By Kim Wolf
I don’t know about you, but I love to read about American history. In particular, I enjoy learning more about the Colonial Period, the Revolutionary War, pioneers, and the Civil War. Vision Forum has become an oasis of true, Biblical American history resources for me and my family.
From the Pilgrims up until our recent past, most Americans recognized that ours is a country and a system of government that looked to the Ten Commandments and the God of the Bible as the basis of our law and government. Not only do those testifying in our courts, public officials and Presidents swear their oaths on the Holy Bible (many presidents use Washington’s personal volume) but every President has mentioned or alluded to Almighty God in their inaugural address. Every government building or monument in Washington, D.C. quotes Scripture and some even have paintings of such scenes as Moses with the Ten Commandments and even the baptism of Pocahontas.
Join us as we talk with Doug Phillips to share with us how we came so far away from honoring God as well as how we may help restore the public recognition of God.
TOS: Doug, welcome to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and thank you for being a part of this issue.
DOUG: It is a joy and a pleasure.
TOS: The last 50 years has brought such a liberal change to our government and a battle to eliminate the acknowledgement of God in the public square. What do you think caused this turning point?
DOUG: In my view, the liberalization of America is directly related to the liberalization of the Church. Whenever the Church is strong and uncompromising, you see strong families who in turn are an influence for righteousness within the nation. The righteous man, Psalm 127 tells us, sees his children standing in the gates (the law-making centers) with the enemy and is not afraid.
America is suffering today because the Church has compromised on three related fronts: our vision of biblical patriarchy and the family; our vision of the local church, and our vision of our duty to the civil magistrate. These three issues are inextricably linked. Rather than affirming the blessing of children, the nobility of the Christian woman as a mother, helpmeet and keeper at home, and the necessity of strong, sacrificial, spiritual leadership on the part of fathers with a multi-generational vision, we have built our families and our churches (and our education establishments) around the modern feminist and pagan notions of cutting off the godly seed, of the effeminate male and the career woman. Similarly, our churches have set aside their ministry of faithfully training men and equipping families as covenant-keeping instruments of blessing within the nation, as well as our prophetic ministry to hold civil magistrates accountable to their oaths, in favor of trendy church programs: youth culture and corporate business models. Consequently, much of the professing Church lacks vision and true godly influence.
Behind these tragedies has been a gradual acceptance of theological compromise. Theological compromises lead to practical compromises. One of the most devastating theological compromises has been the toleration within the church for various notions of integrating the theory of evolution with Christian orthodoxy. Such a compromise cannot be made without devastating results for family, church, and state. Having conceded the premise that the Bible cannot be taken too seriously regarding origins, we have abandoned the notion that it should be the final word in every other area of life. If men evolve, then so do standards, laws, values and notions about family life, church life, and civilization itself.
TOS: From the beginning of our country more than 300 years ago, it is well documented that the state must acknowledge the Christian God of the Bible. Under what law or provision did 11th Circuit Judge Myron Thompson assume the right to order the removal of the Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse in Alabama? How is it that so many judges have over-stepped their bounds and have taken the law into their own hands instead of interpreting the law?
DOUG: Judge Thompson did not base his decision on either the Constitution or a written law. In fact, he specifically argued that he was incapable of interpreting the definitions of what constitutes religion within the Constitution itself. Nonetheless, he ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments. Why? The answer is that Judge Thompson, like many judges, is a legal evolutionist. Law schools are training lawyers to believe that laws evolve, and that it is the job of judges to guide this evolution based on the changing standards of society. As a result, judges believe themselves, not the Constitution or a transcendent God-ordained standard, to be the final authority on matters of law.
Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor was appointed to his office based on a promise he made to then Governor Fob James that he (Mr. Pryor) would exercise his lawful authority as attorney general to resist unlawful and extra-jurisdictional orders from federal courts demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments or prohibitions against the acknowledgement of God. Once in office, and with the prize of a federal judgeship dangling before him, the attorney general turned on his commitment and began to articulate a view of the rule of law that was not only foreign to Christianity, but to his oath. During his Senate confirmation hearing, he explained, for example, that while he personally opposed abortion and believed it was murder, that he would nonetheless actively facilitate it as a judge if told to do so by a higher court. Pryor explained that he was bound under his view of the rule of law to follow the opinions of men, even before the higher law of God or the Constitution itself. This explains why to attorney general Pryor the greatest sin a judge can make is not to violate the Constitution or his oath of office, but to refuse to follow an order of another judge, even if the order is unlawful, immoral, or extra-jurisdictional.
TOS: Where have the leaders and judges with Biblical convictions gone and how do we get them back?
