Views of National Reform, Series One

3/10

THE PREAMBLE

“We, the people of the United States [humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler among the nations, his revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian Government], and in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, Insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” VNR 3.3

It will be seen at a glance that this work of “reforming” the Constitution, cannot stop with the Preamble. For as the amended Preamble demands “a Christian Government,” it follows that the whole Constitution will have to be made to conform to this idea. This is exactly the aim of the Reformers. In that same memorial to Congress, immediately following the reformed Preamble as above quoted, is the following:— VNR 4.1

“And further: that such changes with respect to the oath of office, slavery, and all other matters, should be introduced into the body of the Constitution as may be necessary to give effect to these Amendments in the Preamble.” VNR 4.2

As the purpose of this reformed Preamble is declared to be “to constitute a Christian Government,” it necessarily follows that all who are to have any part or lot as citizens under the Government must be Christians. Therefore Section I of Article XIV of Amendments to the Constitution will have to be reformed so as to read thus:— VNR 4.3

All Christian persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside, etc. VNR 4.4

This is proved by “District Secretary” Coleman’s words that:— VNR 5.1

“The existence of a Christian Constitution would disfranchise every logically consistent infidel.”—Christian Statesman, November, 1883. VNR 5.2

And Rev. J. C. K.—John Calvin Knox—Milligan says:— VNR 5.3

“When the Amendment is adopted, how will it act upon the civil and political rights of infidels, Jews, etc.? This depends largely upon themselves. The worst result will be to disfranchise them.”—Christian Statesman, February 21, 1888. VNR 5.4

This then being a “Christian Government,” all officials in the Government will have to be Christians. Therefore Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution will have to be reformed so as to read as follows:— VNR 5.5

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be a Christian, and an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. VNR 5.6

Section 3 of the same Article will have to read the same way in regard to Senators, thus:— VNR 5.7

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be a Christian, and an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. VNR 5.8

In relation to the President, Section I, Article II, will have to read about as follows:— VNR 6.1

No person except a Christian, and natural-born citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years resident within the United States. VNR 6.2

In the matter of the oath this same section will have to be reformed so as to read something like this:— VNR 6.3

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath of office: I do solemnly swear “in the presence of the eternal God, that during the whole term of my office I will serve the same eternal God to the utmost of my power, according as he hath required in his most holy word, contained in the Old and New Testaments; and according to the same word, will maintain the true religion of Christ Jesus; and shall abolish all false religion contrary to the same; and shall rule the people committed to my charge according to the will and command of God revealed in his word; and shall procure to the utmost of my power to the church of God, and the whole Christian people, true and perfect peace;” and that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. VNR 6.4

This is a genuine National Reform oath, and is strictly according to the doctrines which that Association preaches. To accord with this, Article VI will have to be reformed about as follows:— VNR 6.5

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by the aforesaid oath, substituting in each case the title of his own office for the words “President of the United States;” and the test of the Christian religion shall be required as a qualification to every office or public trust under the United States. VNR 6.6

This will necessitate the reform of Article I of Amendments to the Constitution, so that its first clause shall read thus:— VNR 7.1

Congress shall make laws respecting the establishment of the Christian religion; prohibiting the free exercise of all other religion and of all irreligion; and abridging the freedom of speech and of the press in religious matters. VNR 7.2

This is confirmed by the words of “District Secretary” Rev. M. A. Gault, who says:— VNR 7.3

“Our remedy for all these malefic influences is to have the Government simply set up the moral law, and recognize God’s authority behind it, and lay its hand on any religion that does not conform to it.”—Christian Statesman, January 13, 1887. VNR 7.4

Just here, and as a fitting comment upon these words of Mr. Gault, we may very properly insert a remark of Mr. Waddington: “When the authority of Heaven is pleaded for the infliction of punishment, it creates an implacable and remorseless spirit, since it supersedes, by a stern necessity, all ordinary motives, and stifles the natural pleadings of humanity. The crusaders exclaimed, ‘It is the will of God!’ and in that fancied behest, the fiercest brutalities which the world had ever beheld, sought—not palliation, but—honor and the crown of eternal reward.”—Church History, chap. 21, sec. 4, “Effects of the Crusades.” Let the National Reformers once get what they fancy is “God’s authority,” behind their power to move the arm of the State, and it will be a heavy hand indeed that will be laid upon all non-conforming religion. But to return to the question before us. In the Pittsburg National Reform National Convention, 1874, Prof. C. A. Blanchard argued as follows:— VNR 7.5

