In this article, I’ll continue to examine Mr. Fortenberry’s “Hidden Facts of the Founding Era,” in which he proposes forty-eight points that allegedly prove the Constitution was based on the Bible.
Point #4: “Article 1, Section 2 – ‘The House of Representatives… shall have the sole power of impeachment.’ The power of impeachment has been recognized in Israel since the removal of their first king from office as recorded in I Samuel 13:13-14, and that power was implemented on several occasions recorded in the Old Testament in accordance with the statement in Proverbs 16:12 that ‘it is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness.’…”
…the House of Representatives’ “sole power of impeachment” has no basis in the Bible. This power of self-discipline, indicative of a good ol’ boys’ club, has been employed only once in over 220 [225] years (in the case of Senator William Blount on July 8, 1797), despite the fact that almost everyone in the House of Representatives deserves impeachment. Even Charlie Rangel, with his numerous ethics violations, did not rate an impeachment in 2010. Except in the rarest instances, the members of the House are not about to turn on one another for fear that they, in turn, will be devoured by one another.1
Point #5: “Article 1, Section 3 – ‘The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state.’ The second house of our bicameral legislature is also based on the example of Israel. Numbers 1:1-16 presents a list of the princes of Israel which were chosen to stand with Moses as representatives of the people. In contrast to the elders of Israel, each tribe had equal representation among the princes.”
Numbers 1 calls for the enumeration of men twenty years and older for the defense of their nation. The heads of each tribe who stood with Moses can no more be used as an example of Article 1’s provision for two senators than can America’s own military generals. Numbers 1 is about preparations for warfare. It has nothing to do with legislatures.
In light of Isaiah 33:22 and James 4:12, which declare Yahweh2 the exclusive legislator, the Senate is just as unbiblical and seditious as is the House of Representatives:
As the source of morality, Yahweh is the source of all true law. Because legislation enacts morality, morality and legislation are indivisible. Yahweh holds the monopoly on legislation and thus on the determination of what is good and what is evil….
Article 1 begins, “All legislative powers herein granted….” Granted by whom? You will look in vain to find any reference (inside or outside the Constitution) in which the framers affirmed the government’s legislative powers were granted by Yahweh. Neither did they ever affirm the laws of Yahweh:
“Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)3
Anyone who claims the title of legislator (particularly when his “laws”—whether commandments, statues, or judgments—are inconsonant with Yahweh’s) is a usurper and is perpetuating the sin begun by Adam and Eve.4
Point #9: “Article 1, Section 5 – ‘Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.’ Under this section, the members of each house of Congress are declared immune from the criticism of the other house. This same principle is found in the Scriptures in Paul’s question to the Romans. In Romans 14:4 he asks, ‘Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?’ and answers, ‘to his own master he standeth or falleth.’”
The principle from Romans 14:4 that Mr. Fortenberry alludes to is not at all the same as that found in Article 1. Romans 14:4 makes Christians accountable to Yahweh. Article 1, Section 5 makes each house accountable to itself:
The Senate, like the House of Representatives, is a part of the good ol’ boys’ club that protects its own in order to protect itself.5
Mr. Fortenberry’s claim that Article 1’s humanism is Biblically inspired is reprehensible.
Point #10: “Article 1, Section 5 – ‘Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings.’ This requirement that congress record all legal proceedings is established on the biblical example of the recorders of ancient Israel. These recorders are mentioned in five Old Testament passages, I Samuel 8:16, I Samuel 20:24, I Kings 4:3, II Kings 18:18 and II Chronicles 34:8.
Mr. Fortenberry’s audacity in ascribing Biblical practices as the basis for constitutional procedure (which the framers themselves never claimed) is alarming, to say the least.
Point #11: “Article 1, Section 6 – ‘The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services.’ The requirement that government officials be paid for their service to their country is directly founded upon the teachings of Scripture. The command, ‘Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn,’ given in Deuteronomy 25:4 is explained in I Corinthians 9:9-14 and I Timothy 5:18 as a command that those who provide a service should receive due compensation for that service.”
This might be true, but the framers never acknowledged this. If Article 1, Section 6 were based upon Deuteronomy 25:4, etc., why didn’t they say so? If the framers borrowed from Scripture as Mr. Fortenberry repeatedly claims, then they failed to give “honor to whom honor” is due.
