Reformed Covenanter
Cancelled Commissioner
... But a careful measurement with our moral standard already agreed upon will reveal a very serious defect. It declares that “We, the people . . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.” This statement is objectionable, not because of what it contains, but because of what it omits. It is admitted that the people do ordain, and have the right to ordain constitutions of government. Peter says: “Submit your selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” Striking out the words above quoted would not make the constitution Christian, and therefore their presence does not make it secular.
But this preamble does not measure up to the Christian standard. Had the expression, “We, the people,” been followed by some such words as, “Acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all power and authority in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler of Nations, and His revealed will as the supreme standard to decide moral issues in national life,” its Christian character would be placed beyond all doubt. But while the people are recognized as ordaining civil government, there is not a hint given that the authority to do this comes from God, or that the nation and its government exist in the sphere of divine authority and are subject to the moral law. To make prominent the human and to ignore the divine element in civil government is of the very nature of secularism. ...
For more, see Richard Cameron Wylie on measuring the American Constitution by a Christian standard.
But this preamble does not measure up to the Christian standard. Had the expression, “We, the people,” been followed by some such words as, “Acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all power and authority in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler of Nations, and His revealed will as the supreme standard to decide moral issues in national life,” its Christian character would be placed beyond all doubt. But while the people are recognized as ordaining civil government, there is not a hint given that the authority to do this comes from God, or that the nation and its government exist in the sphere of divine authority and are subject to the moral law. To make prominent the human and to ignore the divine element in civil government is of the very nature of secularism. ...
For more, see Richard Cameron Wylie on measuring the American Constitution by a Christian standard.