“Constitutional laws punish for false money, weights, and measures, and of course Congress establishes a standard for money, weights, and measures. So Congress must establish a standard of religion, or admit anything called religion.” VNR 8.1

Therefore clauses 5, 6, and 10 of Section VIII of Article I of the Constitution, will have to be reformed so as to read thus:— VNR 8.2

The Congress shall have power— VNR 8.3

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin, and to fix the standard of weights, measures, and religion. VNR 8.4

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin, and the religion of the United States. VNR 8.5

10. To define and punish irreligion, piracies, and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. VNR 8.6

It is certain that all these changes in the body of the Constitution will not be made without universal and almost endless controversy. To say nothing of the open and confirmed opposition that there will be, it is evident that among those who would favor the changes, there will be great differences of opinion upon the exact shape and wording in which the changed Articles shall be couched. Nor will the controversy be confined simply to the called-for changes in the Constitution. As the reformed Preamble declares the “revealed will” of Christ to be the “supreme law,” the changes in the Constitution will be but the culmination of a grand national discussion as to what is the revealed will of Christ, and just how it is to be made applicable in national affairs. This is only what the National Reformers expect. Rev. J. C. K. Milligan writes on this subject, as follows:— VNR 8.7

“The changes will come gradually, and probably only after the whole frame-work of Bible legislation has been thoroughly canvassed by Congress and State Legislatures, by the Supreme Courts of the United States and of the several States, and by lawyers and citizens; an outpouring of the Spirit might soon secure it.”—Christian Statesman. VNR 9.1

But that the National Reformers expect such a condition of affairs as this, is not all. They arc doing, and will do, their very best to create it; not out of love for the Bible, nor for Christianity, but for their own self-aggrandizement. This is clearly revealed by Mr. Milligan in words immediately following the passage just quoted. He continues:— VNR 9.2

“The churches and the pulpits have much to do with shaping and forming opinions on all moral questions, and with interpretations of Scripture on moral and civil, as well as on theological and ecclesiastical points; and it is probable that in the almost universal gathering of our citizens about these, the chief discussions and the final decision of most points will be developed there. ‘Many nations shall come and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion.’” VNR 9.3

Exactly! the churches are “Zion,” and “the law shall go forth of Zion.” Therefore in the national canvass of “the whole framework of Bible legislation,” when it comes to the changes in the body of the Constitution, and thus the culmination of the discussion, in the form of law, then Congress, the State Legislatures, and the Supreme Courts will have to receive that law from the churches and pulpits, and the law in its final form will have to be according to the mould or the indorsement of the “leaders and teachers” in the churches, for “the law shall go forth of Zion,” and the “final decision will be developed there.” And then, after this august deliverance, the Rev. Mr. Milligan straightens himself up and admiringly pats himself, and all his fellows, upon the back, after this style:— VNR 10.1

“There certainly is no class of citizens more intelligent, patriotic, and trustworthy than the leaders and teachers in our churches.” VNR 10.2

In connection with these words there are certain scriptures which we would commend to Mr. Milligan’s consideration: “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” Proverbs 27:2. “For men to search their own glory is not glory.” Proverbs 25:27. “Not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.” 2 Corinthians 10:18. VNR 10.3

But whether they will heed these scriptures or not there is one thing certain: that is, by the evidences here presented, it is perfectly clear that the direct aim of the leaders in the National Reform movement is the exaltation of themselves into a hierarchy as absolute as is that of Mormonism, or as was that of the Papacy in the supremest hours of the Dark Ages. They deliberately propose to make themselves the arbiters of every controversy, and the interpreters of Scripture on all points, moral, civil, theological, and ecclesiastical. And mark, their decision, it is plainly declared, will be “final.” There can be no appeal, for there is none higher than they. There can be no appeal to God, for is not the Lord King in Zion? and don’t they represent Zion? and isn’t the law to go forth of Zion? Thus they would make themselves the vicegerents of the Lord, and the fountain of all law. And just now, and in view of these propositions of the National Reformers, the American people would do well to remember the truth stated by Dean Milman in relation to what is simply a matter of fact in all history: “In proportion as the ecclesiastics became co-legislators, heresies became civil crimes, and liable to civil punishments.” VNR 11.1

