Does Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of…the U.S. Constitution?

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A lot of people grow tired of me calling this stuff out. I grow tired of having to call it out. But somebody’s got to do it. This stuff is not going away anytime soon.

  1. If the words of the United States Constitution are inspired by God, then so is this blog post.
  2. Patrick is preaching bad theology and bad United States history.
  3. As an evangelical Christian, I believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible. I thus stand in the long tradition of Christian teaching on this matter.
  4. Because I believe the Bible is inspired by God, I cannot help but see Patrick’s claims here as idolatrous.
  5. The United States Constitution does not mention God.
  6. At the end of the United States Constitution these words appear: “done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven.” The reference to the “Year of our Lord” here was most likely added by the clerk after the members of the convention left Philadelphia. There is no extensive discussion in the minutes of the Constitutional Convention over whether to include it.
  7. Article 6 of the United States Constitution references religion: “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
  8. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

That’s it.

Patrick is employing bad theology and bad history to advance his political ambitions, the ambitions of the Trump-controlled Republican Party, and what might be called a Christian nationalist view of American identity.

Update: Yes, I do realize that Mormons believe the United States Constitution is inspired by God. If Patrick were a Mormon I might give him some slack here. But I would still criticize him for bringing an article of faith into the political process. I don’t think I ever heard Mitt Romney, who I am assuming does believe the Constitution is divinely inspired, use this tenet of his faith to advance his presidential candidacies in 2008 and 2012.

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Comments

  1. Adam says

    These guys need to decide whether they want to be Mormon or Christian. It is Mormon theology that includes a white Jesus and inspiration of American founding documents.

    And I have discovered that it is a lot of Mormon artists that have been making the really bad Christian Nationalist art with presidents and the Bible and Jesus.

    Freedom of religion means that I support Mormon rights to have their beliefs. But being a Christian, I think it is appropriate to call out politicians that say that they are Christian but are promoting Mormon theology.

  2. John Fea says

    Thanks for this Adam. As I said in my update, I don’t remember Mitt Romney using his theological belief in the divine inspiration of the United States Constitution to rally conservative evangelical voters.

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