Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of Our Founding Fathers

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Summary: The Book Should Be Read Before Reviewed...
Review: *Christianity and the Constitution* is a sober, careful overview of the historical and intellectual foundations of the Framers of the US Constitution, particularly in regard to how the Christian worldview influenced their view of man, his nature, the role, purpose and scope of government, etc.

Eidsmoe copiously documents his work from the primary materials and related scholarly secondary materials. His case is substantive and conclusive. Were *all* the Framers devout Christians? No. Were most of them Christians? Yes. More importantly, it is documented that the intellectual and philosophical foundations of their worldview and the American culture in general was overwhelmingly Protestant Christian, and this weighed heavily in their work.

Regarding a "reviewer" asserting, and I quote, "Indeed, it was a concession by Jefferson which allowed the word God into our Constitution. Many may feel this is a wonderful book, but that does not mean that it is accurate," one can't help but sense the irony in their statement and their comment regarding accuracy.

[a] Thomas Jefferson had nothing to do with the writing or ratification of the US Constitution--he was in France at the time on a diplomatic mission, so he didn't offer "concession" pro or con regarding the inclusion of the word "God" in the Constitution;

[b] The word "God" does not appear in the US Constitution. As such, their comments regarding Jefferson taking part in the Constitutional Convention are predicated upon ignorance, as such their comment regarding Jefferson's "concession" are likewise predicated upon their ignorance of the subject, and finally their assertion that the word "God" does appear in the text of the Constitution also displays they are not only ignorant of the history of the Constitutional Convention and its participants, but also ignorant of the content of the US Constitution itself.

Their review is as such moot and worthless. Read the book for yourself, study its sources and don't permit prejudiced dislike and religious bigotry to poison the well of this informative book.

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Summary: A reasonable examination of America¿s Christian roots
Review: «If the founding fathers were to see the hostile contempt with which modern thinkers treat Christianity, I believe they would consider it strange, offensive and self-destructive.» - John Eidsmoe.

An «ordained minister of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren» who «holds five degrees in law, theology and political science» and «serves as a professor of constitutional law», John Eidsmoe is one of the most articulate and learned defenders of the conservative, Christian conception of the U.S. Constitution.

In *Christianity and the Constitution*, published in 1987, he tries to correct the picture of America's founders, founding and foundational principles propagated by secular scholars whom he considers guilty of deliberately ignoring and suppressing the evidence of the crucial importance of Christianity in American history.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I covers the ideological background of the creation of the US system of government, evaluating the respective influences of Calvinism, Puritanism, Deism, Freemasonry and science, and presenting the main ideas of the political thinkers who influenced the founders - Locke, Montesquieu, Blackstone, Grotius, Pufendorf, Vattel, and other defenders of the Natural Law tradition.

Book II, representing about three fourths of the total volume of the book, examines the religious beliefs of thirteen major founders, as revealed in their lives and writings. Eidsmoe's selection - Witherspoon, Madison, Washington, Hamilton, Jay, Gouverneur Morris, the two Adamses, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman and those two religiously unorthodox figures, Jefferson and Franklin- is unbiased, containing as it does six Federalists and seven Republicans, and «representing a geographic cross section of New England, Middle Atlantic and Southern States.» The author's cautious conclusion is that eight of these thirteen fouding fathers were «strongly Christian», three were «probably Christian» and two were «probably not Christian», though members of all three groups believed in a providential God who intervened in men's lives, in a future life of eternal rewards or punishment, and in the unsurpassed moral excellence of the teachings of Jesus.

This second book must be praised for the fairness of its conclusions. Eidsmoe is not one of those religious conservatives who seeks to turn every American leader into some pious knight in shining armour. His conclusions are well-supported by the evidence he presents, and do not contradict anything I personally know of the Founders beyond the information he provides. Some of the quotes are particularly fascinating. For instance, John Adams's diaries reveal that in his early twenties he was troubled by the possible existence of intelligent extra-terrestrial beings and their place in God's plan of salvation : «[E]ither God almighty must assume the respective shapes of all these different Species, and suffer the Penalties of their Crimes, or else all these Being[s] must be consigned to everlasting Perdition ?» (p263.)

