including the
Utah Supreme Court, the Colorado Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court,
and the Missouri Supreme Court.
And it all
results in what we see today, as our nation
is breaking God’s first and most foundational
commandment to “have no other gods before
me.”
3. The Opinions of Our Founding
Fathers.
Justice William Paterson, a signer of the Constitution placed on the Supreme
Court by President George Washington, declared: “Religion and morality…are
necessary to good government, good order, and good laws.”
Justice Joseph Story, later appointed to the Supreme Court by President
James Madison, similarly declared: “I verily believe Christianity necessary
to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our
municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common
Law…there never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize
Christianity as lying its foundations.”
In closing…To ban the display of the 10 Commandments simply because the
first four commandments are more religious in nature than are the other six
is like permitting the display of George Washington’s “Farewell Address” or
Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech or the “Mayflower Compact” only if
each document is displayed without its religious portions. To display any of
these historical works – it’s not the endorsement of religion that is
happening - but it’s the recognition of the historical contribution made to
America that also happens to include religion!
We have many
reasons to be optimistic and there is hope in II Chron. 7:14 [quote]…the
hope of America is not in the white house, state house, and certainly not
the court house, but in God’s house, and your house!
[Many more quotes from our founding fathers included in these
sermons:
