Subject: America’s Guiding Principle #3: Individual Sovereignty confirms Objective Moral Values

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”

The idea that objective moral values and duties do not exist might be an interesting debate topic, but when a German medical student is allowed to give a TED talk to tell us that pedophilia is an unchangeable sexual orientation that should be accepted by society (I’m not kidding – Mirjam Heine at the University of Würtzberg), the backlash was immediate. Her talk was removed from the site. Apparently, there are examples, like pedophilia, that everyone can easily agree on it being objectively wrong moral behavior.

The dictionary defines ‘knowledge’ as “facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education.” The Bible defines knowledge as “comprehension of what is true”. The dictionary defines ‘wisdom’ as “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of knowledge.” The Bible defines wisdom as “skillful in daily living”. So when King Solomon tells us in Proverbs 1:7 that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”, we can make the logical deduction that there is a serious shortage of wisdom being taught at the University of Würtzberg Medical School. I would go further to say this void in wisdom exists in our universities as well. And Solomon tells us why: we no longer teach the fear of God. And we do not understand our Constitution.

Our Constitution begins with what is known as the Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, 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.”
It begins and ends with a very powerful concept, that is the third guiding principle of this great document: individual sovereignty. The first three words, “We the People”, set the tone. The Constitution represents all American citizens, with this newly formed government originating from the people of the United States. The last phrase, “ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”, says it is the people who give America its power. It is all about establishing rules to protect the sovereign rights of each citizen.

In her 2011 article ‘Our Founding Principles – The Beginning of the American Experiment’, Diane Rufino gives the Founders’ definition of ‘Individual Sovereignty’: “Certain fundamental rights are inherent in man. As our Founders reasoned: ‘How can we give consent to others – local government, state government, etc – to make rules for us if we don’t have the original power to make rules for ourselves?’

They therefore concluded that individuals indeed have such natural rights that only individual sovereignty could morally defend. If the primary object of government is to secure the rights of man in Life, Liberty, and Property (as John Locke explained), then the premise is that the individual has the sovereign right to such. It was the sovereign people (“We the People”) who created the United States under the Constitution.”

Did you catch that? Individual sovereignty is rooted in the biblical mandate that there are objective moral values. People (not governments) are sovereign, and the purpose of government is to serve and protect the basic moral rights of people! This especially applies to children whom we are morally obligated to protect against anyone who thinks sex with them is acceptable behavior. Our Constitution incorporates this third principle, individual sovereignty, because there are moral laws that apply to everyone.

This is actually so obvious that anyone who gives a speech on accepting pedophilia is confronted for their lie. This is because we recognize objective moral values and duties anytime anyone claims they have rights. Here’s how it works: If I have rights, then there is an objectively binding moral obligation on others to allow me to exercise those rights. Otherwise, the idea of rights makes no sense. If children have a right to protection from pedophiles, that only makes sense if we are morally obligated to avoid sex with children.

In his book ‘When Skeptics Ask’, Professor Norman Geisler explains why absolute moral values apply to everyone: “Even someone who claims there are no values still values the right to his opinion and expects you to do the same. This fact affirms absolute values because it makes values actually undeniable. Whenever someone denies absolute values, they expect to be treated as a person of absolute value.”

The path to returning to wisdom is fairly easy: study your Bible, study the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. They confirm individual sovereignty based on objective moral values and duties.

Ed Croteau is a resident of Lee’s Summit and hosts a weekly study in Lees Summit called “Faith: Substance and Evidence.” He can be reached with your questions through the Lee’s Summit Tribune at [email protected].