|
A Wall of Separation
The celebrated phrase, "a wall of separation between church and state," was contained in Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists. American courts have used the phrase to interpret the Founders' intentions regarding the relationship between government and religion. The words, "wall of separation," appear just above the section of the letter that Jefferson circled for deletion. In the deleted section Jefferson explained why he refused to proclaim national days of fasting and thanksgiving, as his predecessors, George Washington and John Adams, had done. In the left margin, next to the deleted section, Jefferson noted that he excised the section to avoid offending "our republican friends in the eastern states" who cherished days of fasting and thanksgiving.
George Washington
1st U.S. President
"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."
--The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.
John Adams
2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be."
--Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."
--Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."
--Adams wrote this in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776.
Thomas Jefferson
3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."
--Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
"I am a real Christian - that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
John Hancock
1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. ... Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
--History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.
Benjamin Franklin
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Unites States Constitution
"Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.
That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them.
As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see;
But I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and more observed; especially as I do not perceive, that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any peculiar marks of his displeasure."
--Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790.
Samuel Adams
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Father of the American Revolution
"And as it is our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great family of man, I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world that the rod of tyrants may be broken to pieces, and the oppressed made free again; that wars may cease in all the earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among nations may be overruled by promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all people everywhere willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is Prince of Peace."
--As Governor of Massachusetts, Proclamation of a Day of Fast, March 20, 1797.
James Madison
4th U.S. President
"Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ."
--America's Providential History, p. 93.
James Monroe
5th U.S. President
"When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgements for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good."
--Monroe made this statement in his 2nd Annual Message to Congress, November 16, 1818.
John Quincy Adams
6th U.S. President
"The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10)."
--Life of John Quincy Adams, p. 248.
William Penn
Founder of Pennsylvania
"I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself."
--Treatise of the Religion of the Quakers, p. 355.
Roger Sherman
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution
"I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance equal in power and glory. That the scriptures of the old and new testaments are a revelation from God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. That God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, so as thereby he is not the author or approver of sin. That he creates all things, and preserves and governs all creatures and all their actions, in a manner perfectly consistent with the freedom of will in moral agents, and the usefulness of means. That he made man at first perfectly holy, that the first man sinned, and as he was the public head of his posterity, they all became sinners in consequence of his first transgression, are wholly indisposed to that which is good and inclined to evil, and on account of sin are liable to all the miseries of this life, to death, and to the pains of hell forever.
I believe that God having elected some of mankind to eternal life, did send his own Son to become man, die in the room and stead of sinners and thus to lay a foundation for the offer of pardon and salvation to all mankind, so as all may be saved who are willing to accept the gospel offer: also by his special grace and spirit, to regenerate, sanctify and enable to persevere in holiness, all who shall be saved; and to procure in consequence of their repentance and faith in himself their justification by virtue of his atonement as the only meritorious cause.
I believe a visible church to be a congregation of those who make a credible profession of their faith in Christ, and obedience to him, joined by the bond of the covenant.
I believe that the souls of believers are at their death made perfectly holy, and immediately taken to glory: that at the end of this world there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a final judgement of all mankind, when the righteous shall be publicly acquitted by Christ the Judge and admitted to everlasting life and glory, and the wicked be sentenced to everlasting punishment."
--The Life of Roger Sherman, pp. 272-273.
Benjamin Rush
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!"
--The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, pp. 165-166.
"Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts, they will be wise and happy."
--Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
"I know there is an objection among many people to teaching children doctrines of any kind, because they are liable to be controverted. But let us not be wiser than our Maker.
If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all the world would have been unnecessary. The perfect morality of the Gospel rests upon the doctrine which, though often controverted has never been refuted: I mean the vicarious life and death of the Son of God."
--Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.
John Witherspoon
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Clergyman and President of Princeton University
"While we give praise to God, the Supreme Disposer of all events, for His interposition on our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of, an arm of flesh ... If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
What follows from this? That he is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind.
Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy of his country."
--Sermon at Princeton University, "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men," May 17, 1776.
Alexander Hamilton
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."
--Famous American Statesmen, p. 126.
Patrick Henry
Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
--The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.
