Jenna Ellis Esq. - The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitution: A Guide for Christians to Understand Americas Constitutional Crisis

THE LEGAL BASIS
for a MORAL
CONSTITUTION

A GUIDE FOR CHRISTIANS
TO UNDERSTAND AMERICAS
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

JENNA ELLIS, ESQ.

Foreword by Michael Farris, J.D., LL.M.

Copyright 2015 Jenna Ellis, Esq.

Cover image by Amanda Larkins. Amanda Larkins is a classically trained Colorado artist with a degree in Studio Art and Illustration from Pensacola Christian College. She also studied art in the masters program at Istituto Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, Italy. Writing of the Constitution is done in oil paint. For prints and other art, contact Amanda at www.larkinsart.net.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2275-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2276-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2274-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015920353

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/22/2015

CONTENTS

To Jesus Ch rist,

My Advo cate

&

To My Fa mily,

My Parents, Dave & Val erie,

My Brothers, David and T yler,

All of whom I love with all my h eart

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
WHAT CHRISTIAN THINKERS ARE
SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK!

Well-written, easy to read, full of good information and explanation that the average American just does not know. This book will be a good reference for the Christian perspective of how our government works and where the flash points of conflict arise. I love the way Jenna Ellis keeps going to worldview foundations. Her work will engender lots of discussion and good debate. This is exactly the kind of resource we can use with the Colson Center.

Dr. William B rown

Senior Fellow for Worldview and Cul ture

The Chuck Colson Center for Christian World view

Jenna Ellis has written a masterful book providing a foundation for the basic principle that all law is based in someones morality. The question becomes, whose morality was intended by Americas Founders? This is an important question for America today as our nation moves away from its foundations in the morality recognized by the Founders to a new morality that turns 180 degrees away from the Founders basic moral premise. The ultimate question then becomes whether America can survive uprooted from its original moral foundations.

David Gibbs III, Esq.

President, National Center for Life and Lib erty

Author, Understanding the Constitu tion

Given that those in power depend greatly on low information voters and the stupidity of the American voter, it is all the more imperative that citizens, and especially Christians and the Church, do their homework, be responsible for informing themselves, and know about their country and how it works. Jenna Ellis has provided an excellent, step-by-step overview of the Constitutions call for biblical morality, how court decisions have, over the past 60 years, eroded that call, and how we can effectively engage our system of government to renew within it the Judeo-Christian worldview our nation was founded upon.

Nancy Pear cey
Professor at Houston Baptist Univers ity
Author of Total Truth and Finding T ruth

As a lawyer, Jenna Ellis offers fresh insights into the legal purpose of the founding documents. These do not contain mere philosophical musings. Instead, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were penned by lawyers, using legal terminology, and they provided the legal rationale and effected the legal founding of the United States. Ellis argues that the founding documents grounded their legitimacy in Divine Law, not in any form of social contract theory, which means that they cannot legitimately be turned into fluid documents at the whim of current judges. Throughout, Ellis provides fascinating insights into what the founders really meantand what they should mean for us today.

Frank Per etti

Best-selling author of This Present Darkness and The Oath

At a time in our nation where basic concepts of freedom and liberty are being re-imagined and re-defined, Jenna Ellis provides a timely and helpful exploration of why law and what law against a rapidly changing cultural landscape. As an attorney, Jennas examination of the Founders as lawyers presents a fresh and insightful perspective to our nations origins and its implications for today. Her discussion reaches beyond the typical historical, legal narrative, analyzing the critical role of human desire for validation and the proper role of a legal system in reflecting that universal craving.

As a millennial, it is encouraging to see someone from our generation give a practical overview of our legal system while tackling the grey that is driving it. Regardless of where one falls on the hot-button issues of our day, Jennas book is a helpful tool in examining our past in order to move towards a hopeful and vast future.

Kerri K upec

Legal Communications Dire ctor

Alliance Defending Fre edom

When five unelected, unregenerate judges of the Supreme Court shook their fists at almighty God and redefined His mandate for marriage, it signaled a dogmatic departure from the God-ordained objective morality our country once embraced. Jenna Elliss book is a timely one and provides much-needed insight into the legal reasons our nation must return to objective moral judgments that were established by our God and Creator in His Word. Morality should never be viewed as a changing standard dictated by the majority of our Supreme Court Justices. I highly recommend Jenna Ellis and her excellent work in The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitu tion !

Mike Gendron, M.A .B.S.

Dallas Theological Semi nary

Director, Proclaiming the Gospel Mini stry

Most Americans are instinctively aware that something is desperately wrong with todays legal system. Yet, very few are able to explain why or pinpoint the actual reason for the problem. Americas founding documents were not created in a philosophical vacuum. Rather, a deep and vast moral, theological, and biblical worldview provided the backdrop for Americas foundation and experiment in self-government. It remains impossible to understand Americas underpinnings independent of this accompanying worldview. As was true in Josiahs day before the re-discovery of Gods neglected Law in the Temple (2 Kings 22), its all too easy for a nation to lose sight of its own history. Yet, when this history is obscured or lost, a nations founding institutions will remain an enigma to contemporary observers.