Those who ascribe to the idea that we are “One Nation Under
God” believe that there are some basic, fundamental principles established by
God that can never be negotiated away;
three in particular are expressed in the Manhattan Declaration: the
Sanctity of Life, the historical definition of Marriage, and Religious
Liberties.
The history of the United States has been, until recently,
the history of achieving a more perfect union by improving our institutions and
standards to provide greater opportunities for everyone. All our advances for equality have been
initiated by people of faith motivated by their understanding of God’s will as
reflected in the Bible. Abolition of
Slavery, Women’s Suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, these were all
fueled by the Biblical understanding of God’s plan for a peaceful and orderly
society. Though all these initiatives experienced resistance at their outset,
they were eventually assimilated into our culture and now seen as legitimate
progressive steps in our journey toward that “more perfect union,” because they
were consistent with Biblical ideals and also reflected in natural law.
There
have been some missteps along the way. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 which
dehumanized blacks, declaring slaves to be “property” not entitled to
citizenship or recognition as human beings, launched a long Civil Rights
struggle that led to the eventual overturning
of that decision, because the
Bible clearly establishes the equality of all regardless of skin color. As the
electorate became more educated concerning this issue it eventually absorbed
this “truth” into the fabric of our culture though we paid a great price in
blood and treasure, coming close to committing national suicide in our first
War Between the States, in which we lost more than 500,000 citizens.
The Roe. V. Wade decision of 1972 likewise spawned a
“pro-life” movement led, again, by the Church, because the Bible, and natural
law clearly speaks to the sanctity of every human life, and the need to protect
the most defenseless among us. As society has become educated on this issue
popular opinion has been steadily becoming more “pro-life.” As the U.S. Supreme
Court reflects culture, it will eventually overturn another “bad” decision,
this time at a cost of the lives of more than 50 million babies.
Now the U.S. Supreme Court has, in effect, given the green
light for homosexual rights groups to pursue a universal redefinition of
marriage. As they attempt to impose their morality on America, some “progressive”
states will acquiesce to their sense of equality based on the religious view of
Secular Humanism that declares that there is no higher standard of morality
than that which is established by human reasoning. States whose people and
institutions still subscribe to the Judeo-Christian standard of morality will
never acquiesce to an imposed anti-biblical standard of morality, even if
imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court or federal regulatory authorities.
What will make this conflict different than the abortion
issue is that no American is being compelled by law to abort a baby, however
the same-sex marriage movement is moving toward compelling Americans to
recognize homosexual unions as a legitimate moral union, even calling it
“marriage”. This will present a clear conflict where people of faith will have
to choose to obey God rather than man. State governments that recognize that
“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to acknowledge their dependence
upon the overruling power of God” will
never bow down to dictates contrary to the standards set by God. One of the
mottos from our first war for independence
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God” will ring out once again.
I can foresee the day when
people of faith will begin to move toward “faith-friendly” states while
humanists will continue to build power in their “progressive” states, thus
polarizing the country even more than it has been polarized by the current left
and right ideologies, until there will be two standards of morality. This will
prove to be untenable in these “United” States of America. We will be, in
effect, as one writer called it, “The
Divided States of America.”
There are certain truths that must be agreed upon by all
Americans if we are to continue to live with the peace and prosperity that we
have known since our founding. The most fundamental truth is that our rights
come to us not from the generosity of the state but by the hand of God. Yes, we
can debate the meaning of those rights in our various state and federal legislatures,
but we must never depart from the laws of nature and nature’s God, or we will
surely experience civil discord, chaos, and yes, possibly even war.
Either we will be one nation under God, or many nations
under man. Let us pray for the former to avert the conflict and chaos that will
result from the latter. Let the seeds sown by the U.S Supreme Court not sprout
a harvest of discord and strife, and yes, possibly war between the states. Let
us pray and continue to work toward realizing that more perfect union—One
Nation Under God.