"The Bible ... is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed."
--Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, p. 402.
John Jay
1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and President of the American Bible Society
"By conveying the Bible to people thus circumstanced, we certainly do them a most interesting kindness. We thereby enable them to learn that man was originally created and placed in a state of happiness, but, becoming disobedient, was subjected to the degradation and evils which he and his posterity have since experienced.
The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement "for the sins of the whole world," and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve."
--In God We Trust?The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers, p. 379.
"In forming and settling my belief relative to the doctrines of Christianity, I adopted no articles from creeds but such only as, on careful examination, I found to be confirmed by the Bible."
--American Statesman Series, p. 360.
Charles Carroll (Signer of The Declaration of Independence)
" Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time: they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so subline and pure... are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free government."
THe Seven Principles of the Judeo-Christian Ethic
WHEN OUR NATION'S FOUNDING FATHERS gave us documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others, they had to lean upon a common understanding of law, government, social order, and morality. That understranding sprang from the common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of the moral and social values that originates in the Old and New Testaments of the Word of God.
Whether each of the Founding Fathers was a Christian is not the issue. Their writings, their statements, and their votes evidence the fact that the majority of them embraced these great principles as the basis for a civilized nation.
Principle #1 The Dignity of Human Life
The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence our nation's Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has "unalienable rights," and that among these rights are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.
If people and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both the born and the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible- it is the first principle of any civilized society.
"You shall not murder." - Exodus 20:13
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:39
Principle #2 The Traditional Monogramous Family
Our society has been based upon the belief that the biblical view of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of that union comes children- born into a home with a father and a mother to love them, nurture them, and teach them how to become healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.
The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When that plan is lost, "marriage" and "family" become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.
"And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." - Genesis 2:23,24
Principle#3 A National Work Ethic
Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. This independent spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts from government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirit that has allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.
Americans have had their challenges. The Great Depression of the 1930's knocked us to our knees, but it did not beat us. Together, Americans helped one another and lifted our nation back to its economic might. The powers of the world look at our nation and ask where that spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated. It came from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations were raised to believe in this third principle of honest work, which is found throughout the Word of God.
"For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." - 2nd Thessalonians 3:10
Principle#4 The Right to a God-Centered Education
We see in Proverbs 1:7 that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." How can one understand the creation without first knowing its Creator? The answer is that one cannot.
Our Forefathers certainly understood this. For example, did you know that most of America's oldest universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard University, founded in 1636, adopted "Rules and Precepts" which stated: "Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life." Harvard's original seal has upon it these words: "Truth for Christ and the Church."
The early children's textbook "The New England Primer" taught the ABC's by having children memorize: "A- In Adam's fall, we sinned all. B- Heaven to find, the Bible mind." Today's youth are tomorrow's America. There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle.... It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:4
Principle#5 The Abrahamic Covenant
A covenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups stating that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records the story of God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that if Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5). Abraham believed God, obeyed his Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now know as Israel.
This principle of the Abrahamic covenant states that if a person or a nation obeys God, observing the moral truths found in the Bible, that person or nation will be blessed. If they disobey, they will bring punishment upon themselves. For most of our nation's history, Americans have accepted the belief that good deeds produce good results and that people who were "God-fearing" in language and in lifestyle would be blessed by Him. That belief has been proven to be true time and again. The writer of Proverbs tells it plainly, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (14:34).
"Now the LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" - Genesis 12:1-3
"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." - Galatians 3:7
Principle#6 Common Decency
Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nation, when faced with any trying or difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history. For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others might experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world's poor, to clothe the naked, and to aid the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the world's oppressed and given them safe haven.
Engraved on a bronze plaque on the base of the Statue of Liberty are these words from the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" A world-renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.
"You shall lvoe your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22:39
Principle#7 Our Personal Accountability to God
Perhaps the greatest restraint against acts of evil towards others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God. Certainly the Bible tells us that we are responsible for our actions and we must be accountable for what we do or don't do. It also teaches that there is a penalty for doing wrong and a blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just.
