Visible from any angle within my father’s courtroom, and situated between the judge’s bench and the witness stand, was a small BIBLE. It was the cynosure of solemnity, both symbol and sacrament. Symbol in that the sessions of this New York court were conducted under the Judge of all the earth (“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” [Genesis 18:25]). Sacrament (Latin for “oath”) for the hand of the witness, about to be judged on veracity by both the Court of heaven and the court of earth.
Now to the question: “Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says ‘we...need to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view.’ What do you think?”
I think that statement delivered a knockout blow to Huckabee’s hope of the White House.
1.....If the Constitution were perfect, it never would have needed any amending. The fact that it was amended argues for the continuation of the amendment process. So far, Huckabee is right.
2.....Wisely, the Constitution guards against its being amended (1) easily or (2) by any other authority than the will of “We, the people....” If the citizenry agrees to a change by “God’s standards,” so be it: Huckabee would be right.
3.....But no way is this pluralistic people in agreement on “God’s standards.” To put a finer point on it, no way is this Baptist preacher (Elliott) going to agree with that Baptist preacher (Huckabee) on “God’s standards.” For one thing, I’m as strongly pro-choice as he is anti-choice (or pro-denial-of-choice, disingenuously called “pro-life”).
4.....But Huckabee’s statement is true to the historic American mind in being—as was my father’s courtroom—bibliocentric: the Bible orients Americans to life “under God” as our manner of living (modus vivendi). But falsely—and unlike my father’s courtroom—Huckabee’s statement seems to set Bible and Constitution as competing authorities. Unintentionally, this plays into the hands of the secularistic revisionists who see God-and-Bible on one side and the Constitution on the other.
5.....To correct for this confusion, one need only observe how different are the functions of the two.
The Bible ORIENTS human life to God, in whom the orders of nature and grace subsist, who gives us the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (again, modus vivendi).
The Constitution, as “law and order,” ORGANIZES political life as structures and processes of action and interaction (modus operandi).
6.....Huckabee’s phrase “God’s standards” wrongly suggests that the Bible can both orient human life (a function of “church”) and organize political life (a function of “state”). Islam makes that claim for the Qur’an, but the American mind (including America’s “civil religion”) does not make that claim for the Bible. Rather, we divide the sacred into two realms: church & state are sacred-inviolable each in relation to the other. Huckabee’s disastrous statement unintentionally violates both sacreds. Especially sad, coming from one who has proved his leadership competence in both “church” and “state,” and just possibly might have made a good president.
7.....The sense of the HOLY gives centering meaning to life, and the sense of the SACRED guards the holy by identifying inviolables. While most Americans still respect “The Holy Bible” as serving both functions, almost all of us Americans believe that the institutions of religion and politics should be separate. In terms of literature, both Bible and Constitution are sacred—imperfect but inviolable siblings of the American heritage and hope.
8.....In the increasing complexity and chaos of American life, the American mind needs an update in the interest of a new COHERENCE, a new “mind” that will continue the insights of Bible+Enlightenment while learning to think globally and use humanly the new powers of the digital world. "Under God," we must produce that mind, and look for it in candidates for public office.
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