The Laws of Nature and Nature's God Expressed in the Bill of Rights

October 23, 2024:

In this class we defined and unpacked the phrase, “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” and traced how those laws led to many of the subjects handled in the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution). The first part of the phrase refers to the laws we see played out in nature, across all species; the second applies to the laws set forth by God to “civilize” us, requiring us to live on a higher level of morality than the animal kingdom. For example, abortion is essentially unknown in the natural world; creatures do not kill their own young in the womb. We know it is wrong by natural law. But murder in general is common among animals, and is therefore declared to be forbidden as part of the added layer of God’s laws for humankind.

We then reviewed the second through tenth amendments, discussing their origins, their purposes, and ways they are being violated — and sometimes deliberately suppressed — in our lives today.

The ninth and tenth amendments add emphasis and more detail on the existing Constitutional division of authority between the new federal government and the states creating it. There is no excuse for violations of those lines of jurisdiction for anyone willing to understand the clear meaning set forth.

One interesting note regarding the elimination of slavery: George Mason, who held slaves, refused to sign the Constitution because it did NOT eliminate slavery. You may not know that some states made it illegal to free their slaves, and Mason, who opposed slavery, was bound by that law at the state level. Jefferson also opposed slavery, and apparently he was required by the same law to keep them.

After the Constitution was signed and sent out for ratification, Mason worked so hard to ensure the ten amendments were immediately added that he is known as the Father of the Bill of Rights.

In our next class, on Wednesday, October 30, we’ll look at the true history of slavery in America and the world at that time, and address the nonsense that America was “founded on slavery.” The list of black heroes in the Revolutionary War may surprise you, along with the truth about what happened when the first slaves arrived at Jamestown and Plymouth, and how one thoroughly racist president years later did everything he could to erase African-Americans from our history books.

The following week we’ll return to go deeper into the second amendment, which is based on “the first law of nature,” self-protection and the right to life. We’ll also examine the amendment process, and some current movements to make some needed changes.