Our God-Breathed Constitution

When I raised in Christian Fundamentalism I was taught that the Bible IS the very Word of God. That is, that the Scriptures were God-breathed, based on 2 Timothy 3:16,17:

 

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (New International Version)

 

The most theologically conservative Christians still believe this.

 

This past week former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay brought pandering to this segment of the American people to new heights when he said:

 

I think we got off that track when we allowed our government to become a secular government, when we stopped realizing that God created this nation, that He wrote the constitution, that's based on biblical principles....

 

That was a snippet from his interview with Matthew Hagee, son of controversial clergyman John Hagee, and is my reason for suggesting he was pandering or "tickling" people's ears.

 

At first I thought DeLay perhaps had not exactly said that and was misquoted. That isn't the case. I've kept watching the news to see if DeLay would clarify himself by perhaps declaring that he simply misspoke. If he has I haven't found such an explanation. Neither have I noted a rush of conservative politicians attempting to distance themselves from this.

 

The claim that God wrote the US Constitution is shocking. And the implications of such a claim would be even more shocking. In that connection I am going to quote another politician, President Harry S. Truman:

 

Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.

In fact, I think such a position is intellectual suicide.