Friday, June 18, 2010

The Fifth Amendment from a Christian Viewpoint Part 1

The Fifth Amendment - No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;

In the context of the time of the American Revolution, the British forces would capture American citizens and put them in prison without the benefit of allowing them to know what they were being charged with. The Founding Fathers wanted American citizens to be free and wanted to further limit the powers of government and enhance the powers of the individual.

Two important notes here are that this was a right for American citizens alone and that an exception was made for times of war or public danger. Right now our country is in a time of public danger. Islam has declared war on our country and on our way of life. Yet, the progressives in our country want to insist on granting civil rights to terrorists and provide public trials to enemy combatants in the name of fairness. Neither the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights is a suicide pact. We cannot allow the Progressives to confer upon those who seek to destroy our nation the rights granted only to United States Citizens.

The Apostle Paul trusted in the protection of God over him. He had a greater faith in God than many Christians today. And yet when it came down to his life being threatened by a trial he knew was fixed and that the outcome would be his death, he appealed to his physical, not his Spiritual citizenship. He appealed to Ceasar which was his right to do as a citizen of Rome. (Acts 25:11)

Some Christians believe that the defending of the American Constitution is not only unnecessary but that to do so is a lack of faith or unspiritual in some way. These are the misguided progressives who honestly believe America is just another nation. The exceptionalism of the founding of our country by Christian men with laws based on Judeo-Christian values means nothing to them.

If the Apostle Paul can seize on his own rights as a Roman citizen, then so too should we seek to protect the rights that so many have fought, bled and died for. God guided the men founding this nation, but only insofar as the nation continues to honor Him and if we allow the misguided progressives to lead us we will lose all our rights.

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