To: Muser44
From: Hudson hermit
Re: Sipping from the Cup of Hope, The Fifth and Final Part

The Creed

In my last wrote that those who acknowledge their Creator are grateful. I hinted that those who pray are freer.

In my third part, I left off with my pagan/atheist friend who had just denied the existence of any objective evil. The discussion then turned to murder and thievery, and Man's Law and Moral Law. Obviously my friend has no use for objective or transcendent truths. He viewed Natural Law or Moral Law with a certain distrust. He would resist what he saw as a backdoor attempt by the Church to impose its authority. Of course, I pointed out that Lewis had demonstrated that the Tao was universal. The similarities of cultures throughout the world point to an objective truth. I told him that Natural Law is higher than Man's Law. But this was just so much theory for my friend. We have laws to determine right from wrong, he said. And yes, while he was willing to admit that the laws of Nazi Germany were twisted, it had little to do with him.

I said, look at your own history then. This country has no right to exist. Our founding document made a clear appeal to Natural Law. That law is higher than Man's Law. For by any reasonable definition of Man's Law, King George III was their rightful sovereign, and the Founding Fathers were traitors, worthy of being locked up in jail or hanged.

"Good point," my friend said, "a crude point, but good point."

I cherish my victories, however small. (From my point of view the victory was large, he can be as stubborn as a mule sometimes).

This is the basis of the fire in my political soul. I first remember seeing Alan Keyes on C-SPAN during the Iowa caucuses in 1996. As soon as heard his speech, I knew that Alan Keyes had struck a cord in the heart of America's soul. Alan Keyes continues this work at the Declaration Foundation, working to promote the principles expressed in our country's founding document.

In 1620, Pilgrims wrote the Mayflower Compact, a proto-constitution in the New World that honors the Creator in its first sentence: "In the name of God, Amen." Ten years later, the Governor of the new Massachusetts Bay Colony would compose a sermon proposing that they be as "a city upon a hill."

Therefore lett us choose life,
that wee, and our Seede,
may live; by obeyeing his
voyce, and cleaveing to him,
for hee is our life, and
our prosperity.

So while the Declaration of Independence was a shock to the world, it was a natural progression of the charters before them for which they held God as their witness. Some people are fond of pointing out that many of the founding fathers were deists. So what? They acknowledged a Creator -- Whose Laws of Nature entitled them -- Who endowed them with certain fundamental rights.

Without the Creator, the concept of 'equal' becomes incorporeal. Fundamental rights are no longer self-evident. The materialist sees fat and skinny, talented and clumsy, genius and stupid. The materialist might argue for equality before the courts, but that too is a phantasm. Who has a better chance in court? A rich man or a poor man? Certainly, the materialist might only offer the ideal of such equality, but I doubt he would be able to describe what that ideal looks like -- at least a reasonable one.

Moving forward into the future, we find continual references to the Declaration. One example is the famous speech at Gettysburg that paid obeisance to the Declaration. In more recent times, in his State of the Union address, President Bush acknowledged to the entire world that liberty is the gift granted by the Creator. "The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity." At the Columbia memorial, he again gave tribute to the creator. "This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose; it is a desire written in the human heart. We are that part of creation which seeks to understand all creation. We find the best among us, send them forth into unmapped darkness, and pray they will return."

This is all to say, to point out the essential truth that Chesterton observed. America is founded upon a creed.

America is the only nation in the world that is founded on creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature. It enunciates that all men are equal in their claim to justice, that governments exist to give them that justice, and that their authority is for that reason just. It certainly does condemn anarchism. And it does also by inference condemn atheism, since it clearly names the Creator as the ultimate authority from whom these equal rights are derived. Nobody expects a modern political system to proceed logically in the application of such dogmas, and in the matter of God and Government it is naturally God whose claim is taken more lightly. The point is that there is a creed, if not about divine, at least about human things.

The Scouring of the Shire

Of eucatastrophes, Tolkien was careful to point out that the fairy-tales -- especially the good ones -- do not necessarily need to "and they lived happily ever after." They sometimes achieve joy at a great price or sacrifice. "These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc."

So it was at the end of the Lord of the Rings. Hobbits returning from the quest find that tyranny has crept into the Shire. Far from a peaceful return home, they found the remnants of Saruman's army (now just a band of brigands) in control of the Shire. The poor hobbits of the Shire find they are oppressed by their own laws, and compelled to follow its dictates. The returning hobbits start an uprising to overthrow Saruman. They are successful, but they find they must heal the scars from the wounds made by evil men.

While the Shire is healed, some wounds do not. Samwise laments the fact that the Frodo's heroism does not get its due recognition, but the most worrisome are the Frodo's reoccurring illnesses. These illnesses are caused by wounds earned during the quest. Because of these ills, Frodo finds his existence in Middle Earth is a burden. Eventually, Frodo is allowed to pass on to the undying lands of the West. Samwise accompanies Frodo to the Grey Havens, where Samwise lingers to watch Frodo's ship fade into the horizon. Sam returns home in the evening, his wife puts his little daughter Elanor on his lap...

He drew a deep breath. 'Well, I'm back,' he said.

It's easy to remember that Man has Fallen. But so too we can remember that Man is Redeemed. And however much Man is limited, God is unlimited. The Primary Art of Creation shines through. In certain sub-creations, Man's work, a part of God is reflected, whether that art be a poem, a play, a fantasy novel, or a founding document. Men bowing toward God are striving toward an ideal. It's worth a note, that a man praying is a more dignified man. There are good men in the world. There are men willing to sacrifice themselves for good. And for all the evil of mankind, I've such faith that men are not so powerful that they can erase the good God has Created.

I am fortunate to live in this free and beautiful country founded on a creed. I believe. I hope. And I give thanks.

Not to lose innocence and wonder but to proceed on the appointed journey: that journey upon which it is certainly not better to travel hopefully than to arrive, though we must travel hopefully if we are to arrive. -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Pax Vobiscum,
a hermit from Hudson