CONSTITUTION MYTHBUSTERS

American exceptionalism is the proposition that the United States is different from other countries in that it has a specific world mission to spread liberty and democracy. It is not a notion that the United States is quantitatively better than other countries or that it has a superior culture, but rather that it is “qualitatively different”…. Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.¹

There is nothing wrong with being exceptional and excelling at whatever you do. I feel sorry for the person who wants anything less for themselves and who accepts mediocrity or worse. Let’s not forget Christ’s reprimand to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:16, that it is better to be hot, even cold, than to be lukewarm. King Solomon concurred:

 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

In 1 Corinthians 9:24, the Apostle Paul charged the Corinthians to “run in such a way that you may win,” and then, in Verses 26-27, he declared, “I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” Put briefly: Paul excelled at all he put his heart and hand to.

A “better than thou” attitude

Modern American exceptionalism is something else altogether and has led many Americans to a “better than thou” attitude. This has provoked the rest of the world to think Americans look down our noses at them. “Pride goeth before the fall” is a truism for both individuals and nations alike.

America has prospered like no other nation in modern times. However, she, like Israel of old, has forgotten where her success came from:

 Beware that thou forget not Yahweh² thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget Yahweh thy God…. And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:11-17)

Thine, O Yahweh, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Yahweh, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)

Modern America’s concept of American exceptionalism was an inevitable consequence of the first three words of the U.S. Constitution’s Preamble—WE THE PEOPLE—and its audacious claim of establishing justice and securing liberty without Yahweh’s intervention.

Let’s not take anything for granted:

Is America exceptional? Is America superior to the rest of the world? Is America even qualitatively different from other nations? The answers to those questions all depend upon what standard we use to answer them.

If we were to put the same questions to Yahweh, how might He answer them and by what standard would He assess America? I think we can all agree His standard would not be the same as used by most of today’s Americans. His standard would be His own immutable righteousness as found in His perfect law and altogether righteous judgments:

 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as Yahweh our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)

By this standard

It was this standard that made both ancient Israel and 17th-century Colonial America an exceptional light to the rest of the world. In Democracy in America, French statesman and historian, Alexis de Tocqueville testified to this exceptionalism found in early America:

 They exercised the rights of sovereignty; they named their magistrates, concluded peace or declared war, made police regulations, and enacted laws as if their allegiance was due only to God. Nothing can be more curious and, at the same time more instructive, than the legislation of that period; it is there that the solution of the great social problem which the United States now presents to the world is to be found.

Amongst these documents we shall notice, as especially characteristic, the code of laws promulgated by the little State of Connecticut in 1650. The legislators of Connecticut begin with the penal laws, and … they borrow their provisions from the text of Holy Writ. “Whosoever shall worship any other God than the Lord,” says the preamble of the Code, “shall surely be put to death.” This is followed by ten or twelve enactments of the same kind, copied verbatim from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.³

Proverbs 14:34 declares that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” 17th-century America was exalted in the eyes of the world because of her applied righteousness, embodied in Yahweh’s perfect law. Since 1789, when the United States of America began following the laws of WE THE PEOPLE, our legislation has ceased providing righteous instruction to others. As a consequence, the rest of the world now holds America in disdain. Indeed, her sins (violations of Yahweh’s law, 1 John 3:4) have become her reproach and have unmasked her alleged exceptionalism as nothing more than arrogance. If America hopes to ever regain her favored status in the eyes of the world, she must repent of her false pride, return to her God and her exalted mission of spreading Christianity and thereby true liberty to the world.

 Thus saith Yahweh, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am Yahweh which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Yahweh. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14)

Related posts:

Law and Kingdom: Their Relevance Under the New Covenant

5 Reasons the Constitution is Today’s Cutting-Edge Issue

The Preamble: WE THE PEOPLE vs. YAHWEH

1. “American Exceptionalism,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism>.

2. YHWH, the English transliteration of the Tetragrammaton, is most often pronounced Yahweh. It is the principal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible and was inspired to appear nearly 7,000 times in the Old Testament. In obedience to the Third Commandment and in honor of His memorial name (Exodus 3:15), and the multitudes of Scriptures that charge us to proclaim, swear by, praise, extol, call upon, bless, glorify, and hold fast to His name, I have chosen to use His name throughout this blog. For a more thorough explanation concerning important reasons for using the sacred name of God, see “The Third Commandment.”

3. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2 vols. (New York: NY: The Colonial Press, 1899) vol. 1, pp. 36-37.