Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of Our Founding Fathers

by John Eidsmoe

Book Overview

In this book, Dr. Eidsmoe shows clearly how most of our founding fathers were not secular men, as we often hear today. He explains how the influence of Calvinism gave rise to our republican form of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801052319
• ISBN13: 9780801052316
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Length: 474 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent

This book should be mandatory reading for Christians who have begun to explore the meaning of Christianity and its relation to the founding of our country. Accurate and balanced it sets the foot on the path to thinking about the meaning of faith and our country.

Historical Evidence of How Christianity Affected US Constttn

Dr Eidsmoe (also a retired USAF Lt. Colonel) provides a type of scholarship that have become (lamentably) rather rare these days. His authoritative book on Christianity's historic influence on America's political foundations (in general), and on specific features of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (in particular), uses the rather unusual approach, namely: relying solely upon the primary documents that are the best evidence concerning his topic -- i.e., the actual writings of the founding fathers and of those who actually lived with them -- in effect, Dr Eidsmoe uses the kind of documentary exhibits and eye-witness testimony that would be admissible in a court of law, as opposed to the politically fashionable HEARSAY that all-too-often gets punted back and forth in textbook pulp nowadays. As a professor of American Political Foundations I routinely use his book as THE textbook for my courses; -- I also serve as a judge and have adjudicated several constitutional issues (including First Amendment issues) in reliance upon his impeccably accurate scholarship; -- I also serve as a political history lecturer (in Western Europe and in Central America) and have repeatedly cited Dr Eidsmoe's work as the "last word" on the historical matters he has analyzed in this valuable book. In addition to the historical summaries in his book, Dr Eidsmoe also provides very interesting mini-biographies on more than a dozen of America's most influential founding fathers. Lastly, Dr Eidsmoe's book provides appendices that are very helpful to readers who want to "read the original text" of key historic documents. This scholary-yet-easily-readable gem of accuracy-promoting research and user-friendly analysis should belong to every historian, lawyer, judge, patriot, and anyone else with a true interest in America's [real] legal history. ><> JJSJ

The Book Should Be Read Before Reviewed...

*Christianity and the Constitution* is a sober, careful overview of the historical and intellectual foundations of the Framers of the US Constitution, particularly in regard to how the Christian worldview influenced their view of man, his nature, the role, purpose and scope of government, etc.Eidsmoe copiously documents his work from the primary materials and related scholarly secondary materials. His case is substantive and conclusive. Were *all* the Framers devout Christians? No. Were most of them Christians? Yes. More importantly, it is documented that the intellectual and philosophical foundations of their worldview and the American culture in general was overwhelmingly Protestant Christian, and this weighed heavily in their work.Regarding a "reviewer" asserting, and I quote, "Indeed, it was a concession by Jefferson which allowed the word God into our Constitution. Many may feel this is a wonderful book, but that does not mean that it is accurate," one can't help but sense the irony in their statement and their comment regarding accuracy.[a] Thomas Jefferson had nothing to do with the writing or ratification of the US Constitution--he was in France at the time on a diplomatic mission, so he didn't offer "concession" pro or con regarding the inclusion of the word "God" in the Constitution;[b] The word "God" does not appear in the US Constitution. As such, their comments regarding Jefferson taking part in the Constitutional Convention are predicated upon ignorance, as such their comment regarding Jefferson's "concession" are likewise predicated upon their ignorance of the subject, and finally their assertion that the word "God" does appear in the text of the Constitution also displays they are not only ignorant of the history of the Constitutional Convention and its participants, but also ignorant of the content of the US Constitution itself.Their review is as such moot and worthless. Read the book for yourself, study its sources and don't permit prejudiced dislike and religious bigotry to poison the well of this informative book.

Bias

The negative reviews associated with this book are nothing but sheer bias. The Jeffersonian 'wall of separation' had some holes in it that our modern mind is not willing to accept or admit. Jefferson authorized (signed a bill) spending federal tax money to support Christian missionary work among native Americans-something our society, government, and courts would never tolerate today in the name of "Jeffersonian" neutrality. The alleged neutrality of the government toward faith based issues is one of the greatest popular myths of our culture. Our society is not 'neutral' toward faith -it is hostile. The hostility is irrational and unrelenting even when confronted with overwhelming evidence such as presented in this book -to wit -the negative reviews of this book. Prejudices die hard. Eidsmoe does a great job of exposing it for what it is: twentieth century bias and the sanitizing of the actual historical record by secularlists. Eidsmoe's history, data, scholasticism, and presentation are impeccable to anyone other than someone with an a priori, anti-faith, anti-Christian bias who has been brainwashed by the secular educational institutions of our society that have systematically expunged anything related to faith from our historical consciousness.

The Best Book I've Read in Years!

This is the best book I have read in years. This book takes the reader up close and personal with the ideals, dreams, and thoughts of the founding fathers. The founding fathers were not perfect, but their dream for "one nation under God", a nation founded upon the principles of the Bible, was the best ever embarked upon by mankind. This book traces the development of earlier thinkers such as John Locke who outlined the basic rights of people. The book takes each part of the constitution and shows its early formation from dreams of peasants to reality in America. Ultimately, the book takes each of the more outstanding founding fathers, from Thomas Jefferson to John Jay and Patrick Henry, quoting from original sources what their true thoughts were concerning God, the Bible, and Christianity, and how they applied their beliefs to the framework of America. If you want to know more about our founding fathers and their true thoughts, read this book, fully documented, rather than depending upon modern history revisionists. I cannot over-emphasize the importance and greatness of this book!