Frequently, colonial legislators drafted into their civil codes statutes based on or deriving from the Old Testament Law of God. Whereas English common law was unwritten, in the American colonies, there not being as ready a supply of judges and barristers as in England, it became necessary to reduce law to codes anyone could read, understand, and follow. Many of those codes show the direct influence of Biblical Law. It is not hard, for example, to discern the Biblical basis for the following colonial statutes:
- Pennsylvania, April 25, 1662
- Virginia, 1631/32
And forasmuch as nothing is more acceptable to God than the true and sincere service and worship of Him according to His holy will, and that the holy keeping of the Lord’s day is a principal part of the true service of God...be it enacted...that there shall be no meetings, assemblies, or concourse of people out of their parishes on the Lord’s day, and that no person or persons whatsoever shall travel upon the said day, and that no other thing or matter whatsoever be one on that day which tends to the profanation of the same, but that the same be kept holy in all respects...
These examples are typical of many others that could be cited. Colonial lawmakers looked to the Law of God to mark out the parameters of civil order and to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of all citizens.
This should not surprise us, since we continue doing the same thing today. As the frieze on the façade of the United States Supreme Court indicates, Biblical law – the Law of God – is one of the foundational pillars in American civil law. Since that Law served to lay the foundation of this great Republic, why should we now regard it as no longer to be relied upon or even referred to in matters of public policy?
T. M. Moore
Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.
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Foundations of Colonial America, (New York: Chelsea House, 1983), p. 1146.
Foundations of Colonial America, pp. 2078, 2079