Point #12: “Article 1, Section 6 – ‘They shall … be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses.’ The legal immunity provided to the members of congress is based on the teaching of Christ in Matthew 12:5 that the priests of Israel were provided immunity from the Sabbath laws so that they could perform the duties of their office unhindered.”
Article 1, Section 6 declares Congressmen can get away with murder provided they’re about their duties, most of which are criminal anyway:
No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.6
Under Yahweh’s law, criminal activity is never immune from immediate intervention regardless where or when it’s occurring or who is committing it. To equate what was lawfully permissible for the priests on the Sabbath with what Article 1 depicts as arrestable activity goes beyond straining at gnats: it’s calling good evil and evil good.
Point #14: “Article 1, Section 8 – ‘Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes.’ The power of the government to collect taxes has been recognized in the Bible from Joseph’s reign in Egypt recorded in Genesis 41 to Christ’s instruction to ‘render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars’ in Matthew 22:17-21 and to Paul’s command that we ‘render to all their dues’ in Romans 13:7.”
Unlike constitutional taxes, Biblical taxes (the tithe, etc.) were never forced upon anyone or collected by government. They are required by Yahweh, but they are completely voluntary.
Matthew 22:17-21 and Romans 13:7 have been completely turned on their heads by Mr. Fortenberry. For an alternative analysis of both passages (Mark 12:17 instead of Matthew 22:21), see Amendment 10: Counterfeit Powers.6
Stay tuned for Part 4.
Related posts:
Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective
1. Chapter 4 “Article 1: Legislative Usurpation” of Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective.
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. Chapter 4 “Article 1: Legislative Usurpation” of Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective.
4. “Right, Left, and Center: Who Gets to Decide?”
5. Chapter 4 “Article 1: Legislative Usurpation” of Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective.
6. Gideon J. Tucker, New York Surrogate Reports (New York, NY: New York Surrogate, 1866), p. 249, quoted in Suzy Platt, ed., Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (New York: NY: Barnes & Noble, 1992) p. 198.
7. For a more exhaustive explanation of Romans 13:1-7, see Christian Duty Under Corrupt Government: A Revolutionary Commentary of Romans 13:1-7.
Did anyone else get a cold chill reading that the politicians who somehow gain a seat in any ‘government house’ shall be “privileged from arrest”? And about that ‘render unto Caesar’ reference, has it occurred to no one that ‘Caesar’ didn’t, doesn’t, never has ‘owned’ anything, not even the image stamped on a coin minted from YHWH’s metals?
Our King did not pay taxes or tributes, but for that singular instance when Peter spoke presumptuously and answered for Christ when asked about the tribute. Peter wasn’t going to say anything about it, but the Master confronted him asking who pays taxes, foreigners or the children of the kingdom. And in case it flew over Peter’s head, Jesus clarified the answer, ‘Then the children are FREE.’ Who is more a Child of YHWH than YHSWH/Jesus Christ? Not only did Christ not pay taxes, there’s no instance in the Gospels that He ever used ‘money’. He never had a coin on Him when He was challenged about taxes and tributes. He practiced what He preached: He dedicated Himself to the Kingdom of YHWH and all these things were added to Him. And YHWH has given Him the Kingdom!
The evidence that all of man’s so called ‘self-governing governments’ are anti-Christ, as in couterfeit substitutes for Christ’s Government, is glaringly obvious! The Good Shepherd would never give charge of His sheep to wolves.
This should be mandatory reading for all who wish to be armed with facts. This is eye opening. The arguments Bill Fortenberry puts forth clearly show that the efforts of those Constitutionalists who are called to worship and evangelize for their god (WE THE PEOPLE), go FAR “beyond straining at gnats: it’s calling good evil and evil good.”
Excellent and informative. Please continue the great work, and let not the forces that sometimes seem to be arrayed against you, discourage you from your blessed calling!
That a sodomite like Barney Frank could both a) hold office as an open homosexual, and b) not be tried and stoned after his retirement, is the clearest indication of the immorality of the entire FED GOV. Well, that, and the bastard miscegenated alien non-citizen now called “President,” I suppose….