My essay: HOW TO REDUCE CRIME: Remember, repent, return and restore
From Left: I drew the caricatures of Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and George Washington for the cover of Indiana Policy Review’s book, Indiana Mandate: A return to Founding Principles. You can purchase a copy by clicking on the drawing.
HOW TO REDUCE CRIME
Last month (June 2024), The Hill reported on a secret recording of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in which he said the country should return to a place of “godliness.” This upset the ungodly people who prefer sin.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said, “Alito is an extremist who is out of touch with mainstream America. His rising power on the Supreme Court is a threat to our democracy.”
First of all, America is a Constitutional Republic, NOT a democracy, madam. There is a difference. Secondly, Alito’s comment is not “extreme” unless you belong to the church of Satan. In fact, Alito’s “godliness” comment echoes the beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
Parts 1 and 2 of this series listed many quotes from the Founders about faith and its importance in maintaining a peaceful society. It’s only common sense to think that “godliness” produces moral citizens who obey the law and live in peace and happiness.
On the other hand, secularism (godlessness) has failed miserably. It has produced the rotten fruit of criminal behavior like ’smash and grabs,’ looters, violence, riots, rape and murder. When you teach children that they are animals don’t be surprised when they start acting like it.
G.K. Chesterton said, “Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the god.” He was right. Our nation’s motto today is “In Government We Trust.” But government is a terrible god. Political solutions have resulted in broken homes, broken lives, broken communities and unsustainable debt.
If we asked the Founders how they made America great they would say “Make America Moral Again.” Here’s how:
1. Remember what the Founders said about morality.
Our Sixth President John Quincy Adams explained morality this way:
“There are three points of doctrine the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it possible for a man to disbelieve either of these three articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark. The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy.”
2. Repent of our national sins.
Our Third President Thomas Jefferson said, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
While the Founders’ did not create a Theocracy, their quotes reflected their faith and the First Amendment proves their belief in religious freedom. It’s clear that they also believed in man’s free will and not in the religious coercion of an established state church.
Despite our Founders’ warnings of neglecting the teaching of religion and morality, we have forgotten America’s Godly Heritage and should repent.
3. Return to God.
If we want God’s blessing, we must remember, repent and return to teaching the next generation about the religious and moral principles of America’s Founders and their faith in the God of the Bible.
Our Fourth President of The United States, James Madison wrote to Rev. Frederick Beasley and said, “The belief in a God All-Powerful, wise, and good is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man.”
If belief in God is essential to the moral order, then we must teach the next generation Biblical morality, like the Founders. Because it is painfully obvious that secular teaching has resulted in immorality.
In George Bancroft’s 1866 History of the United States, he wrote that Ben Franklin told people in Paris, “He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.”
4. Restore the Bible back in schools
I applaud the attempt by Louisiana and Oklahoma to reintroduce the Bible and the Ten Commandments back into the classroom. But I admit that I have doubts that unbelieving teachers can teach the Bible. Nevertheless, the scriptures assures us that God’s word will not return void. Therefore, if we are going to reduce crime, then we need take the Founders’ advice and teach the next generation about the God of the Bible. It’s the only way to make Americans moral again.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
The Bible is spiritually alive and has the power to change the hearts of humans. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) The Founders were taught the Bible in schools and they continued the practice. But it hasn’t been a part of the school curriculum since 1963. It’s time to restore the Bible in education.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
This principle works both ways. Train children that there is no God, no absolute truth and no moral standards and they will become immoral adults. OR train children in Biblical principles and you increase the odds that they will become moral adults.
Alito is right — we need to return to a place of “godliness.”