Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles written by former Sen. Jim DeMint. Read the introduction and the first two articles here, here, and here.
Western civilization — especially the United States of America — is historically different from the rest of the world because of our Biblical foundations. This fact is the least known and most misunderstood reason for the success of Western Europe and the Americas.
While early Greece and Rome experimented with societies governed by man-made laws, Israel was the first nation governed by laws from God. Even before Israel became a nation in its own land, God gave Moses ten commandments which eventually became the foundation for Western Civilization. The first four of these commandments were about honoring the one true God and commemorating His day of rest after creating the earth and universe. The fifth commandment (honor your father and mother) established the family as the foundation of nations. The remaining five were prohibitions that allowed God’s people to honor Him and live together in harmony:
- You shall not murder
- You shall not commit adultery (later elaborated to include all sexual sins)
- You shall not steal
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
- You shall not covet
Modern Europeans and Americans have alternately pushed God out of our lives or created the false gods the commandments warned against. Democrats in America have insisted for decades that these commandments be removed from schools and public places. They have led the effort to create public policies that are at odds with God’s prohibitions. And to assure that none of these commandments interfere with our lives, they have worked to outlaw the source of Judeo-Christian values — the Bible.
There’s an old saying, “Don’t remove a fence until you know why it was put up.” Unfortunately, the West has removed the commandments and the Bible from public life without realizing our way of life depends on them.
The Bible establishes the importance of love, compassion, and charity. It helps us understand we can love each other only because God first loved us. The Bible describes the importance of marriage, honesty, work, enterprise, nation-states, walls and gates, acceptance of immigrants (who come in through our gates and live by our laws), visiting prisoners, military strength, avoidance of debt, punishment for crimes, value of human life, servant leadership, and humility among many other important values. So much of what free countries take for granted comes from the Bible.
The New Testament documented the completion of God’s plan for mankind with the advent of Jesus Christ. Jesus spawned the creation of the Christian church, which like all human institutions, suffered serious bouts of corruption due to power and greed.
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of his church, and all Heaven broke loose. Luther argued that believers didn’t have to pay indulgences to the church or go to priests for forgiveness. They could go directly to God through faith in Jesus. Luther insisted that God deals with His people as individuals, and they can communicate directly with Him through prayer. Believers were truly free in Christ. Martin Luther’s boldness almost got him executed, but his revelation of Biblical truth created the Protestant Reformation and a worldwide explosion of freedom.
Henry Kissinger, a Jew and one of the world’s most famous diplomats, once said in a private meeting with me and a dozen other House members, “There would be no America without the Protestant Reformation.” His comment was in response to questions about why people came to America and why freedom was so important to them.
Martin Luther lit a fire of faith throughout Europe and liberated believers who sought a land of freedom where they could worship God in spirit and truth. These were the people that established the American colonies.
Today, some Americans recoil in horror if you suggest our country was founded on Biblical principles. Most of these “recoilers” are Democrats. They assume Christians want to use the government to force Biblical values on others. This is far from the truth. We want the government to protect our freedoms to practice our faith and not to take official positions that are counter to America’s Biblical foundations.
It is disappointing when my fellow citizens ignore God’s warnings and grace, but I will fight for their freedom to live as they please. However, when they use the government to force their godlessness on me and my family, it’s time to fight. The government does not have the right to change the Biblical definition of marriage. They don’t have the right to force people to celebrate anti-Christian lifestyles (i.e. Pride Month). And the government should not have the right to force parents to send their children to schools that teach anti-Biblical principles.
Europe is essentially devolving into dissimilation, globalism, socialism, and godlessness. And they are only a few years ahead of America in their race to forget their history. Here at home, we should protect the rights of people to be godless within the law, but for Heaven’s sake, let’s protect the rights of people who want to practice the values and principles that made this country great!
