Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 20
February 27, 1968
NUMBER 42, PAGE 7a

The Bill Of Rights And Plain Speech

Elvis Bozarth

On December 15, citizens of the United States, in various ways, observed and honored the 177th anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights. Honoring this great event is most appropriate. This amazing document covers a wide range of personal freedoms - freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition; the right to keep and bear arms; prohibits the quartering of soldiers except under certain conditions; prevents unreasonable search and seizure; protects persons and property; speedy and public trial by jury; prohibits excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments, etc.

The fight through Congress was led by young James Madison, who in twenty years would become the fourth president of the United States. Originally twelve amendments were proposed, but the number was boiled down to ten. They were passed by Congress on September 25, 1789. By December 15, 1791, enough states had ratified the amendments to assure their passage.

This American Bill of Rights remains the most compact, the most inclusive, and the greatest guarantee of personal liberty ever drawn up by mankind.

There are two mechanical features of the Bill of Rights that are worthy of note.

First, its brevity. Surprisingly, none of the ten amendments is more than one sentence long — even though written in a day of flowery rhetoric. More than half of the individual measures are less than fifty words in length. No one can accuse the authors of the Bill of Rights of being intoxicated with the exuberance of their own verbosity.

Second, the Bill of Rights is among the most negative documents ever written. Within the 500-word body, "no," "not" and "nor" appear eighteen times (if my count is right). Yet, each negative has a positive purpose. In blunt, plain, unmistakable terms, the Bill of Rights nailed down those personal freedoms which the Constitution had only assumed or implied.

Implication was not good enough for our fathers in the several States which had approved the Constitution. They wanted the freedoms spelled out — exactly what the limitations of government were — where the lines were drawn.

Gospel preaching must be like that — plain, simple, straight to the point, negative when negative admonition is due with the facts spelled out so people can see the limitations of God's word and where the lines are drawn.

— 536 N. Poplar Street, Montebello, Calif., 90640