restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Republican Platform Ignores God, Exalts Man’s “Goodness” 

Reed R. Heustis, Jr.


The 2004 Republican Party National Platform (RPNP) sets forth the belief in the basic “goodness” of man. In so doing, it advocates a fundamental belief in total opposition to our nation’s founding and biblical principles.

The very first sentence of the RPNP, a quote by President George W. Bush, states, “Ronald Reagan believed that people were basically good, and had the right to be free” (emphasis added).

Ironically, the late Reagan, whom millions of Republican Christians hailed as a true Christian leader, had the following statement etched as his epitaph: “I know in my heart that man is good - that what is right will eventually triumph - and there is purpose and worth to each and every life” (emphasis added).

Contrary to these sentiments, man is not basically good.

Left to his own devices, man is sinful and in total rebellion to God.

Outside of God’s grace, there is no goodness in man whatsoever.

The distance between an all-Righteous God and a lowly sinner is the distance of infinity. It cannot ever be bridged by any of man’s actions or efforts.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:7, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

Only God truly knew the heart of Reagan, so these comments are not geared toward analyzing his or anyone else’s soul. God, and He alone, is the only judge of a man’s eternal destiny.

However, the true intent of these comments is to expose the soul of the Republican Party.

In 1996 Pat Buchanan asked, “What doth it profit a man... if he gain the whole world but suffer the loss of his soul? What is true of a man, is true of a country. It’s true of a party. We have forgotten that as a nation [and] as a people we are under God’s judgement.”

Whereas the souls of individuals will be judged in the afterlife with regard to their eternal destinies, institutions of men, such as nations can only be judged in “the now”.

God judges nations (and parties) based upon their actions. Confirming this is the Declaration of Independence that refers to God as “Supreme Judge of the world.” If a nation or party proclaims a fidelity to a false god, breaking the First Commandment, then God’s wrath should be expected.

When a political party corporately passes a platform, it makes certain proclamations - actions - that God will scrutinize.

The Republican Party’s platform acknowledges the alleged “goodness” of man, whereas the Bible teaches the inherent evil of man whose only redemption is through Jesus Christ and Him alone. Therefore, the Republican Party advocates an anti-Christian principle in its very first sentence.

Even the Founding Fathers understood that man’s natural inclination is evil.

In the Federalist 51, James Madison queried, “[W]hat is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

Therefore, the Founding Fathers framed the United States Constitution to control the passions of man, but they also understood that the government itself was also comprised of man. The great similarity shared by both governed and government is that sinful man resides in both. Therefore, because men are not angels, a successful experiment in constitutional government must acknowledge this biblical presupposition.

The Republican Party fails to recognize this presupposition at the outset. Instead of acknowledging the sovereignty of God, it seems to worship Reagan’s “optimistic” view that man is “basically good.”

Not surprisingly, the Preamble of the RPNP fails to mention God in any way as the foundation for its beliefs. It totally ignores God and elevates President Bush as the political savior of our nation.

Compare this to the Preamble of the national Platform of the Constitution Party, whose Presidential nominee is a true man of God, Michael A. Peroutka:

The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

Millions of Christians are proud to call themselves Republicans because they are of the mistaken belief that the Republican Party represents biblical views. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Republican Party is the party of pluralism, not biblical jurisprudence, which seeks to herald the “goodness of man” rather than Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of our nation’s future.

Our Christian brothers and sisters need to know that there is only one viable national party, the Constitution Party, upon which they can truthfully depend to remain wedded to biblical principle without compromise or equivocation.

Once they realize that a true Christian alternative exists, they are immediately faced with a moral decision.

September 17, 2004

Reed Heustis is a Christian Constitutionalist who served as the 2002-2004 Vice-Chairman of the American Independent Party of California (AIPCA), which is the third largest party in California and the largest state third party in the U.S. in terms of voter registration. The AIPCA is affiliated with the Constitution Party nationally. Mr. Heustis currently serves on the AIPCA Los Angeles County Central Committee. He may be reached for comment at his website.

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