PLST 205 Discussion + Replies

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DISCUSSION POST #1 Briefly explain what a worldview is and how one’s worldview would impact his view of a state’s role on issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage. A worldview is how one views the world. In the article we read this week, it says that a worldview “comprises one’s collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life” (MacArthur, What's your worldview? 2014). This can impact how people see things, such as abortion or same-sex marriage. While someone else will see abortion as okay, we as Christians, don’t believe that it is okay as a baby is a gift from God. The United States Supreme Court case, Roe v Wade, is an extremely good example of the abortion laws we have today. The case was about “A pregnant single woman (Roe) brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe procuring or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother's life.” Roe v. Wade 93 S.Ct. 705. While this a very controversial case, I do not support abortions, unless it can save the mother’s life. The reason I say that is because it is better to save one life then it is to have two dead people. That is the only way I can see an abortion happening. With same-sex marriage, some may think it is okay, but Christians see it as a sin, because a marriage is only between a man and a woman. This is the way most, if not all, Christians see the world in a board term. While same sex marriage is legal due to Obergefell v Hodges, Christians are still opposed to it. In the case, it states that same sex it legal due to the Fourteenth Amendment, because of the Equal Protection Act. Some who has the worldview that a relationship between two same sex people marriage, God does not see it that way. Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113, 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 707, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147 (1973), overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org. , 597 U.S. 215, 142 S. Ct. 2228, 213 L. Ed. 2d 545 (2022), and holding modified by Planned Parenthood of Se. Pennsylvania v. Casey , 505 U.S. 833, 112 S. Ct. 2791, 120 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1992) Dr. John MacArthur, Whats Your Worldview?, Answers in Genesis (May 2, 2006), https://answersingenesis.org/presuppositions/whats-your-worldview/ . (accessed on January 17, 2024) REPLIES TO POST #1 Hey Ashleigh! We both choose to do the worldview topic for this week. Even though we have different worldviews due to how we grew up, we feel different about both same-sex marriage and abortions. When doing research on the topic of abortion, I actually learned that the Bible does not mention the word abortion at all. For example, in Exodus 21:22 it says, “When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage…” (NIV). To me after reading this, it seems like a women’s life can be more important than a baby’s who is still in the womb. While I understand this is and will always be a controversial topic that will always be up for debate, mostly with Christianity and some other religions, I don’t see any harm, if the women’s life is at risk. If there is no risk to the mother, they should not choose to have an abortion. Jessica

Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 21:22 - New International Version , Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exod+21%3A22&version=NIV . Hey Shalah! We both chose the same prompt for this week. But I noticed that our posts differ because of our worldviews. Since I have friends and family that are apart of the LGBTQ+ community, so my worldview on that is different. Leviticus 20:13 is always brought up in arguments about same sex marriage. But when I was doing more research on this topic, I read that there is nothing in the Bible that Jesus said that was against homosexuality. On one website I read, is said, “Jesus uplifted actions and attitudes of justice, love, humility, mercy, and compassion” ( Four things you didn't know about God and same-sex marriage 2023). While reading the Bible, it is clear that is what God is teaching us. There are no verses that specifically say that gay marriage is wrong or being in a same-sex relationships are sin. God loves everyone as it says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” ( NIV). Even though everyone sees homosexuality as sin, God still died for us and he always showed love and mercy to everyone. Jessica Four Things You Didn’t Know About God and Same-Sex Marriage, Center for American Progress (Apr. 14, 2009), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/four-things-you-didnt-know-about-god-and-same-sex-marriage/.Bible Gateway passage: Romans 5:8 - New International Version, Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? search=Romans%205%3A8&version=NIV. DISCUSSION POST 2 The qualifications of each of the fifty five delegates in the Convention were definitely unique. Each of delegates had to be extremely well educated. Twenty nine of the men were graduates of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, William and Mary, Oxford, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. (Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 16-18 (2005)). Some of them were also lawyers. These men also had to have a strong experience serving their country. If they had to write the first laws of the land that is the United States of America, they needed to know how to lead. Which is why some of them were state governors, fought in the war, and served in Congress. They also needed experience in writing legal documents. They were chosen because some of them wrote their own state’s constitution. Their last and finial qualification was they had to have strong Biblical principles. These qualifications impacted our Constitution is because it we know that it was written by people that were well educated. It was also written by people who had great leadership skills and experience serving our country. Since the Constitution is a legal document, the people who had the experience writing one was extremely valuable. We needed to make sure it was written correctly. The last reason impacted the contributions because the country was founded on Christian principles. I believe that there was evidence of a divine intervention. Most of the delegates where regulars of the Church and there was two that were preachers in their church. The delegates had to travel to get to they needed to go. They needed to be safe in their travels. It was clear that God had looked out for them while they traveled. God knew that they needed to be there for the Convention. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV). The delegates knew that this was their purpose and it was the purpose given to them by God. Its why they had the qualifications they did.

Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 16-18 (2005). Bible Gateway passage: Romans 8:28 - New International Version, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? search=Romans+8%3A28&version=NIV.