The great American statesman Daniel Webster was once asked, "What is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind?" He quickly responded, "My personal accountability to God." Webster knew that he would one day stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." -Hebrews 9:27
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
In November 1861, after a visit to the Union Army camp, Julia Ward Howe wrote the poem that came to be called " The Battle Hymn of the republic." It became the best-known civil War song of the Union Army as well as a well-loved American patriotic anthem.
Genesis: 3:15 " He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
"As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal";
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally .let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Second Amendment to the U.S. constitution reads:"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the Peole to keep and bear arms shall not be infrigned."
Genesis 14:14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captice, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants
Having fled persecution in Great Britain, the Puritans had laws requiring every family to own a gun, to carry it in public places, and to train children in the use of firearms. In 1619, the colony of Virginia had statutes that required everyone to bear arms. Connecticut law of 1650 required every man above the age of sixteen to possess " a good musket or other gun, fit for service." The early laws of America are very clear about his. The people were responsible for their own defense and freedoms and needed to be prepared to fight. Thomas Jefferson said, " The strongest reason for the peopel to retain the right to bear arms is , as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." At that time, there was no concept of a professional army, created and paid to defend the colonies. George Mason, called the father of the Bill of Rights, said, What is the militia? It is what hold people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." With the approach of the American Revolution, the natural rights philosophers had established the foundation for self-defense. Every man's life, they said, belongs to God, and to allow one's life to be taken because one failed to defend it was wrong. This natural law to the right of self-defense was also applied to the duty to protect one's family, community, and national liberties. For the colonist, at the hear tof their religion was liberty, a sacred gift from God. For the most part, the colonial churches, particulary New Englands's Congregational congregations, beleived that to revolt against tyrants, such as King George, was to obey God. It may have had its roots in the Old Testament accounts of Isreal's war for freedom, but it became a powerful fire that impassioned the citizenry. And it remains a beleif that continues to influence American's views about the right to bear arms today.
What can we do for our county:
Service: " So this day shall be to you a memorial..."
In honor of the veterans of the Civil War, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who had been wonduded three times during the war, said in the Memorial Day Address in 1884:
It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask oursleves what we can do for our country in return.
Reverence for the Word
William Cullen Bryant(1794-1878), known as the " Father of American Poets" and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post, wrote about he Bible: The sacredness of the Bible awes me, and I approach it with the same sort of reverential feeling that an ancient Hebrew might be supposed to feel who was about to touch the ark of God with unhallowed hands. Exodus 25:22 " and there I will meet with you..."
Science and the Bible
Known as " The father of the American Space Programs, " Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) wa the director of NASA. he was sometiems said to be the preeminent rocket scientish of the twentieth centry, and he stated: In this age of space flight, when we use the modern tools of science to advance into new regions of human activity, the Bible-this grandiose, stirring history of the gradual revelation and unfolding of the moral law remains in every way and upto date book. our knowledge and use of the laws of nature that enable us to fly to the moon also uneable us to destroy our home planet with the atom bomb. Science itself does not address the question whether we shoudl use the pwoer at our disposal for good or for evil. The guidelines of what e ought to do are furnished in the moral law of God. It is not loinger enought at we pray that God may be with us on our side. We must learn to pray that we may be on God's side.
Harriet Powers
Harriet Powers (1837-1910) was an African_American slave folk artist and quilt maker from rural Gerogia. While only two of her quilts have survived, Bible Quilt 1886 and Bible Quilt 1898, they are nationally recongize as masterworks of American folk art. her panel-storied quilts use traditional applique technigues and piecework to record local legends, Bible stories, and astronomical events. Considered among the finest examples of nineteeth-century Southern quilting, her work is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Her quilts demonstrate both African and African-American influences and consist of numerous pictorial squares, with each panel depicting a biblical sotry or celestial phenomenon. Scenes such as Adam and Eve naming the animals in the Garden of Eden, Cain killing his brother Abel, and the baptism of Christ are observed. Her art is powerful, vivid, and clearly tells a story. It is thought that Powers could neither read nor write, but she know the Bible stories from singing Negro spirituals and from church sermons. Exodus 35:35, " He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the .....tapestry maker....
