If you were to visit different court houses and legislative buildings throughout the United States there would be a common theme that you would recognize. The 10 commandments and Moses are commonly displayed in some shape or form. Some of these buildings include the U.S. Supreme Court building, the U.S. Capitol building, in front of D.C.’s federal courthouse, as well as Alabama’s state capital.

The Bible and things such as the 10 commandments have always been looked upon as a source to be used as the foundation of the laws in America. This dates back all the way to America’s beginning. Because of this, it is no surprise that all these court houses and legislative buildings show some type of tribute.

America is progressing toward becoming more and more secular. As this is occurring there appears to be not just a turning away from the Bible as a source for law making, but almost a hostility against Christianity. Slogans are now often heard saying things like "Christians need to keep their morality out of politics."

This progression toward secularism and rising hostility against Christians can only make one wonder if there is something wrong with the Christian morality as found in the Bible. What are the purpose of laws and is there a case on whether the Christian morals should be within them or not.

What is the purpose of laws?

Laws can be broken down into two main purposes. Those purposes are to give people as much freedom as possible while also still protecting everyone and their freedoms. This doesn't mean that people should have the freedom to do whatever they want, but they should have the freedom to do what is right.

A person can’t go and murder another person because then they would be taking the other person’s freedom and right to live. A person can’t go and steal from another person because they are then taking that person’s freedom and right to own personal property. A person can't use their freedoms to strip someone else of their freedoms and rights. Thus, the need for a balance between freedom and protection.

The question then becomes, protection from what? How does one know what people need protection from? This is a moral position on whether something is right or wrong, which leads us to the next point that must be addressed.

What do all laws legislate?

All laws legislate morality and put a value to a moral infraction. Does the punishment fit the crime? The punishments can be different depending on a societies position on different moral issues. For instance, a society may think speeding is a bigger moral infraction then murder. This could result in a government making a law that those caught speeding will go to jail for 20 years and those that commit murder may just pay a fine. The punishment for a moral infraction is weighted differently depending on the culture or a societies moral position on an issue.

For this argument I’m not going to break down the evidence for relative versus objective moral truth or if the Bible is indeed the inerrant and infallible word of God. Without all of that does it still make sense to follow the Christian morals?

When it comes to the morality of Christianity it leaves one with an interesting dilemma. This dilemma all comes down to who Jesus was. Jesus is the most famous man that has ever lived for two reasons. One, is because he is known as the most moral man that has ever lived and two, because he is also known as the son of God that died as the savior for the moral sins of mankind. I’m not going to address the dilemma of what makes more sense between Jesus being just a moral man versus the son of God but just looking at the argument from the perspective of either of these being correct.

What if Jesus was the son of God?

For 2,000 years people have analyzed the resurrection of Jesus and the impact it has had. It remains undisputed in the fact that a large number of people were fully convinced and willing to excruciatingly die for the fact that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead 3 days after his death. A moment, that if true, proved Jesus was the son of God and that all of Christianity depends on.

If all the evidence reasonably points to Jesus being the son of God (which I strongly suggest everyone should objectively take a look at), then any honest person should agree that they should believe the things Jesus said. Including the things Jesus said are morally right or wrong and how following his commands are how everyone can properly love one another. If the God who created the universe sent himself down in human form to take the punishment of what you and I morally have done wrong, then I’m going to trust the God who set the moral standard of what is right and wrong. I’m not going trust my own opinions or someone else’s of what they think is morally right.

What if Jesus was just the most moral man that has ever lived?

What if you don’t find the evidence compelling that Jesus was the son of God? This still leaves the fact that Jesus is still known as by far the most moral man that has ever lived. If Jesus isn’t the son of God, but is just the most moral man that has ever lived, then everyone should still follow the morality of Jesus as documented in the Bible.

The morals of Jesus’ teachings have always been looked upon as the standard of what is right or wrong dating back to America’s founding. Founding father Thomas Jefferson, who some want to claim was a deist, even created what is known as the Jefferson Bible or the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, which was a list of all of Jesus’ moral teachings. Also, whether on accident or not, the morals and ideas of the biblical worldview were also implemented by America’s Founding Fathers throughout the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Any reasonable person that believes Jesus was just the most moral person that has ever lived should have no problem implementing His moral teachings as the foundation and standard used in laws. 

Recap

Should the Christian morality be in Politics? Since all laws legislate morality then it appears there's actually a case that only the Christian morality, as found in the Bible, should be involved in Politics. I’m not saying America should have a theocracy or a government that should force people to be Christian. I know this idea makes people cringe and it sounds appalling to many. Putting feelings aside, it doesn’t appear to be unreasonable to say that all honest people would want the morality of either the son of God or the most moral man that has ever lived to be imbedded in their laws.

If everyone could agree on a foundation of how laws should be made, then how quickly the divisiveness of politics in this country fade away. Sad to say everyone knows this will never occur.

Why people don’t want the Christian morals in politics:

It can be broken down into two main reasons why people wouldn’t want the morals of Christianity implemented in their laws.

One, people don’t enjoy feeling convicted and want to suppress that there is a higher power as they seek full autonomy of their life. This reality is laid out in the Bible again and again on how man-kind would respond to law of God. In the book of Jeremiah, it gives a reminder how the Jewish people will respond. In verse 18:12 “But they will reply, it’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.” So even if all the evidence points to Jesus being the son of God, people will still be stubborn and turn away from his teachings and commands on how to properly love others as they pursue the desires of their hearts.

The second possibility is that a person is too arrogant. People like to think they know better in deciding what is morally right or wrong than the guy who 2,000 years after his death is still looked upon as the most moral and famous man that has ever lived.

Whether a person is just being arrogant or pursuing full autonomy, these are not good reasons to ignore evidence of the Christian morality being the standard of what is right or wrong. A standard that the United States of America was once built on and should still pursue in building its legal foundation.

Not only should the Christian morality found in the Bible be pursued to implement in America’s laws, but it appears it should be looked to as the foundation and standard for all law making.