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REPLIES TO POST #2 Hi Gloria! We both chose the first option for the discussion thread! A major thing that you could have mentioned were how many delegates there was for the Convention. That is a fact that was major in the making of the Constitution. One thing that could have been mentioned is that the Constitution was drafted in secret. A did a little research after posting my thread and read the following, “…those in attendance kept their deliberations secret during their lifetimes and did not inform the public of the resulting document until September 17…” (Vile, Constitutional convention of 1787, 2024). I thought was different because today the what was written in the Constitution is now public knowledge. While I knew that they didn’t speak of it outside of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I didn’t know it was kept a secret until the end of the Convention. I also believed that there was some type of divine intervention due to the delegates traveling to get to the Convention. While they traveled, they had to deal with harsh conditions like mud and heat. It was obvious that God had a hand in that. John R. Vile, Constitutional convention of 1787 The Free Speech Center (2024), https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/constitutional-convention-of-1787/#:~:text=To%20encourage%20delegates %20to%20make,had%20signed%20on%20to%20it. (last visited Jan 27, 2024). Hi Samantha! I liked your post since we both chose the same option for the thread. I don’t agree that the most important qualification was being well versed in Biblical principles. While it is important, I think the most important qualifications were that they had experience in serving their county and that they were well educated. If they didn’t have those qualifications, the country wouldn’t be successful as a new country. After the Revolutionary War, “James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared their young country was on the brink of collapse” (The constitution: How did it happen?). They also feared that disputes among the states would tear them apart. If the delegates weren’t well educated and they didn’t have experience serving their country, we wouldn’t be the country we are today. If the Constitution wasn’t written in the way it is today, we wouldn’t be able to have this platform were we can discussion things like this freely. The constitution: How did it happen?, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution/how-did-it-happen (last visited Jan 28, 2024).

Discussion Post #3 When the Constitutional Convection was going on, there was events that can only be described a certain way. Those ways are (1) either they were the result of luck or coincidence, or (2) they were divinely directed by a God who is sovereign over all of history (Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 46 (2005)). The second choice is the only one that makes people uncomfortable. Everything that happened during the Constitutional Convention was not short term. God wanted a document that will stand the test of time, which our Constitution has. It also became a beacon of freedom for the world to see. Our founding fathers knew that God had a role in their decisions. Benjamin Franklin said during a speech, "I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men” (Eidenmuller, Online speech bank: Benjamin Franklin's Prayer Speech at the Constitutional Convention of 1787). He knew that God did play a role in creating the Constitution. While it seems unbelievable, there are many refences to God in the Constitution as well. The preamble of the Constitution says, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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." (U.S. Constitution - the preamble - library of Congress) When they say “secure the Blessings of Liberty” it is a clear acknowledgement of God’s role. The evidence of God’s assistance is clear. While many may downplay this, those who understand the history and faith recognize it as an aspect of our national identity. (Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 46 (2005)) Michael E. Eidenmuller, Online speech bank: Benjamin Franklin’s Prayer Speech at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/benfranklin.htm (last visited Feb 2, 2024). U.S. Constitution - the preamble - library of Congress, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/preamble/ (last visited Feb 2, 2024). Replies for post #3 Hi Marah! I really enjoyed your post! I liked that you compared the delegates leaving their families to MVP football players. I did not think of that analogy when I reading the chapters this week. Our founding fathers would not have done this if they did not have faith. Most people today would not do it either. It takes a lot to leave your family, especially when money is an issue. Four months is a long time to be away as well. But they had faith and knew that this is something that they needed to do. I have a feeling they looked at this verse a lot during the Convention, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV). That verse is a call to God, asking for strength in difficult times. Tensions were high and this verse sums everything up perfectly. Bible gateway passage: Psalm 46:1 - new international version, Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46%3A1&version=NIV (last visited Feb 5, 2024).

Hi Lisa! I really enjoyed your discussion post this week! I liked how you mentioned that all they did was argue when they met at the Convention. That is something so overlooked, that I didn't even mention it. It showed us that even though all they did was constantly get angry with each other, God made himself known. Like in Psalm 19:1, “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (NIV). To me, this verse just tells that he is always there. Personally, with something this big, I do not believe in luck or coincidences. The only explanation for this is God’s divine intervention, like you said in your post. It's so easy to see God's influence in the Constitution. The preamble, for example, is a great place to see it. The delegates wrote, “secure the Blessings of Liberty", they understood that God gave them that freedom and his intervention was there and clear. Bible gateway passage: Psalm 19:1 – new international version, Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2B19%3A1&version=NIV (last visited Feb 5, 2024). Discussion Post #4 Explain how the founders’ awareness of the sinful nature of man relates to the specific structural mechanisms in the U.S. Constitution. The founders knew that all men sin. Because of that, they needed to have things in place so the Constitution could guide how the government works and makes laws. In Romans 7:7, it says “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” Romans 7:7 (NIV). We wrote the Constitution to “create a government with enough power to act on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk” The White House, The Constitution 2021. Some of those fundamental rights also come from the Bible and the preamble lists them. But there are 5 principles that are the most important. They are as follows: (1) representative government; (2) separation of powers; (3) federalism; (4) prohibition of government involvement in religion, education, & media; and (5) permanent union Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 126 (2005). With the first principle, it says that we get to elect our government representatives. The second principle helps keep checks and balances within the government, which is part of the separation of powers. Principle number three is about federalism and why we separate the different governments, local and national. Because of that there are 2 different levels and they can not over power each other. The fourth principle is about how the government can not involve itself in how states make money and it also cannot redefine marriage. The fifth and final principle is about keeping a permanent union. When the southern Confederate states seceded, it was an unconstitutional act, due to this principle. There are many other biblical principles that were included, but these are the most important.

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Bible Gateway passage: Romans 7:7 - New International Version, What shall we say, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A7&version=NIV . The Constitution, The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the- constitution/ . Mark A Beliles & Douglas S Anderson, Contending for the Constitution: Recalling the Christian Influence on the Writing of the Constitution and the Biblical Basis of American Law and Liberty 126 (2005) Replies for post 4 Hi Anna Cheatham! Hi Jenna Scott!

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