NOAH WEBSTER and EDUCATION
Noah Webster, who has been called the " Father of American Scholarship and Education, " was the great American lexicographer who gave us the very first American Dictionary of the English Languarge. To do so, he learned 26 languages in order to supplement the documentation of the etymology of the words. In that dictionary, Webster defined education as:
The bringing us, as of a child: instructions; formaton of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the timper, and form that manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts, and science is important: to give them a religious education is indespensable; and an immense responsibility rest on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.
Webster beleived a well-educated citzenry was essential to the preservation of freedom. " Information is fatal to despotism, " he wrote, and part of his life was spent in the writing and publishing of textbooks to be used in local schools and in homes that would convery the rudiments of spelling and grammar, as well as provided both moral formation and civic education. he wrote:
An attempt to conduct the affairs of a free government with wisdom and impartiality and to preserve the just rights of all classes of citizens, without the guidance of Divine precepts, will certainly end in disappointment. God is the supreme moral Governor of the world. He has made, and as He Himself governs with perfect rectitude, he requires His rational creatures to govern themselves in like manner. If men will not submit to be controlled by His laws, he will punish them by the evils resulting from their own disobedience...
Any system of education, therefore, which limits instructions to the arts and science and rejects the aids of religion in forming the characters of citizens, in essentially defective.....
In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in whcih all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free eople.
As one of America's Founders, he knew that an education devoid of religious training was defective. " ....teach the children of Isreal all the statutes which the LORD has spoken....."
PUBLIC SCHOOLS and RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
In the 1952 cas of Zorach v. Clauson, the Supreme Court upheld the position that New York City permits its public schools to release students during schools hours to go to religious centers for religious instructions or devotional exercises:
The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every respect there shall be a seperation of Church and State. Rather, it studiously defines the manner, the specific ways, in which there shall be no concert or union or dependency one on the other. That is the common sense of the matter. Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other-hostile, susicious, and even unfriendly......
Municipalities would not be permitted to render police or fire protection to religious groups. Policemen who helped parishioners into their places of worship woudl violate the Constitution. Prayers in ouor legislative halls; the appeals to the Almighty in the messages of the Cheif Executive; the proclamation making Thanksgiving Day a holiday; " so help me God in our courtroom oaths-these all all other references to the Almighty that run through our laws, oru public rituals, our ceremonies, would be flouting the First Amendment.
A fasidious atheist or agnostic could even object to the supplication with which the Court opens each sessions: " God save the United States and this Honorable Court."
We are a religious people and our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.......
When the state encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarioan needs, it follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs. To hold that it may not would be a find in the Constitution a requirement that the governemtn show a callous indifference to religious group. That would be preferring those who beleive in no religion over those who do believe......
We find not constitutional requirement make it necessary for goveernment to be hostile to relgion and to throw its weigth against the efforts to widen the scope of religious influence. The government must remain neutral when it comes to cmpetition between sects....We cannot read into the Bill of Rights such a philosophy of hostility to religion. "These are the feats of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocation...."Leviticus 23:37
THE LIBERTY BELL
The Pennsylvania Assembly orderd the bell in 1751 to commemorate the golden anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Pivileges, Pennsylvania's original Constitution, which speaks of the rights and freedoms valued by people the world over. As the bell was created, the biblical quotation " Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof' was particulary apt. For the line in the Bible immediately preceding " proclaim liberty' is, " And ye shall hallow the 50th year." What better way to pay homage to Penn and hallow the fiftieth year than with a bell proclaing liberty? The Liberty Bell gained iconic importance when abolitionists in their efforts to put an end to slavery throughouth American adopted it as a symbol of emancipation and liberty in 1837. Related to a popular fictional story written in 1747, tradition says that on July 8,1776, the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of Independence Hall, summoning the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence hall, summoning the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The truth is that the steeple was in bad condition, and historians today highly doubt this account. However, its association with the Delaration of Independence became fixed in the collective mythology. "......proclaim liberty throughout all the land...." Leviticus 25:10
ETERNAL VIGILANCE
In his Farewell Address in 1837, President Andrew Jackson stated:
