Steve Deace: A city on a hill, if you can keep it

Source: Conservative Review | April 16, 2017 | Steve Deace

The history behind the religious observances known as Passover and Easter are not just foundational to the Jewish and Christian faiths, but also to the founding of the United States of America.

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It is from this story the founding generations of this country established what our Declaration of Independence refers to as “the laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” In fact, the original basis for our civic laws comes right from the law revealed through Moses:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

Every state Constitution mentions and thanks God for its existence, freedom, or both.

2.  You shall not make idols.

The state is not god. Only God is God. Therefore, the state cannot establish a religion, nor restrict it.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

The name of God is so sacred, we make every elected official swear an oath of integrity and loyalty “so help me God.” A reminder that by betraying your promise to your countrymen, you’re really betraying God.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Days of remembrance (Saturday for Jews, Sunday for Christians, religious holidays, observances, etc.) are protected and made accessible by law.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

Parents were the ultimate arbiter of how best to raise, educate, and prepare their children to become adults. Only in extreme situations would the state interfere.

6. You shall not murder.

The “unalienable” right to life mentioned in the Declaration of Independence.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

The civil law so revered the sacrament of marriage that it originally criminalized sexual behavior outside of the marriage covenant.

8. You shall not steal.

Private property rights were protected by law.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Perjury is a crime. We even impeached a president for it.

10. You shall not covet.

You don’t have a “right” to that which you didn’t earn and doesn’t belong to you, but instead have the same opportunity to succeed and fail in our meritocracy as everyone else does.

Then there’s Easter, which is so integral to Christianity there isn’t Christianity without it.

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The emphasis Christianity places on the individual was a great influence on our Founders, many of whom were Christians. Hence, they established a government where rights and liberties were granted by God to individuals, not through a collective like government, and were not based on a group identity or social status.

Both Passover and Easter prove the God we serve is not a passive being, nor does He turn a blind eye to sin and injustice. That He will go to great lengths to put rebellious regimes in their place, but also to seek and save those who are lost. These two events are not merely religious theory, but actual history that transformed the world and inspired the founding of the world’s greatest nation—the United States of America.

And we will suffer consequences for abandoning these truths. As the great Puritan Founder John Winthrop said in his famous “City on a Hill” speech, citing the words of Moses from the Torah:

“But if our hearts shall turn away so that we will not obey. But shall be seduced and worship other gods of our pleasures and profits and serve them, it is propounded to us this day we shall surely perish out of the good land whether we pass over this vast sea to possess it. Therefore, let us choose life that we and our children may live. By obeying His law and cleaving to Him. For He is our life and our prosperity.”

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