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On September 6th, 1819, Jefferson
wrote:
“The Constitution is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary,
which they may twist and shape into any form they please.”
One year later on September 28th, 1820 he wrote to William Jarvis:
“You seem to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all
Constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would
please us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other
men, and not more so... And their power is the more dangerous, as they are in
office for life and not responsible, as the other functionaries are to the
elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing
that to whatever hands confined, with
corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots.”
Jefferson saw as early as 1820 the potential problems of the Supreme Court
Judiciary System. Truly he was a man with clear vision of the problems of the
future, knowing the corrupt nature of man’s heart.
He wrote again in 1821, to Mr. Hammond.
“The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the federal
judiciary; an irresponsible body, (for impeachment is scarcely a scare crow)
working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little
tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of
jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States.”
There can be little doubt as to the intentions of Thomas Jefferson when it
concerned the advancement of the Christian faith in the everyday aspects of life
in America. For Jefferson, Educational, Governmental, Social, and even Economic
aspects of life had to be conformed to Biblical principles, if the Republic of
the united States was to remain healthy.
In an attack against perverting the Constitution, Jefferson wrote to Justice
William Johnson, on June 12th 1823.
“On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time
when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the
debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or
invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”
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In establishing the University of
Virginia, Thomas Jefferson not only encouraged the teaching of the Christian
Religion, and the Laws of God, but set aside a place in the Rotunda for chapel
services. Also, in his home town, he advocated the use of the courthouse for
religious services.
Jefferson stated:
“A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a
document in proof that I am a real Christian; that is to say, a disciple of the
doctrines of Jesus.”
Perhaps another great statement of evidence that the Christian religion
was to be an intimate part of American Education was this declaration.
“Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from
His lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians... I have
little doubt that the whole country [America] will soon be rallied to the unity
of our Creator, and I hope, to the pure doctrines of Jesus also.”
While it is true that Jefferson may have been more Unitarian than
Orthodox in his Christian stand, he did, however, apply the principles of the
Scriptures wonderfully to civil life.
THE OLD PATH
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old
paths, where [is] the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]. (Jeremiah 6:16 AV)
What did the Founders of this Nation know concerning Righteousness and
Justice? The answer is clear. They understood that in order to establish, and
maintain a proper, and thriving cultures, it must be founded upon the Principles
of the Holy Scriptures.
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, this, not only was an accepted truth,
it was an embraced truth. America and its institutions, especially education,
was based upon Christian precepts and Laws. To deny this fact, is to deny the
very history that bears record of it.
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Conclusion on page 4... |
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