We are all blinded by the sacred gods of our own time.  Maybe, our forefathers were too.  However, the Bible gives us the wisdom to guard ourselves from the foolishness that has resulted in the so-called Christian sanctity of “constitutional polytheism,” which is what we have in the United States Constitution.  Vivek was right.  A Hindu or Muslim has the same right to be a state governor or the President of the United States as any one else. Someday, I believe it will happen.

In a recent Q&A session with Vivek (Ramaswamy) a young Christian man asked him how he could be running for the Governor of Ohio when he was a Hindu and yet America was a nation founded upon Christian principles. The young Christian man was bold and courageous in asking the question. However, Vivek’s answer demolished the traditional view that Christian Americans have had toward our founding fathers and our founding documents.

The consensus view of Christians in America in regard to the history of the framers of the Constitution is sacred ground.  Books upon books have been written trying to prove how Christian it was.  To disagree with historical orthodoxy is like breaking modern blasphemy laws. It can make you an outlier rather quickly.

Vivek simply pointed out that the U.S. Constitution was not a Christian document.  Our founding fathers had the opportunity to write a religious code, but they chose not to do so, contrary to most all other nations in human history. Almost 250 years ago, the framers created a civic code that brought together a polyglot of people together on the basis of the freedom of conscience (this certainly appeals to the Baptists). Both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were deists, and therefore Christians have no exclusive claim to America.  Thus, he said as a Hindu, he is as much an American as anyone else.

My contention is that Vivek was exactly correct.  The Declaration of Independence declared our independence from Great Britain, and the United States Constitution declared our independence from the God of the Bible.  There is no mention of Christ in the United States Constitution except in the dating at the bottom of the document which was not approved by the Convention, and actually was penned later as a common legal practice of the era.  The founding fathers were more influenced by the Enlightenment than by the Bible. The Constitution was not Christian by intent or by design.

For example, the deist Benjamin Franklin posed to the Convention that they begin each day with prayer, but the Convention ignored the suggestion intentionally. They never prayed publicly for the divine guidance of the Trinitarian God or for any god for that matter.

John Witherspoon, who was a Presbyterian clergyman who signed the Declaration of Independence was not a part of the Constitutional Convention.  He was indeed a godly man, but he was influenced greatly by the Enlightenment.  This is evident in his love for Scottish Realism (Rationalism).  This became clear in his book on Moral Philosophy. Mathematics had demonstrated fixity in nature (Descartes) apart from the Bible.  Locke transferred this idea to social structures. The idea of a covenant under God was replaced by the idea of a contract between men.  Natural Law was considered a basis for civil society, and Witherspoon never expressed any objection for this as a philosophical basis of the Constitution.

One might grant that the “no religious test” clause was added to prevent a national church.  For James Madison (a student of Witherspoon) it was needed to keep either Presbyterians or Baptists from becoming a national church.  He thought they were better off arguing with each other, and this would keep them busy and out of the federal capitol. A very few men realized that a “no religious test” clause would open up the rule of civil government to all religions, even “Mohammedism.” But these few were ignored.

Another argument for the “neutrality” of the Constitution is that the States were Constitutional Republics, and therefore there was no need for any reference to Christianity in the national Constitution.  In reading the framing fathers, this is never mentioned as a reason for the resulting governing document.  If that be the case, then they were very short-sighted.  Soon, State Constitutions would be negated as a result of the Civil War.  Within a hundred and fifty years the influx of false religions such is Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism would become major influences in America.

Fast-forward to today.  We have public calls to prayer five times a day over a public loudspeaker by Muslims in Michigan, and Hindu statutes in Texas.  We have a Marxist Muslim running for mayor in New York City who may become a United States Presidential candidate in years to come.

What blinded our forefathers to the future?  Being charitable, one could say that it was due to the finiteness of man who cannot see unintended consequences.  Also, as we would say today, many of our forefathers were what we would call “nominal Christians.”  Christians in name only.

What could they have done? Very simply, they could have established the Bible as the foundation of all our moral and civil codes, at least on paper.  This way the Supreme Court would never have found abortion, homosexual marriage, or even transgenderism in the United States Constitution.  At least, if they did, the people would see the obvious fraud. Also, they could have limited the right to vote and the right to hold office in the civil government to Christians alone.  This would have prevented the take-over of New York City by a Muslim.

We are all blinded by the sacred gods of our own time.  Maybe, our forefathers were too.  However, the Bible gives us the wisdom to guard ourselves from the foolishness that has resulted in the so-called Christian sanctity of “constitutional polytheism,” which is what we have in the United States Constitution.  Vivek was right.  A Hindu or Muslim has the same right to be a state governor or the President of the United States as any one else. Someday, I believe it will happen.

I’m a retired PCA minister and I can say these things.  I am financially independent of the church.  It takes boldness to say these things.  Don’t expect your pastor to touch upon it.  The modern church is in a pietistic stupor, and either blind to what is real, or lacks the courage to be a prophet in the 21^st century.  But if someone does not shout about the fire in the house; we will all be dupped into being part of a nation that disowns Christ as the only true and living God.

Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.