This Weekend on Valley Radio, Sept. 15-16,
or Online HERE Anytime
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“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams, Second U.S. President)
“If we would most truly enjoy the gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people. … (But) if we are universally vicious and debauched in our manners, though the form of our Constitution carried the face of the most exalted freedom, we shall in reality be the most abject slaves.” (Samuel Adams)
“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” (Thomas Jefferson, Third U.S. President)
“The judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric.”
(Thomas Jefferson)
“The American people will never be able to regain democratic self-government – and thus shape public policy – until we curb activist judges.” (Edwin Meese, former Attorney General of the U.S.)
“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (Preamble to the Constitution)
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech ….” (First Amendment to the Constitution)
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (Tenth Amendment to the Constitution)
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The Court, the Constitution, and Judge Kavanaugh
This is Part II of a three-part series by our Crossroads’ radio team about the U.S. Supreme Court, the Constitution, the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Court – and the impact of all of this on our lives and on the direction of our nation.
Last week we reviewed two recent Court cases that were decided in support of our constitutionally protected free exercise of our religious beliefs. This week we will examine the Constitution itself and efforts by activist judges to either ignore it or to distort its original meaning. We will conclude next week with a review of Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination and what it means for all of us.
The Birth of the Constitution
This coming Monday, September 17, is Constitution Day when we will celebrate the 231st anniversary of the signing of the Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Although often overlooked, the birth of the Constitution marks one of the most important achievements in our nation’s history, what one writer referred to as the “Miracle at Philadelphia”.
The Hand of God: Similarly, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, both key figures in its creation, saw the finger of God on the entire process, producing what former Attorney General Ed Meese described as “the most successful and just experiment in governance in history”.
It grew from good seed planted by early settlers in their charters and colonial constitutions. The Pilgrims set the tone in 1620 with their Mayflower Compact, which made clear that they had come for the freedom to “glorify God and advance the Christian faith”.
The Declaration of Independence: The Constitution reflects these same themes that are also enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, including its references to the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God, and to God as our Creator and as the Supreme Judge of the Universe.
Taken together, all of these documents contain the Judeo-Christian beliefs, values, and principles on which America was founded and has prospered. The Declaration gave it heart and the Constitution provided the body, also referred to as the union of the engine and the frame of a car.
The Constitution’s Design and Major Themes
From their own knowledge of Scripture, our Founding Fathers were keenly aware that “the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked” and needed to be restrained. (Jer. 17:9)
A Separation of Powers: As a result, they faced two major challenges. First, they had to avoid giving too much power to government so that it could become tyrannical. Second, they also had to give it enough power so that it could govern. Moreover, they needed to ensure that no one individual or group could dominate all the others.
To accomplish this, they created a clear separation of powers between the three branches of government, legislative, executive, and judicial. In addition, they established a system of checks and balances to prevent any of these branches from exercising power over either of the others.
In addition, they incorporated the Declaration’s emphatic recognition that we have certain inalienable rights endowed to us by God rather than by government, whose role is simply to secure these rights for us.
The Freedom Amendments: To that end, they added 10 important amendments, called the Bill of Rights, beginning with the First Amendment freedoms of religion and of speech.
As a further protection against government abuse and overreach, they added a 10th Amendment, which reserved for the states and for the people all powers that were not specifically delegated to the federal government. In so doing, they established America uniquely as a “federal” or “constitutional” republic.
Danger from Activist Judges and Judicial Tyranny
We can all be deeply grateful for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers in framing this incredible Constitution. It has stood the test of time as the foundation on which America was erected and has prospered.
Enemies of Freedom: However, there are those who, either out of ignorance or intent, are working to set our Constitution aside and replace it with something that is more favorable to their own ambitious agendas. They include secular groups like the ACLU, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Planned Parenthood, and others who use the Courts to help them achieve what they would be unable to achieve through the legislative process.
Therefore, if they refer to the Constitution at all, these groups and their activist judges refer to it as a “living document” which they can then interpret loosely to advance agendas that are contrary to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and which violate our inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
As a result, as Thomas Jefferson warned, we too can say that “the judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric.”
They are also described as radicals in black robes whose opinions have the force of law and from which there is no appeal. They have usurped powers that belong to the legislative and executive branches and thereby broken the Founders’ delicate design for a separation of powers and for checks and balances.
Activist Judges and Judicial Tyranny: Among the more recent examples of this, perhaps the most egregious ones would include the Supreme Court bans on public school sponsored prayer and Bible reading in 1961 and 1962, its legalization of abortion in the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973; and its legalization of same-sex “marriage” in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
It’s a naked display of raw power by unelected judges who overrode wide-spread popular sentiment as well as state and even federal laws that were in force at the time.
What Can We Do?
Against this background, what can we do to help restore the Constitution to its proper role as the Supreme Law of the Land referred to in Article VI and to return the judiciary to its designated role as interpreters of the law rather than as super legislators with unchecked power?
What can we do to restore the carefully designed system of checks and balances that grants policy making powers only to the legislative and executive branches and not to the courts?
What more can we do to ensure that only strict constructionists are nominated to the Supreme Court and other federal courts, and to encourage Congress and state legislators to more boldly assert their own constitutionally defined powers and restrain these activist judges?
Do we need to call a Convention of States under Article V of the Constitution whose aim would be to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, to limit its power and its jurisdiction, and to impose term limits on members of Congress and of the federal judiciary.
Finally, what more can we do in our own spheres of influence to help ignite a new Great Awakening that works to restore personal virtue and freedom in our culture, and to rebuild America in the founders’ vision as the shining City on a Hill for other nations and people to see and to replicate?
Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet
For more on all of this, please join Rita Dunaway and me again this weekend on one of the following stations: WBTX (1470/AM and 102.1/FM) at 4:00 p.m. today (Saturday) and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550/AM and 92.1/FM) at 8:30, and WNLR (1150/AM) at 11:30.
You can also listen online by clicking on the appropriate Crossroads’ link on our home page at www.valleyfamilyforum.org.
Crossroads is entirely listener supported, and we are so grateful for your prayers, your encouragement, and your generous financial support. If you would like to help, please send your check to Crossroads at PO Box 881, Harrisonburg, 22803. All donations are tax-deductible.
For God and Country,
Dean