Upon the surface, some of the changes in the Constitution, which we have marked, appear very innocent. It is only when we go below the surface that the real iniquity of the thing appears. When the real purpose of the movement is discovered, it is found that the Christianity that is to become national, is just what this hierarchy shall declare to be Christianity; that the “revealed will,” which is to be the supreme law of the land, is what the hierarchy shall declare to be the revealed will; it is seen that in submitting to the proposed test of the Christian religion, it is not such a view of that religion as a man’s own conscience approves, but such a view as the hierarchy approves; that in submitting to this proposed revealed will as the supreme law, it is not to that revealed will as a man may read it in the Scripture and interpret it by the best light of his own conscience, but to what the hierarchy shall declare to be the revealed will, as interpreted by their own will. Then there is no more the liberty of every man worshiping God ac-cording to the dictates of his own conscience, but all must worship(?) according to the dictates of the hierarchy. VNR 11.2

Then when these exceedingly “intelligent, patriotic, and trustworthy leaders in our churches” shall have succeeded in thus placing themselves in the position of supreme arbiter of all controversies, and supreme interpreter in all points of the revealed will of Christ, it will be necessary to reform Section 7 of Article I of the Constitution, so that it shall read about as follows:— VNR 12.1

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the President, shall, before it become a law, be presented to “the leaders and teachers in our churches,” whose “decision” shall be “final.” VNR 12.2

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President, and to “the churches and pulpits” of the United States, and the “decision” of “the leaders and teachers in our churches” shall be “final.” VNR 13.1

There, fellow-citizens, are some of the features that our Constitution will present, when it shall have been “reformed” according to the doctrines of the National Reform party. If there are any of our readers who do not yet see that the success of the National Reform movement will he the establishment of an absolute hierarchy in this nation, we ask their indulgence a little further, while we present such evidence both of fact and of law, as shall leave no room for any reasonable doubt. VNR 13.2

Let it be observed that the immediate effect of the Religious Amendment to the Constitution, will be to make the ten commandments the supreme law of the land. This is what the National Reformers propose, and here is the proof. Rev. J. C K. Milligan, in the article before referred to, asked the question, “How is the Amendment to be carried out practically?” And in the answer to this question he made this statement:— VNR 13.3

“In brief, its adoption will at once make the morality of the ten commandments to be the supreme law of the land, and anything in the State constitutions and laws that is contrary to them will become unconstitutional.” VNR 13.4

The ten commandments are the law of God. The ten commandments are, for the universe, the supreme standard of morals. They are the moral law. Every duty enjoined in the Bible, that is to say, every duty of man, finds its spring in some one of the ten commandments. This law takes cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart. To violate that law, even in thought, is sin. For said Christ: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” And again: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment; but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28. And “whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” 1 John 3:15. VNR 14.1

This is sufficient to show that the ten commandments deal with the thoughts, with the heart, with the conscience. By this law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20); in fact, God’s own definition of sin is that “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. And as already shown, the law may be transgressed by thinking harshly or impurely of another; it is immoral to do so. VNR 14.2

Let it also be observed that the National Reformers not only propose to make the moral law the supreme law of the Government of the United States, but they propose to make themselves the supreme interpreters of that law. Again we quote Mr. J. C. K. Milligan’s words:— VNR 15.1

“The churches and the pulpits have much to do with shaping and forming opinions on all moral questions, and with interpretations of Scripture on moral and civil, as well as on theological and ecclesiastical points.” VNR 15.2

Now there is absolutely nothing that a man can do, or say, or think, that does not involve a moral question. The National Reformers propose to bring about in this Government, a condition of things by which they shall have “much to do” with “all moral questions,” and “with interpretations of Scripture on moral points;” which is only to say that they propose to have “much to do” with what every person does, and says, and thinks. Therefore it is proven to a demonstration that the direct aim of the National Reformers is to establish in this nation a hierarchy perfectly patterned after the infamous model of the Papacy. VNR 15.3

We have not the space, nor will it be considered necessary, in confirmation of this, to take up the ten commandments one by one. One of them will be sufficient, and we shall choose the one upon which the National Reformers themselves make their greatest argument for national guilt, that is, VNR 15.4