Puritans started federalism

Is federalism good or bad? That is the $64 question in currency.  

The word “federal” is not new, as it has  been  drummed into our heads  as the system of government of many countries although we really never know if it’s good for us or not.

“Federal” has its origin in the mid-17th century. It came from the Latin word “foedus” or “foeder,” which means “covenant.” At a recent Capitol Christian Leadership forum, lawyer/pastor Jeremiah Belgica told attendees that the word “federal” and the concept of a federal (covenantal) system was already being used by the Christian Reformers, including the Puritans, more than a century before the founding of the first Federal Country, i.e. the United States.

There are also different covenantal theologies which are also called federal theologies being used by Christians even in the 17th century before the birth of any of the forefathers of the US constitutions, Belgica said. For examples, there is the 1689 Federalism of the London Baptist Confession and the earlier Westminster Federalism (covenant theology). On the other hand the concept of “covenantal communities” or “federal communities” were implemented by the Puritans – local Christian churches that were later on called “congregations” or “congregationalism.” Thus supporters of this movement were later referred to as “congregationalists.” John Adams, the second president of the then young  USA was a  devout  congregationalist, holding fast  to covenant theology.

The history of modern federalism began with the foundation of the USA. The “Convention for the revision of the federal system of government,” better known as the Philadelphia Convention, was  approved on Sept. 17, 1787 and established the first example of a federal pact between sovereign states. The framers of the American constitution according to secular scholars, was an implementation or application by the founding fathers of an already existing system used by the ecclesiastical or religious organizations.

 Belgica is the founding partner of Belgica Aranas Alim Dela Cruz & Associates Law Offices.  He is an ordained pastor of  the Lord’s Vineyard Covenant Community Church. He is a professor of San Beda College, teaching taxation and business law,  and  immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Ermita-Manila. He served as the youngest consultant to the Office of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). He is a founder  and chairman of Kabataang Bagong Buhay, an organization which was awarded as one of the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations of the National Capital Region. He is founder and chair  of the Youth Moral Force Society of former Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

To better appreciate the idea of federalism, Belgica traced the development of the federal concept and its theology as used by the Puritans. 

During the darks ages, in the 14th and 15th century England was a devout Roman Catholic nation and its crown was considered among the defenders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. However, in the beginning of the 16th century a great wave of Reformation movement started to sweep through Europe and the Reformation ideas and beliefs started to enter English society. 

The Reformation movement was started in Germany by the former Catholic monk Martin Luther when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. The theses initially only intended to question the corrupt practice of indulgence (monetary contribution for payment for sins) and to call for the Reformation of the church from unbiblical practices, resulting in many protestant break away denominations like the Lutheran Church, Presbyterian and Anglican Church and many others. 

The Reformers, whose most prominent figures were John Calvin and Martin Luther, called on Christians to go back to the supremacy of the word of  God  over traditions and  promoted the sovereignty of God in all of human affairs. They also believed in the priesthood of all believers of Christ, thus greatly diminishing the role of institutional priests who were originally believed to have the monopoly in the administration of the sacraments of the church from which all Christians  rely for their salvation. They believed that  ordinary Christian men can enter into a “covenant relationship” with God through Jesus Christ and with his fellow men as well. This led to the development of covenantal or “federal theology” among the various Reformed groups and scholars. One such Reformed people who followed the covenantalist or federalist theology were the Puritans.

Within the Puritan group are some who had totally given up on the Church of England. Called the Separatist Puritans or simply called “Separatists,” a group of 103 them called the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Holland to New England on the Mayflower in 1620, landing at New  Plymouth. They covenanted themselves into the famous Mayflower Compact that would be the basis for the building of their covenant communities in the colony.  

The Puritans left in England had their conflict with the Crown and the Church under King Charles I . Because of the continued onslaught against their religious and civil freedoms, many of the Puritans decided to leave England  and migrate to the New World,  where they could develop their own communities based on their own beliefs. Thus from 1630 to 1640 there were  around 80,000 Puritans headed  to the New World, forming the “great migration.”  

Belgica said the  Puritans’ efforts and dedication  modelled the creation of a new society not based on the central power of kings or monarchs, and a church not hinged upon the centralized powers of the Pope or the Patriarchs.  Their religious order as well as their society was instead based upon mutual covenants and self-government. It was the first system in the modern  world that made every member accountable to each other and their leaders selected and elected based on a social covenant with his fellow citizens.

More than a century and a half after the Puritans  the  first settled in New England, the colonies won their independence and not surprisingly  established a country with a covenant system on a national level. They established the first Federal Republic in the modern world.

Belgica emphasized that “the history and series of events leading to the crystallization of  Federalism teaches us through the Reformers that centralization and concentration of powers imperils the rights and freedoms of the governed, whether it may be in church or in the civil spheres. More so, the fusion of both the institutional church and civil government leads to religious oppresion of the minority especially when the powers for both are held by a single head. As a positive consequence, devoted Christian scholars studied the Word of God and discovered several strategies and principles to counter the problems  arising from centralization.  Some of  these principles are Self Government, Sphere Sovereignty (God ordained institutions of family , church and state), Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances (necessitates from the understanding  in pervades all of man and human systems), Social Contracts/Covenants, Public and Constituent Accountability of Officials, and the necessity of an empowered/proactive citizenry and constituency. These are all hallmarks of the system of Federalism.”

In closing, Belgica said that the story of federalism “teaches us that True Faith produces Excellent Works and a community of the Faithful men in the Word of God results in a strong and prosperous society.