Book III provides an overview of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, stresses the Biblical origins of several formulations and principles of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and concludes with a series of considerations on the evolution of legal doctrine in the U.S., its possible future developments, and the role Christians should play in preserving original intent. Recognizing the importance of a general understanding of the principles of U.S. government, Eidsmoe directs his readers to the primary sources, such as *The Federalist* or Madison's journals of the Constitutional Convention, and the publications of such organizations as the National Center for Constitutional Studies, the Foundation for American Christian Education, American Vision and the Mayflower Institute.

Even though I am no Protestant myself and consider literal Creationism (which Eidsmoe apparently endorses) simply aberrant, I found *Christianity and the Constitution* to be a sober, cogent and well-informed vindication of America's religious roots, written in a clear and lucid prose.

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Summary: an excellent examination of faith of the founding fathers.
Review: Christianity and the Constitution by John Eidsmoe is an superb, informative examination of the faith of the founding fathers. In a mire of misconceptions about the common beliefs of the late 1700s, Eidsmoe presents the documented, unalterable truth. This book is a must read for anyone wishing to better understanding the founding of our nation.

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Summary: A bit simplistic
Review: John Eidsmoe's book is definately relevant to any inquiry into the relation between the Church and the Civil magistrate, particularly in regard to that relation at the founding of the constitution. The naive assumption that politics operate in an epistemic vaccum is, hopefully, washed away by Eidsmoe's presentation of general philosophical and religious precommitments of our nation's early politicians.

I believe Eidsmoe is a bit optomistic in regard to the orthodoxy of the faith of the constitutional founders, definately underplaying the Masonic influence on their views. Whatever their particular views, Christians should hardly claim them in defense of a thoroughly anti-christian covenantal document that established the *people* as the Sovereign of the nation. Vague references to God hardly establish a Christian nature to the document, though undoubtably, as Eidsmoe states, the structure itself can obviously be attributed to the Presbyterian model of government.

With that said, the book is, in the end, worth reading. Particularly the 22nd chapter, "Into the Third Century: Where does the US go from Here?" Eidsmoe, likely unintentionally, evidences the futility of a covenantal document that establishes human autonomy as Sovereign by it's thorough subjectivism. Eidsmoe demonstates this with a number of penal examples (what *exactly* is the normative referant for 'cruel and unusual' punishment today?)

After reading this book, I would highly recommend Gary North's "Political Polytheism" to supplement it with a little Biblical orthodoxy (keep in mind, Eidsmoe is a dispensationalist - *gag*)

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Summary: A good book of American political philosophy.
Review: The book goes a long way toward dispelling the myths about where our Founding Fathers got their ideas about the relationship between government and the people. It was refreshing to see that our Forefathers were more Christian than recenthistorians have given them credit for. Of particular interest are the sections on Franklinand Jefferson. It appears that Franklin's religious views are more the victim of a bad press than factual analysis. Moreover, Jefferson's phrase about the "wall of seperation betweenChurch and State" appears to have been the victimof self-serving liberal activists with a not-so-hidden agenda. Bravo for Eidsmoe

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Summary: The Best Book I've Read in Years!
Review: This is the best book I have read in years. This book takes the reader up close and personal with the ideals, dreams, and thoughts of the founding fathers. The founding fathers were not perfect, but their dream for "one nation under God", a nation founded upon the principles of the Bible, was the best ever embarked upon by mankind. This book traces the development of earlier thinkers such as John Locke who outlined the basic rights of people. The book takes each part of the constitution and shows its early formation from dreams of peasants to reality in America. Ultimately, the book takes each of the more outstanding founding fathers, from Thomas Jefferson to John Jay and Patrick Henry, quoting from original sources what their true thoughts were concerning God, the Bible, and Christianity, and how they applied their beliefs to the framework of America. If you want to know more about our founding fathers and their true thoughts, read this book, fully documented, rather than depending upon modern history revisionists. I cannot over-emphasize the importance and greatness of this book!