Ethics

Rutherford and America's Founding Principles

By Ed Brayton

Jon Rowe has an excellent post at Positive Liberty about Samuel Rutherford and the concept of unalienable rights. Rutherford was a Calvinist theologian in Scotland in the early 1600s and the author of Lex, Rex, which translates as "the law is king." Many religious right types attempt to trace the roots of some of the concepts of the constitution to Rutherford as part of the "Christian nation" myth and Rowe has done an excellent job of debunking those arguments. As Jon notes, much of this can be traced to perhaps the single most influential thinker among the Christian right, Francis Schaeffer.

There is a kernel of truth to the claims and we might as well admit that up front. Rutherford did, in fact, argue take many positions that were consistent with the American revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He argued strongly against the divine right of kings and for a system of government that included powers that were both separated among different branches and limited by a constitution. So far, so accurate.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on December 01, 2008 (boomark / email).