“It is our duty, as far as lies in our power, immediately to organize human society and all its institutions and organs upon a distinctively Christian basis. Indifference or impartiality here between the law of the kingdom and the law of the world, or of its prince, the devil, is utter treason to the King of Righteousness … The Bible, the great statute-book of the Kingdom, explicitly lays down principles which, when candidly applied, will regulate the action of every human being in all relations. There can be no compromise. The King said, with regard to all descriptions of moral agents in all spheres of activity, “He that is not with me is against me.” If the national life in general is organized upon non-Christian principles, the churches which are embraced within the universal assimilating power of that nation will not long be able to preserve their integrity.”
~ A. A. Hodge
In light of this quote, what is your perspective on the “distinctively Christian basis” of the present U.S. Constitution?
When viewed based on it’s own Worldview, is it based on “Indifference or impartiality here between the law of the kingdom and the law of the world” and therefore it “is utter treason to the King of Righteousness?”
Rob,
I believe the Constitution was a synthesis document that sought to synthesize Augustinian Christianity with Enlightenment Deism. Of course such a synthesis is impossible. I would contend it is the responsibility of those who are Christian to continue to insist that it was a flawed Christian document. If the Constitution is placed within a Christian worldview context it would be easily seen as a Christian document, advancing a Christian agenda.
There is no scripture, explicit or contextual, instructing us “to organize human society and all its institutions and organs upon a distinctively Christian basis.” Nor is there any evidence, constituent or historical, that any man-centered institution is capable of being thoroughly ‘Christianized’.
Hodge’s concept of “Treason against the King of Righteousness” is a quasi-political crime committed by Christians lacking activist spunk–a felony of faith exactly equivalent to failure to join 12th and 13th-century Roman Catholic crusades. Therefore, “He-that-is-not-with-me-is-against-me,” became a cynical, political slogan used to promote support for America’s 21st century crusade called “the War On Terrorism.”
The preservation of church integrity turns upon individual faithfulness to the Person of Christ, not to organizing national life around the purging of inherently un-Christian institutions.