"(The adoption of the Constitution) will demonstrate as visibly the finger of Providence as any possible event in the course of human affairs can ever designate it." - George Washington.
"I regard it as the work of the purest patriots and wisest statesmen that ever existed, aided by the smiles of a benignant Providence...it almost appears a Divine interposition in our behalf...." - Daniel Webster.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams.
Here is a letter I wrote to my local newspaper:
May 23, 2011
To the Editor:
The Natural Born Clause in the US Constitution has been much discussed lately, with our President recently releasing his birth certificate. Last August, I wrote a letter to the ******* arguing that the 14th Amendment gives citizenship but does not extend natural born citizen status to those born within the USA. Since then, I have been debating what exactly "natural born" means on internet discussion boards. Through dialectical debate I believe we may have found the answer, and I would like to share it with your readers.
First of all, we must understand that the word "natural" is not a true legal term. It is impossible for human beings to define what is natural legally, because human law is man-made.
If you read the Declaration of Independence, it is obvious the founders of our country believed in a natural law that could be used to supercede human law. When they rebelled against the British Crown, they were breaking the Laws of Man. In order to justify their actions to themselves and to the rest of the world, they invoked the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God". This proves their belief in a natural law and a supreme deity who presided over it.
I believe the Framers of the Constitution were citing this law when they used the word "natural" in conjunction with the words "born" and "citizen". They wanted the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God to provide the American people with a President who would be a natural brother to them. They decided not to define definitively for us what they wanted, and instead deferred to God's natural law, probably because as humans they were not qualified to define what was natural.
What was natural for this situation, however, was already written. Being Judeo-Christian men, the Framers believed in God and in his natural law. For them, his law was written into the Holy Bible. I believe the word "natural" is, in a sense, a coded message. It means: "Reference God's Natural Law in this matter. Look in your Bible for the meaning."
So, what does the Holy Bible tell us in this matter? I've searched through the Bible looking for relevent verses. There may be others, but so far I've been able to find two passages that can help us. The first is pretty straightforward and requires no explanation: "Be sure to appoint over you the King the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Isrealite." (Deuteronomy 17:15).
The second requires some roundabout thinking, but please bear with me. It describes a father's relationship with his children: "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).
This Psalm reveals to us God's Law concerning men, sons, and children: Children are a reward from God to men, sons in particular belong to their fathers, and men should consider them a blessing. A father should teach his son to defend his country.
This is relevant because if children belong to their father, it would logically follow that they would also belong to their father's nation at birth.
All of this enables us to create a Bible-conscious definition of what a Natural Born Citizen is in respect to the Presidency. There are three basic requirements:
1) He must have an American father.
2) His father must teach him to defend America.
3) He must be someone the American People can call a brother.
This definition, I think, is much more natural than our current "born within the borders of the USA" interpretation. It makes no sense to require that a President be born in America, because a person's birthplace has no bearing whatsoever on their ability to be President. A lot of America haters are born in America.
When we view the natural born requirement within the context of God's Natural Law, however, it suddenly begins to make a whole lot of sense. We all know that sons look up to their fathers. If a boy is taught by his father to defend his country, what is that young man going to do when he grows up to become President?
I know the biblical definition would be distasteful to many. But if we want to elect a President who is a natural born leader, someone we can trust to love and fight for us, we shold abide by God's Natural Laws rather than our own. The laws of God are more natural than the laws of men. When it comes to defining what is natural, God knows better than us. He is "Nature's God" after all.
And this, my friends, I believe, is the answer to our riddle.
Mark Penn
Postscript: I think I may have started a new movement here. We'll call ourselves the "Bible Birthers".
What do you think?
"I regard it as the work of the purest patriots and wisest statesmen that ever existed, aided by the smiles of a benignant Providence...it almost appears a Divine interposition in our behalf...." - Daniel Webster.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams.
Here is a letter I wrote to my local newspaper:
May 23, 2011
To the Editor:
The Natural Born Clause in the US Constitution has been much discussed lately, with our President recently releasing his birth certificate. Last August, I wrote a letter to the ******* arguing that the 14th Amendment gives citizenship but does not extend natural born citizen status to those born within the USA. Since then, I have been debating what exactly "natural born" means on internet discussion boards. Through dialectical debate I believe we may have found the answer, and I would like to share it with your readers.
First of all, we must understand that the word "natural" is not a true legal term. It is impossible for human beings to define what is natural legally, because human law is man-made.
If you read the Declaration of Independence, it is obvious the founders of our country believed in a natural law that could be used to supercede human law. When they rebelled against the British Crown, they were breaking the Laws of Man. In order to justify their actions to themselves and to the rest of the world, they invoked the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God". This proves their belief in a natural law and a supreme deity who presided over it.
I believe the Framers of the Constitution were citing this law when they used the word "natural" in conjunction with the words "born" and "citizen". They wanted the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God to provide the American people with a President who would be a natural brother to them. They decided not to define definitively for us what they wanted, and instead deferred to God's natural law, probably because as humans they were not qualified to define what was natural.
What was natural for this situation, however, was already written. Being Judeo-Christian men, the Framers believed in God and in his natural law. For them, his law was written into the Holy Bible. I believe the word "natural" is, in a sense, a coded message. It means: "Reference God's Natural Law in this matter. Look in your Bible for the meaning."
So, what does the Holy Bible tell us in this matter? I've searched through the Bible looking for relevent verses. There may be others, but so far I've been able to find two passages that can help us. The first is pretty straightforward and requires no explanation: "Be sure to appoint over you the King the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Isrealite." (Deuteronomy 17:15).
The second requires some roundabout thinking, but please bear with me. It describes a father's relationship with his children: "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:3-5).
This Psalm reveals to us God's Law concerning men, sons, and children: Children are a reward from God to men, sons in particular belong to their fathers, and men should consider them a blessing. A father should teach his son to defend his country.
This is relevant because if children belong to their father, it would logically follow that they would also belong to their father's nation at birth.
All of this enables us to create a Bible-conscious definition of what a Natural Born Citizen is in respect to the Presidency. There are three basic requirements:
1) He must have an American father.
2) His father must teach him to defend America.
3) He must be someone the American People can call a brother.
This definition, I think, is much more natural than our current "born within the borders of the USA" interpretation. It makes no sense to require that a President be born in America, because a person's birthplace has no bearing whatsoever on their ability to be President. A lot of America haters are born in America.
When we view the natural born requirement within the context of God's Natural Law, however, it suddenly begins to make a whole lot of sense. We all know that sons look up to their fathers. If a boy is taught by his father to defend his country, what is that young man going to do when he grows up to become President?
I know the biblical definition would be distasteful to many. But if we want to elect a President who is a natural born leader, someone we can trust to love and fight for us, we shold abide by God's Natural Laws rather than our own. The laws of God are more natural than the laws of men. When it comes to defining what is natural, God knows better than us. He is "Nature's God" after all.
And this, my friends, I believe, is the answer to our riddle.
Mark Penn
Postscript: I think I may have started a new movement here. We'll call ourselves the "Bible Birthers".
What do you think?
