By M. Scott Carter
The Moore American
September 10, 2008 03:49 pm
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Several weeks ago state Rep. Sally Kern told a group of Cleveland County Republicans that American’s founding fathers were “good Christians” and that American was founded on “Biblical principles.”
It was a nice speech.
And, for a while, I assumed the good Representative had done her homework and researched the backgrounds of those geniuses who wrote our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence.
I was wrong.
Because after several trips to the book store, and one long Saturday at the library, I discovered that Rep. Kern was spinning some quotes by Washington, Jefferson and the rest of the boys way out of context.
In fact, according to the book “Moral Minority, Our Skeptical Founding Fathers,” the United States wasn’t founded on Christian principles, but by Enlightenment era ideas touted by philosopher John Locke.
It seems that Rep. Kern was wrong.
“God,” historian Brook Allen wrote, “entered the picture only as a very minor player and Jesus Christ was conspicuous by his absence.”
Now, it’s not that Franklin, Washington, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and the rest of the boys weren’t moral or upright men.
Because they were.
But they weren’t gonna’ be appearing on the next Oral Roberts telethon any time soon, either.
“Far from being pious Christians, we too often imagine, these men were skeptical intellectuals, and in some case not even Christian at all,” Ms. Allen wrote.
Honestly, I had always assumed that history was more on the side of Rep. Kern than Brooke Allen.
Then, after a semester in the political science department at the University of Oklahoma, I discovered that Ms. Allen is right on target.
It was John Locke, not Jesus, who inspired the framework of our government.
Is that a bad thing?
No, it’s not.
It doesn’t mean that our country doesn’t have a moral center and it doesn’t mean that moral or religious men or women should not serve in office.
What it does mean, though, is that these men and women — whatever their beliefs — should not seek to impose those beliefs on the rest of the country.
It means that honesty, morality and compassion — foundations of the Christian faith — are not limited to Christians and are, in fact, ideas which should encompass all of mankind.
Even conservative gadfly George F. Will agreed.
Writing about Ms. Allen’s book Will described it as “a wonderfully high-spirited and informative polemic… well documented, exuberantly argued and quite persuasive.”
Perhaps sometime in the future, Rep. Kern will seek to present the real story about the founders of our country.
But until that time comes, I’ll be happy to loan her my copy of “Moral Minority,” she just might learn something.
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