"America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story" A Review of the Review

by Dennis Oliver Woods
(Portland, Oregon)

Although Gods laws have had almost no authoritative voice in America since the Puritans, a new book by Bruce Feiler traces the influence of Mosaic iconography on American history. A review was recently published at NewsDay.com

The book is entitled, "America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story." Although it was probably not the author's intention, the book documents the triumph of style over substance in American history and politics.

The spirit of Moses may have been invoked throughout American history, but rarely his law. From the founding of the Republic (1787) it has been illegal to require an oath to the law of Moses or Gods laws as the foundation of authority in our legal system. Article VI, Section 3, forbids such an oath and is in effect a declaration of religious neutrality.

For some time in our history the façade of neutrality was maintained, but politics like nature abhors a vacuum. The 20th Century in particular witnessed the gradual erosion and eventual abolition of whatever minute traces of Gods laws there may have been in American government.

Any such appeal to Mosaic law is now declared to be a violation of the doctrine of separation of church and state. This is the inevitable outworking of the declaration of religious neutrality enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That declaration was in fact a smokescreen for interjection of a humanistic law code, for Jesus said, "He who is not for Me is against Me."

The review of the book that appeared in the Washington Times this October (2009) notes that "Nearly every occupant of the White House, from George Washington to Barack Obama, has invoked the Israelite leader to guide Americans in difficult times." Yes, they all invoke the name of Moses and then immediately proceed to ignore him.

They are virtually all like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said, "But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men, neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men" (Mk. 7:7,8). That has been the story of the American republic from 1787 to the present. Moses is invoked as spiritual and political cover by politicians who then proceed to do their own thing with impunity. It has been 99% sheer hypocrisy.

One of the few observations I agreed with in the review was the comment that "Moses part in the American story begins with the Pilgrims. They saw themselves as fulfilling the biblical story of the Israelites, the descendents of Abraham who were enslaved in Egypt and freed by Moses, then journeyed toward the Promised Land." That is true.

From that point on, as they say in Texas, "he was all hat and no cattle." It has been all style and no substance. It has been all promise and no performance (in terms of Gods laws). It has been all talk and no action. It has been little more than political smoke and mirrors.

The epitome of smoke and mirrors occurs when the review and the book equate the Constitution of 1787 with the Children of Israel recommitting themselves to the law of God at Mt. Sinai. Christian Constitutionalists make that fantastic comparison all the time. Here is the passage in its entirety:

"When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, though, they quickly descended into lawlessness. The solution was to bind them under a new law, a new covenant: the Ten Commandments. Similarly, 'God's new Israel,' as America was called, entered a period of disarray after the Revolution, and the result was also a commitment to stricter law: the Constitution." Problem with that little analogy is the U.S. Constitution has virtually nothing to do with Gods laws.

As a matter of fact, the Constitution actually confirms "God's new Israel" in their worship of the golden calf at the foot of Sinai. When Moses and Joshua came down from Mt. Sinai they smashed the Golden Calf, ground it to dust, and made the children of Israel drink it in water.

In stark contrast, the First Amendment of the Constitution forbids Congress from prohibiting the free exercise of any and all religions. That could include witchcraft, child sacrifice, or even literal calf worship, should it ever reassert itself.

That is a direct violation of the First and Second Commandments recorded by Moses:

1) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, and

2) Thou shalt not make unto Thee any graven image.

The comparison of Moses with cult leader George Washington -- a Grand Master in the Masonic lodge -- defies imagination. The comparison of Lincoln to Moses is even worse and reveals a shocking ignorance of the dynamics underlying the War Between the States. Lincoln's statements before the War reveal him to be an extremely bigoted politician, who shamelessly exploited the slavery issue to consolidate power in the central government.

For example, in his Fourth Debate with Stephen Douglas he stated with the hearty approval of his northern audience, "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races applause -- that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.

Lincoln drones on and on, but that is enough to make the point. Much more could be said about Abraham Lincoln, but we'll save it for another time.

The author actually (probably inadvertently) summarized the entire tragic story beautifully in the comment that "The presence of Moses in American iconography grew in the 20th century, even as the Bible declined in influence". Precisely the point. All smoke and mirrors.

In the late 20th Century we find devoted liberal humanists like Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama all appealing to Moses. All the while they were pursuing policies that would have made Moses cringe -- or more likely explode in righteous indignation.