DOUG: It is rare to meet a man who will give up everything to do his duty and to honor Christ. Americans are used to politicians, not Christian statesmen. I believe we will see more men like this rise as home educators use the heroic examples of men to inspire their children, as we remain faithful in teaching the truth to students, prospective lawyers and judges, and as our pastors speak to the issues of the day from the pulpit, in much the same manner as the colonial clergy spoke to the issues of their day and were not afraid to hold civil magistrates accountable. I founded the Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy to teach these principles to future fathers, pastors, lawyers, and lawmakers. Each year I am thrilled to watch the light bulbs go off for men as they realize the blessing of principled, biblical, and constitutional thinking. It is encouraging to think that many of these men will be standing in the gates and the courts of our nation someday.
TOS: Doug, you have written that the modern view of law “is whatever men say it is at any given point in time.” What are the consequences to this “modern view” to the United States? To homeschoolers?
DOUG: America will be a nation of laws or it will be a nation of men. We can only truly be a nation of laws if we acknowledge the source of law — God himself. Our Founders understood this principle when they declared “we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.” If we reject our national covenants (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) which affirm that God alone is the source of law, and become a government of men, then we are looking at an era in which our children will live under the specter of unprecedented oppression and tyranny. The alternative to our Christian constitutional Republic is statism. Statism is inherently repressive. Statism means that the state and its agents determine right and wrong based on the best interest of the State. Where statism dominates, at any moment, one man, or one individual could strip home educators of their freedoms, with little or no recourse on the part of freedom-loving parents.
TOS: What can we do to let our local, state and national officials know that we, the people have had enough?
DOUG: Before we contact our representatives, we must resolve in our minds and hearts that we will be people of the Word. We must resolve that the Bible — and only the Bible — will be the light on our path that guides us as faithful Christian citizens. We must insist that the Bible is a sufficient standard and revelation for the practical outworking of our faith. We must boldly proclaim that the Bible alone establishes standards for selecting elected representatives and for holding them accountable. Our loyalty must first be to Christ, not to politics or political parties.
This means that our hearts should not faint when we see evil men prosper, and our actions must never be motivated by fear. We must shun pragmatism, recognizing that pragmatic thinking is not only an assault on the sovereignty of God; it is, well — unpragmatic. Compromise may win the battle of the day, but it will lose the broader war.
One practical application of this principle is that Christians should only vote for biblically qualified candidates. A candidate who supports the vivisection of any unborn babies is disqualified from office because he denies the fundamental principle of government — protection of the innocent. A candidate who will not acknowledge God and “kiss the Son” (Psalm 2) is biblically disqualified from leadership. A candidate who is not committed to honoring his oath of office to uphold the Constitution is not qualified for office. A candidate who would use his office to validate or promote moral perversion of any kind is not qualified for office. We must stand firm on this point — we may only support biblically qualified candidates. Candidates need not be perfect, but they must be qualified.
At present, politicians understand that Christians are so motivated by fear and compromise that a candidate need only be slightly to the right of their opponent to guarantee unqualified Evangelical support. To put it another way, as long as the policies of the one candidate are not quite as evil as the policies of the other, Christians are willing to swear allegiance to the former. This compromising philosophy is not only unbiblical; it is foolish, having neutralized the ability of Christians to substantively influence public policy. Consider, for example, the fact that both presidential candidates Kerry and Bush have publicly come out in favor of civil unions for homosexuals, but only Kerry has been criticized by Christians for this immoral position. But why should the president conform his policy to Scripture when Christians will offer unqualified support regardless of what he says or does? Elected officials need to understand that we will hold them to account for their actions; that we are more concerned with honoring Christ at the ballot box than we are with winning a particular election.
TOS: Where do we go from here?
DOUG: Currently, Vision Forum and other leaders are working on a crucial piece of legislation called the Constitution Restoration Act which would specifically limit the power of the federal judiciary. It is a brilliant, necessary, and attainable piece of legislation. Thank you and your readers for your prayers for the ministry of Vision Forum.
TOS: Doug, thank you for your time and for all that you are doing for freedom’s cause.
Doug Phillips is the director of Vision Forum Ministries, a discipleship and training ministry that emphasizes Christian apologetics, worldview training, multi-generational faithfulness, and creative solutions whereby fathers can play a maximum role in family discipleship. He served with the Home School Legal Defense Association for six years. Doug and his wife, Beall, live with their seven children in San Antonio, Texas.
Kim Wolf loves living in a small Ohio town with her husband of 21 years and their two teen daughters. They have homeschooled since 1993 and are very active in the music ministry of their church, particularly in the praise team and the audio/visual team. She is a Miami County homeschool coordinator, a freelance writer, speaker and Ohio coordinator for TOS.
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