continued from
page 1The more I see of these terrible crimes, the more I see
the ACLU stand up and say, "Well, we ought to take down the Ten
Commandments!" It just doesn't make sense. The American people know
that the moral foundation of our law is found in the Ten Commandments.
What people don't know is that the very restrictions on government
are contained within the Ten Commandments, within the two tables of
the law. The first table being the duties we owe to God, the second
table being the duties we owe to each other – man's law, under God's
law.
They don't recognize that the First Amendment guaranteed that
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
the duty we owe to the creator and the manner of discharging it. The
Ten Commandments themselves, in their two tables, illustrate the fact
that government functions under the second table, because God ordained
government to do so. But it did not allow an intrusion into the
freedom of conscience under the first table of the law.
Joseph Storey in 1833, a Supreme Court Justice for 34 years, said
very clearly in his "Commentaries on the Constitution," "The rights of
conscience are, indeed, beyond the just reach of any human power. They
are given by God, and cannot be encroached upon by human authority,
without a criminal disobedience of the precepts of natural, as well as
of revealed religion."
In other words, the First Amendment guarantees that man will retain
freedom of worship because God gave it to them. So, it's not the right
of government, it's not the right of a judge to tell anybody how to
worship God, or that they must. But they must recognize that that
right comes from God, as our founding documents, our organic law, The
Declaration of Independence, says.
Q: To close then, let me get your views on some other
struggles not entirely unlike your own. Currently, Lt. Gen. William
Boykin, a Christian, is being criticized in the mainstream media for
sharing, with church groups, his belief that the war on terror is a
spiritual battle, that the enemy is Satan, and that enemy will only be
defeated when we come at him in the name of Jesus.
A: I'm a military academy graduate. I fought in Vietnam. I
applaud Gen. Boykin because he recognizes a basic truth. It's at the
basis. Back in the 1950s, President Dwight David Eisenhower, Gen.
Douglas MacArthur, they recognized exactly what Gen. Boykin
recognizes. But today you see the media intruding their powers into
the field of opinion. They sharply criticize anybody that comes out
with the truth. And it fits exactly what Jefferson said in his "Bill
For Establishing Religious Freedom."
He said that "truth is great and will prevail if left to herself;
that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has
nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition
disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors
ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict
them."
Now, all Jefferson said was that truth will always prevail
over error, unless one thing occurs: Mankind enters and cuts off free
argument and debate. And that's exactly what the print media,
and other media in this nation, are doing – cutting off free argument
and debate, so that error does become dangerous.
We've got to open up our minds and our hearts to the truth. These
things do derive from how men perceive God and perceive their
existence. They do come from spiritual forces. Am I afraid of being
criticized? Absolutely not.
I'll never be afraid of being criticized for standing for truth.
Neither should Gen. Boykin. He's sworn to uphold the Constitution,
just like I am. I applaud him. And I applaud others that stand up for
the truth. And it's time that we wake up and realize that we are going
to face criticism. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you: But rejoice in as much ye are partakers of Christ's suffering,
that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy."
Q: What are your thoughts on the court-ordered removal of
the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo, a disabled woman in Florida?
A: When I see judges taking into their hands life and death,
and thinking they have a right to do so, they have disregarded the
fundamental definition of life contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments, by which we are guaranteed due process. "Life is the
immediate gift of God, a right inherent by nature in every individual;
and it begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to
stir in the mother's womb." So wrote William Blackstone in his
"Commentaries on the Laws of England."
We began placing our lives into the hands of judges back in the
1970s, with Roe vs. Wade. And we've got to recognize what that means.
That means that no person is safe, because some day they'll start
saying that life should end at a certain time. And maybe that's what's
happening in Florida.
see also
Roy Moore Poll
What should Roy do now?
Jim Bennett is a freelance writer and radio host. He serves as
the news director for Moody Broadcasting Network's WDLM-FM, reaching
the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa.
