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Title: Educating America's Christian Right
Source:
BBC
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programm ... rossing_continents/4311709.stm
Published: Mar 4, 2005
Author: Mark Alden
Post Date: 2005-03-04 12:28:28 by Zipporah
Keywords: Educating, Americas, Christian
Views: 998
Comments: 25
Energised by last year's election victory which mobilised their vote, Christian conservatives have been confidently pushing a moral agenda which puts education at the heart of a battle to change US culture. Sitting in a noisy but strangely tidy student canteen, Naomi Laine outlined her political vision. "My intention is to impact the culture [of America]," she said. "The people are the most important component of a society, and so that's where the battle for the minds needs to be waged." Naomi sounds like a well-seasoned politician. But she is in fact a first year student at Patrick Henry College, America's first university established primarily for evangelical Christian home-schooled children. Patrick Henry College is located in the small commuter town of Purcellville, Virginia. It is only a short drive from Washington DC but just far enough away not to be influenced by the big city culture of the capital. Founded in 2000 and with ambitious plans for expansion, the college sits on a 106-acre plot of land, dominated by the colonial grandeur of Founders Hall, the main building on the campus. Biblical values All the students at Patrick Henry are highly motivated, intelligent, and perform at a level to rival those in America's best known Ivy League universities. They are also all deeply religious and committed to transforming America. "We want our kids to be world changers," said Michael Farris, founder and president of Patrick Henry College. Mr Farris, a constitutional lawyer and political activist, established the college with a very clear aim: "To prepare Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless Biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding." "If we are going to have our values reflected in our culture, we've got to train our kids in those values and train them for leadership," Mr Farris said. "And so this is a very concerted effort to train top leaders." Political training Mr Farris is one of the leading figures in the Christian revival taking place in America today. More than 90% of the population say they believe in God, while 70% are Christian. Christians do have something to say in politics Michael Farris Mr Farris is training a new generation who will place Christian beliefs at the heart of their social and political activities. "Christians do have something to say in politics," said Mr Farris. "We have as much right as anybody else to speak our mind and assert our values." The values Mr Farris wants to instil in his students are those of the conservative Right. Freedom is the key concept, and for Mr Farris freedom means the right to hold private property, and self-government. He sees a limited role for the federal government, with decision-making being taken only by elected officials. He is not a fan of the UN or the Supreme Court because they are unelected. He is also vehemently opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage. Conservative conspiracy? With President George W Bush in the White House and a Republican dominated Congress, the time seems right for Mr Farris and Patrick Henry College. Also, some 22 conservative members of Congress have employed interns from Patrick Henry over the past few years. Critics see the college's very close connections to Mr Bush's White House as evidence of a conservative conspiracy to take over the institutions of power. But Mark Rozell, professor of public policy at Washington DC's George Mason University, sees it differently: "What Michael Farris is doing with Patrick Henry College is a perfectly legitimate part of the political landscape," he said. "If other people feel threatened by it, they've got to get out there and mobilise their folks to be well-trained, serving internships, getting to Washington and so forth." Democrat response It is a message that is beginning to be heard. Since November's election, leading Democrats such as Hilary Clinton are looking at how they can also engage in the language of God. Our faith has been stolen and it's time to take it back Jim Wallis, preacher Jim Wallis, one of America's leading evangelical preachers, said it was time to end the Republican stranglehold on faith-based politics: "Somehow Jesus has become pro-rich, pro-war and only pro-America," he said. "How did this ever happen? Our faith has been stolen and it's time to take it back. "There's a growing progressive evangelical movement in the US which cares about poverty and the environment and we're talking about what it means to apply faith to our politics." BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents will be broadcast on Thursday, 3 March, 2005, at 1100 GMT.
Patrick Henry College, Virginia Patrick Henry students are committed to transforming America 
Michael Farris, founder and president of Patrick Henry College We want our kids to be world changers Michael Farris, Patrick Henry founder In fact all students have to sign a statement before they arrive, confirming, among other things, that they have a literal belief in the teachings of the Bible. 
