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Wrestling With God
A Political and Moral Dilemma
The founding fathers envisioned a nation rooted in biblical values.
What lies ahead if its roots are destroyed?
"There certainly is a wider story here but it is almost embarrassingly simple . . .
To put it crudely, the United States has indeed witnessed a titanic struggle over
the past eight months between the Ten Commandments and the Dow Jones index."--The
Times (London)
by Howard Davis
Can the American system of government
survive if the highest office in the nation--occupying the most powerful position
in the world--is held by a man guilty of immoral acts and accused of felony offenses?
This is the question haunting congressmen and other governmental officials in the
wake of a voluminous report describing the pornographic activities of the president
of the United States and, by his own admission, lies to cover up his immoral activities.
As the manuscript of the 445-page report and the president's lawyers' response to
it appeared in newspapers and on the Internet, a national argument ensued. It highlighted
a confused and divided people's struggle with conflicting values and definitions
of good and evil, sin, sex, lying, obstruction of justice, perjury and abuse of power.
How, they wondered, does all this relate to the intent of the Constitution, Congress
and future of America?
Within days, reactions to the lurid revelations brought to a head a crisis concerning
two foundational principles of the American system of rule of law.
Foundation of a Nation
Twin beliefs underlie 20th-century American superpower. The first is the universal
rule of law in a structured legal framework enveloped by the Constitution.
The second is universal accountability of personal behavior. Such accountability
is guided by standards enshrined through all levels of the American legal system
in civil and criminal laws--standards of morality that are ultimately rooted in the
Bible.
The founding fathers of the American republic laid both foundations more than two
centuries ago.
Now we see the United States embroiled in a constitutional conflict over spiritual
and moral issues--questions that evoke biblical images and metaphors.
As when George Washington prayed to God in the bitter cold of Valley Forge and Abraham
Lincoln proclaimed the equality of blacks as a doctrine of Christ, the profound crisis
of values at the center of the presidential controversy is based in the biblical
teaching of good and evil, right and wrong. Spiritual issues of God and the Bible
confront public and private behavior and the limits to presidential conduct.
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "Wrestling With God: A Political and Moral Dilemma"
Other Articles by Howard Davis
U.S. politics: