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“Christianity and the American Political Tradition”
Daniel L. Dreisbach
American University
This speech was given on September 30, 2024, during a Hillsdale College CCA seminar on “Christianity in America.”
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Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.
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Political thought in pratice! Great
Which else book were read by founders when their worked on USA constituation?
It doesn't matter, the Constitution is law for nation, state, leadership, and citizenship. Today, modern day of 21st century, we need to reform and improve the law to enforce to insure we live in civil society and true justice!
Christians only cares is turning the USofA into Theocratic nation & state, and to have a Theocratic law, Religious law. Christians want a Theocratic Authoritarian state, USA is NOT European country nor Middle Eastern country, it is a REPUBLIC!
Dirty UN-American bastards like the Christian Nationalists, Catholic Nationalists, Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Judeo-Christians, and Islamic-Nationalist are dangerous and evil Zealots!
We need a law to protect us from those Ultia-Zealots and Cultists!
Since United States institutions know that they can take anybody of their choosing hostage to their opinions, and any opposition to those opinions is met with the utmost force, then the assertion "The United States is a Christian nation" would be a fallacy, since Christians in practice cannot and do not take strangers hostage to their own opinions and charge exorbitant ransoms to extricate themselves from said hostage takers.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there of…" This is 1) freedom FROM religion then 2) freedom of religion. Which is more important, respecting the constitution or ramming your religious nonsense down people's throats?
6th, 18 January 2025
How many of the original thirteen "states", yes states, had state church's? That tells you how large a role the Bible was in law, political life and society until the progressive movement of the early 20th century started to slow chip away at it.
There is no God! It’s a make believe man in the sky that people have used for centuries to justify doing horrible things to others, to discriminate against others, and to try to force on children. There is no nor should there be a state religion forced on anyone. Believe don’t believe. But stop forcing your make believe God on others in religion invented by people to explain things or excuse them from some actions.
These high minded aholes will tell you the constitution and rights are given by God, but for some reason, they don't extend to the rest of the people in the world.
"Secularism" is a selective reading of history without any understanding of intent or principles, even though they are clearly written out. Its why we don't have a bill of rights for ourselves anymore.
We spent too long allowing our government to trample on rights all around the world. Still aren't a christian country and was never meant to be. Too many child marriers in that religion.
The Bible was deeply ingrained in the thought processes and morals of all of the founding fathers. That freedom of religion was inserted into the Constitutional was to prevent religious extremisn that could become state laws.
Excellent. I wonder what the founding fathers thought about the sooner rather later the return of Jesus Christ and the symbolism and Bible truth in Revelation and throughout Daniel and every page of the Bible.
Liz Schwartz: Are you kidding me? Moses set it all up upon the advice from his father-in-law, Jethro. It was a system of layered governance within the tribes wherein an elder would be chosen by the people for each number of people (was it 50?) Then the group of elders would choose from among them an elder to go higher in the chain if a particular problem couldnt be settled (was it 1 for every 10 elders?) In this way Moses neednt spend all of his time hearing the complaints of every individual, but only those complaints which could not be settled on a lower rung, and for Moses's convenience a manner of representation in the government for every individual was conceived. Sound familiar? The body of statutory law was, of course, Torah. That is how Israel governed itself before they even reached the promised land as they wandered the desert.
At the same time, Moses received instructions directly from G-d each time the camp should move in the form of G-d Himself appearing as a cloud to show which direction. G-d also, in Torah, ordered the manner and placement of each chore and position of the people during the move. The Levites, of course, had their assigned duties in breaking down and transporting the tabernacle. Military hosts by tribe were assigned according to direction, the north, the east, etc. Here, too, Torah is the statutory law.
All law itself came from Torah. The kohenim and levites being elevated in authority only to interperet and facilitate Torah. Moses's authority was at the will of the people who chose at Mt. Sinai to obey him as G-d's conduit. Some chose not to. This was also tested several times throughout the journey as people became jealus of Aaron and/or Moses. It was only settled by G-d's direct intervention, as all power came only from Him. Many times when Moses was stumped for a resolution he asked G-d to settle it. Thus all leaders were merely the servants of G-d. Several leaders who thought they'd take authority unelaterally upon themselves were quickly smited by G-d, and even Moses was kept from the promised land for this sin.
The only way you can be at a loss of what kind of government the Israelites had and where it came from is if you think G-d isnt real. But ask yourself this: Has there ever been a form of government conceived of entirely by man alone that worked? That came even close to fostering comparable prosperity and success? Even Rome was influenced by Christianity, which has not abdicated Torah. King, judge, or Bishop, we are all equal in the eyes of G-d and all authority is His by His law. That is the legacy of G-d's chosen people which later manefested in the minds of our founding fathers. All of it came from G-d in His gift of Torah. Its not rocket surgery.
Liz Schwartz: "All men are equal in the eyes of G-d." That is a commandment to those of lesser station as much as it is to those in authority. Whatever role the "peasant" might fullfill, he has a duty to G-d to actively demand equal respect. Where that is lacking, he has a duty to resist. It is not a "right" or a "philosophy " It is a duty, a commandment from G-d, a thing you must do. That resistance, or obeyance of G-d's commandment, may take the form of anything from a wife protesting to her husband for flippant treatment to an all-out national rebellion such as the one which marked the begining of our great United States of America. That our best and brightest are so confused on this issue speaks of the campaign to take G-d out of our schools and the misdirected, and very unfortunate, effort to replace G-d with a new religion born of man's science.
I will impose again this question: When/where have you once seen a government or philosophy that is entirely conceived by man alone and has actually worked, even unto posterity?
This is well done
Love this truth