Patrick Henry College students Patrick Henry students can look forward to a career in politics His students already have a level of access to Washington politics that few universities in the US can match.
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#14. To: Zipporah (#0)
Civil Government. God himself has ordained government and commands that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13: 1-5) Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves. It is necessary to submit to government, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. We are to pray for all who hold public office, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (Proverbs 14: 34-35; I Timothy 2: 1-2) Some governments are not legitimate; some authorities are not lawful. (Hosea 8:1-4) These are governments that do not recognize or that choose to ignore that human beings are created in God's image and therefore are entitled to the enjoyment of certain rights and responsibilities that inhere in their nature. Such societies and such governments are under God's judgment. (Jeremiah 18: 7- 10) Nevertheless, there is a proper way to rectify this situation. In keeping with scriptural principles and the American Declaration of Independence, we recognize that "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind is more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed." But when such a government 1) commands disobedience to God, 2) enjoins the right and duty of human beings to worship God, 3) denies other God-ordained rights by extreme oppression and tyranny, or 4) "when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object (tyranny), evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism" it is the right and duty of godly men and women "to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security." Importantly, this action must be taken in accordance with God's laws and in submission to other legitimate authorities, anarchy being as illegitimate as tyranny. (Jeremiah 32: 32-35; Acts 5: 29) While there are various types, scopes and levels of government, there are some basic principles that God requires all general governments to follow. (Jeremiah 18: 7-10) Moreover, there are other principles that, while not commanded, ought to be followed. All of these principles are derived from the tenor of the whole of scripture and from God-given reason, which makes plain the fact that human beings are created in God's image and should live as he intended human beings to live-in ordered liberty-and not as beasts subject to ownership and coercion; and that they should govern themselves in equal submission to the laws of nature and nature's God. (Genesis 1-2) Therefore: governments must establish their legitimacy upon the will of a self-governing people; (Deuteronomy 17: 14-10) government's first duty is to protect the life, property and other God- ordained, inalienable rights of the citizenry; (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Acts 5:1-4; Ezekiel 46:18; Genesis 34:10; Luke 10:7; I Timothy 5:18; Romans 4:4) governments must operate under the rule of law, diligently applying the same legal rules and sanctions without regard to any individual's power or station in life; (Romans 2: 11) and a national government, in order to defend self-governance, must be the highest level of legitimate human governance and must defend the sovereignty of the nation constituting it. (Genesis 11:1-9; Deuteronomy 17:14) APPLICATIONS: Government and Law. Any legitimate system of government must be built on the dual realizations that all people (i) bear God's image and are therefore entitled to enjoy a number of fundamental, inalienable rights, but (ii) are tainted by sin and therefore cannot be trusted to be free of all government restraint. Importantly, sin affects not only those governed, but also those who govern. In the words of James Madison: If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. Therefore, governmental and legal systems: must be of law, not of men; with rules and processes that apply equally to all persons regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, or skin color; their wealth; or their influence or prestige; must provide the right of self-government, so that citizens may either directly decide questions of law and policy or have a voice in selecting those who make such decisions; should-in order to achieve the highest possible level of stability and fairness- be based on the firm foundation of a written constitution and laws, whose meanings are determined by their text and the original intent of those who enacted them, with appropriate processes for change and amendment over time and with the approval of the people; to do otherwise invites governments to recognize the acts of men to be the highest laws of the land rather than the laws of nature and of nature's God that have been committed to a written text; and finally, should maintain a separation of power among national, regional and local governments and among the legislative, executive and judicial functions of government, so that no leader or group of leaders may ever acquire unchecked power. (Deuteronomy 17: 14-20) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doesn't say anything about the Second Amendment.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestHere's from PHC's Biblical Worldview dealing with government:
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