Root Truth 1

The Constitution in Conflict

     There is a reason why the oath of office that virtually every elected official and military or law enforcement officer in the United States takes is to “defend The Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic,” and not to defend the government, or government officials. The government of the United States draws its authority from The Constitution, not the other way around. Therefore, if The Constitution is stripped of its authority then the legitimate government has lost its authority. It may still have power, but there can be a difference between power and legitimate authority.

     The United States was the first nation in history to have a Constitution as the basis of its government. Other nations were ruled by the whims of their kings, or even their Parliaments. These could so change the basic laws of the land that they bred a certain amount of uncertainty in their domains. The Constitution of the United States was intended to give a foundational stability to government, especially inhibiting the tendency of those with power to abuse their power, but also allowing a flexibility to meet special conditions or needs of the times. Though always under stress by those seeking more arbitrary power, The Constitution has been brilliantly successful to the degree that the many unique and distinct states very quickly became the most powerful and prosperous nation in history.

     The Constitution was written in plain English before legalese had been developed, and is very clear and straightforward in its meaning. Even so, it has been challenged almost since the day it was ratified. Because of these challenges those who were a part of the Constitutional Convention that authored it wrote many letters and papers defending its integrity, and giving many references to exactly what certain sections that may be in dispute actually meant in their application. These simply verified that The Constitution actually meant just what it said.

     In the last century this assault on The Constitution has increased. Today one must wonder if many who have taken the solemn oath to defend it have even read it. Even Constitutional lawyers sometimes seem more intent on finding ways to bend or circumvent its precepts rather than to comply with it. Why? Is it no longer relevant? If not, then what is the basis of law in The United States?

     These are ultimate questions that many are asking as evidenced by the present crowding of bestseller lists with books on The Constitution, and the Founders of America. For this reason we will examine The Constitution and how many of the laws today either comply with it, or don’t. First, because The Oak Initiative is a Christian movement we will address an even more basic question.

QUESTION #1: WAS THE CONSTITUTION DIVINELY INSPIRED?

     As a legal question this is not a basis for The Constitution to be a legitimate instrument in which our government is based on, but to Christians it is an important question to begin with. The Patriarch Abraham left all that he knew to pursue God’s purpose and not only become “the father of faith,” but the first in the quest to reconcile men with God. We are told that Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, but he did know what he was looking for—“a city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God” (Hebrews 11:10). Foundations are important, and for the spiritual sojourner it is important to know that something we are devoting ourselves to has foundations that we can recognize as being from God.

     Because the Founders did not quote Scripture in The Constitution, or claim to be basing this instrument on certain biblical precepts there must be another way that we establish its Divine inspiration—that is, that it contains a wisdom beyond human wisdom, and that it does comply with the biblical principles even though it may not specifically quote them. To see this one must read The Constitution while having knowledge of the Scriptures so that we can see the principles sown throughout it. When this is done the conclusion is almost always that The Constitution was no doubt inspired.

     Because revisionist historians have tried to make Americans believe that very few of the Founders were Christians, or were Deists if they were believers in God at all, which was definitely not the case and can be verified overwhelmingly from their other writings, the following are a few quotes from the Founders themselves and their perspective on the inspiration of The Constitution:   

Benjamin Franklin:
“I have so much faith in the general government of the world by Providence that I can hardly conceive of a transaction of such momentous importance (as the framing of The Constitution)… should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent, and beneficent Ruler in whom all inferior spirits ‘live and move and have their being.’”

Charles Pinckney:
“Nothing less than that superintending hand of Providence that so miraculously carried us through the war… could have brought this about (the framing of The Constitution).

James Madison:
“The great objects which presented themselves (to the Constitutional Convention)… formed a task more difficult than can be well conceived by those who were not concerned in the execution of it. Adding to these considerations the natural diversity of human opinions on all new and complicated subjects, it is impossible to consider the degree of concord which ultimately prevailed as less than a miracle.”

Benjamin Rush
“…. The hand of God was employed in this work (the framing of The Constitution) as that God had divided the Red Sea to give a passage to the children of Israel, or had fulminated the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai.”

     These and other similar quotes are sown throughout the writings of those who participated in the Constitutional Convention, as well as those who were a part of the state assemblies that ratified it. However, to emulate “the noble spirit of the Bereans,” let us each read this Constitution ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to show us His work in it. As stated, it is easy to read, written in plain English before the invention of legalese, and can be accomplished in one short sitting. It is easy to download a copy from the Internet, or you can find inexpensive copies in many bookstores. You may also contact our office and send just $3.00 for postage and handling and we will send you a free copy.

     In seeking to establish that there was Divine inspiration and guidance evident in the founding of the United States, and in the composing of our Constitutional Republic, we are not claiming that the United States is the New Jerusalem, or the kingdom of God.  Neither is the belief in The Constitutions’ divine inspiration required for us to honor it, and see it as the basis of legitimate government. Neither is this belief required for us to swear an oath to defend it, but it is certainly somewhere between foolishness and irresponsibility to swear an oath to defend something we do not even know, or have not at least read. Almost every office in the Federal government requires this oath.

     There are other important questions to be asked about The Constitution that we will address in future Root Truths, such as the most common argument used by its critics and attackers: that it was written for an agrarian society and is not relevant to the modern world. This argument is actually pretty good proof that the one making it has never read it, or believes they are addressing those who haven’t, but we will cover these arguments after you have had the time to read The Constitution. As you read consider the most basic belief of the Founders that is sown throughout their writings:

God reigns over men, and men reign over their governments. Therefore all legitimate government derives its authority from the people, not the other way around.

     If this is true can it be verified in the Scriptures? While you are reading The Constitution and see this connection, please email a brief on this to office@theoakinitiative.org so we can share them with others.

     So what is the answer? The independent minded American people are taking matters into their own hands. With the Internet and more research tools at their disposal than ever before, the American people are learning to do their own research. This has already been so effective that President Obama actually tried to dissuade Americans from using all of the technology available to us in recent speeches to graduating college seniors. Even the media considered this remarkable for someone who used modern communications technology so successfully in his campaign. Now, what was used to ignite the Obama campaign may be turning against him. More and more Americans of all ages seem to have determined that if they cannot trust the media for accurate information they will not be passive, but will get their own. This trend seems to be greatly favoring new independent movements, and challenging both the institutional Democratic and Republican Parties.

In His Service,

Rick Joyner

     The Oak Initiative is devoted to addressing the current issues of our times from a sound biblical and historical perspective. What we distribute as “Oak Leaves” addresses mostly current events, and what we distribute as “Root Truth” is from more of a historical perspective, but which is a basis for understanding the important issues of our times.

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