Verna Hall’s Beloved “Red Book”
Tries to Establish We The People As
The Foundation of Christian Government

The “Christian History of the Constitution” tries to prove that the authority of we the people may constitute a Christian government. Written by Verna Hall, the book was originally published in 1966 by the Foundation For American Christian Education (FACE).

As stated on the Title Page, the work is a “Compilation.” It is a Compilation intended to prove that the Constitution established by we the people is in fact the charter of a Christian nation. Hence the full title, “The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

I approach this analysis with the deepest respect as one who met Miss Hall briefly in the 1970s. She was gracious enough to accept my invitation to meet with a small group of friends in my home. In that meeting she poured out her heart to us, revealing a deep passion for America born of intense study and meditation.

I remember her as a Gentlewoman with a very deep love for her country and a devoted Christian scholar. I can say without hesitation that she was my earliest mentor in the cause of returning America to God. I am sure that there are many among us who would say the same.

Everybody refers to her book affectionately as “The Big Red Book.” On the Dedication Page of the Red Book, we read these words:

This volume and those to follow are dedicated to the Christian principle upon which this nation is founded, and to each American of this and succeeding generations, that he may remember his Christian heritage and live so as to raise the standard of his Pilgrim and Puritan fathers into its larger and fuller expression of individual liberty.

To summarize my conclusion regarding this book, I would say that Miss Hall has done an excellent job of documenting the Christian History of the American people.

In Part I she lays a foundation for “The Christian Idea of Man and Government.” In Part II she flashes back to the roots of these ideas in England. And in Part III she builds on the foundation, developing the theme of local self-government. All of her ideas are referenced to the primary source documents.

In spite of this, the work falls short of the lofty theme or goal implied by its title: “The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America.” That is a goal that no book can accomplish.

The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution makes it crystal clear: We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This is not the charter of a covenant nation, sworn to govern by the Word of God. Far from it. Rather it is a textbook expression of the Social Contract, a mere contract among men based on the authority of mere men.

The Social Contract was the brainchild of John Locke, as formulated in his “Second Treatise of Civil Government.” John Locke is described by some as “The Father of the Enlightenment” because of his theory of the mind as a “blank slate” and because of his rationalism. See also our essay on John Locke for additional details.

And this would comprise my only criticism of Miss Hall’s work. That is a tendency to place a halo upon the head of some of her heroes and paint them in fairer hues than they probably deserve. She saw them all as workmen, each making his own unique contribution to her beloved Constitution. Like so many she failed to grasp the destructive impact of those magic words on which it rests: We The People.

She was beloved by all. All of our lives are richer because of hers. She is one of the giants on whose shoulders all of us stand.