But you must remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessings. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad; your strength and power are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. It is from within, among yourselves-from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition and inordinate thirst for power-that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise and actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the hightest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He who hold in His hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors He has bestowed and enabled you, with pure hearts and pure hands and sleep less vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge He has committed to your keeping. "... as a guardian carries a nursing child.... NUMBERS 11:12
RELIGION AND MORALITY
In his Farewell Address in 1796, President George Washington put his finder on the importance of preserving a freedom of religion within a society: Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prospertiy, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert thes great pillars of human happiness-these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious and, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let is simply be asked, " Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice?" And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue of morality is a necesary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? " If a man.... swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word....... NUMBERS 30:2
THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE
On July 13, 1787, the Continental Congress passed the " Northwest Ordinance," which declared that the United States intended to settle the region north of the Ohio River and est of the Mississippi River. It set u themethod by which new states would be admitted to the Union, giving them the same rights andpwers as thestablished states, incliding the freeedom of religion. Interestingly, it also stated that importance that Congress attached to religion: " Religion, morality, and knowledge being mecessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." While the exact meaning of this sentence is till hotly debated, it is certanily positive legislation regarding religion and morality. James Wilson, one of only six Founders to have signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, pronounced in his law lectures at the University of Pennsylvania: " Far from being rivals of enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants." Not surprisingly, throughout American history up until the middle years of the twentieth century, government looked positively on both religion and morality. Various states worked out particular arrangements reflecting their particular circumstances, but in each case, religious freedom was respected while religion was looked upon as part of the common good, and " seedbed of virtue" contributing to American society......MORAL STRENGTH...." You shall teach them diligently to your children....... DEUTERONOMY 6:7"
THE FINGER OF GOD
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) was a Founding Father, one of America's first Constitutional lawyers, and wrote 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers. After the Constitutional convention of 1787, Hamilton stated: For my own part, I sencerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests........written with the finger of God....DEUTERONOMY 9:10"
The Purest Patriotism
Stephen Grover Cleveland, who served as both the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, stated: All must admit that the reception of the teachings of Christ results in the purest patriotism, in the most scrupulous fidelity to public trust, and in the best type of citizenship. Thos who manage the affairs of government are by this means reminded that the law of God demands that they should be courageously true to the interests of the people, and that the Ruler of the universe will require of them a strict acount of their stewardship. The teachings of both human and Divine law thus merging into one word, duty, form the only union of church and state that a civil and religious government can recognize.
Covered with His Providence
In his 1805 Inaugual Address, President Thomas Jefferson stated: I shall need, too, the favor of the Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefahters, as Isreal of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessities and comforts of life, who has covered our infancy with His Providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join with me in supplications that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils and prosper their measures, that whatever they do shall result in your good,a nd shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations. ...... and the glory of the Lord apeared(NUMBERS16:42)
Chaplains for the United States Congress
On May 1, 1789, the United States Congress elected the Reverend William Linn, a Dutch Reformed minister from New York city, to be the first chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, appropriating five hundred dollars from the federal treasury to pay his salary. During the period when Congress first met in the new capital of Washington, D.C., the House and Senate chaplains regularly led Christian services every Sunday in the House Chamber. In 1860, Rabbi Morris Jacob Raphall was the frist Jewish clergyman invited to open a House session with prayer. Both the House and the Senate have continued to regularly open every session with prayer........So Moses prayed for the people(Numbers 21:7)
Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse (1791-1872), an accomplished artist by profession, was captivated with the notion that electricity could be used to transmit messages instantly. He worked for years to become the creator of a single wire telegraph system, and co-inventor, with Alfred Vail, of the Morse code, with letters represented by dots and dashes, to convey the telegraph messages. His invention in the 1820s revolutionized and changed forever the realm of communications. Although Morse has a patent, it took him years of failures and poverty before he was able to secure financial backing to implement his project. About those years, he said, " The only gleam of hope... is from confidence in God. When I look upward in calms any apprehension for the furture, and I seem to hear a voice saying: "If I clothe the lilies of the field, shall I not also clothe you? Here is my strong confidence, and I will wait patiently for the direction of Providence." In 1843, congress finally awarded Morris $30,000 to construct a telegraphic line between Baltimore and Washington. By Friday May 24, 1844, the lines were ready, and the words of the first official message were sent: " What hath God wrought!" selected from Numbers 23:23, in recognition that it was God who had inspired and sustained Morse throughout......."Oh, what God has done!"(Numbers 23:23)
Purpose of a Public Education
William Samuel Johnson (1727-1819), president of Columbia University (formerly King's College), said to the first graduating class after ther Revolutionary War: You have...received a public education, the purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve your Creator and your country... Your first great duties... are those you owe to heaven, to your Creator and Redeemer. Let these be ever present to your minds and exemplified in your lived and conduct. Imprint deep upon your minds the principles of piety toward God, and a reverence and fear of His holy name. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and its consummaton is everlasting felicity... Remember, too, that you are the redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought with a price, even the inestimable price of the precious blood of the Son of God. Adore Jehovah, therefore, as your God and your Judge. Love, fear, and serve Him as your Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Acquaint yourselves with Him in His Word and holy ordinance. Make Him your friend and protector and your felicity is secured both here and hereafter. And with respect to particular duties to Him, it is your happiness that you are well assured that he best serves his Maker, who does most good to his country and to mankind. ".......to serve the Lord your God with all your heart..."(Deuteronomy 10:12)
"GOD BLESS AMERICA"
Born in a poor Russian Jewish ghetto, Irving Berlin immigrated to America with his parents when he was five, settling in New York's Lower East Side. He became one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. " God Bless America" is an American patriotic song he originally wrote in 1918 and revised in 1938, as war and the Nazis were threatening Europe. It takes the form of a prayer for God's Blessing and peace for the nation. Singer Kate Smith introduced the revised " God Bless America" during her radio broadcast on Armistice Day 1938, and the song was an immediate sensation. It is considered an unofficial national anthem of the United States.
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free, Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, as we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America, land tha I love Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with the light from above From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam God bless America, my home sweet home.
" For the Lord your God will bless you jus as He promised you........," DEUTERONOMY 15:6
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND DEMOCRACY
The follwoing excerpt from Franklin D.Roosevelt's State of the Union to Congress in 1939 underscores how, until recent years, America's leadership understood the vital connection between religion and democracy. With Hitler on the move in Europe, President Roosevelt said:
Storms from aboad directly challenge three institutions indispensable to Americans, now as always. The first is religion. It is the source of the other two-democracy and international good faith.
Religion, by teaching man his relationship to God, gives the individual a sense of his own dignity and teaches him to respect himself by repecting his neighbor.
Democracy, the practice of self-government, is a covenant among free men to respect the rights and liberties of their fellows.
International good faith, a sister of democracy,springs from the will of civilized nations of men to respect the rights and liberties of other nations of men.
In a modern civilization, all three-religion, democracy, and international good faith-complement and support each other.
Where freedom of religion has been attacked, the attacked has come from sources opposed to democracy. Where democracy has been over thrown, the spirit of free worship has disappeared. And where religion and democracy have vanished, good faith and reason in international affairs have given way to strident ambition and brute force.
An ordering of society which relegates religion, democracy, and good faith among nations to the background can find no place within it for the ideals of the Prince of Peace. The United States rejects such an ordering and retains its ancient faith.
There comes a time in the affairs of men when they must prepare to defend, not their homes alone, but the tenets of faith and humantiy on which their churches, their governements, and their very civilization are founded. The defense of religion, of democracy, and of good faith among nations is all the same fight. To save one we must now make up our minds to save all.
".....the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies....." DEUTERONOMY 20:4
THE NEW ENGLAND PRIMER
The New England Primer was first published between 1688 and 1690 by Bengamin Harris of Boston. It was the first reading primer designed for the American colonies and became the most successful educational textbook published in the early days of U.S. history. The 90-page work contained religious maxims, woodcuts, alphabetical assistants, catechisms, and moral lessons. Many of its selections were drawn from the King James Bible.
SHIELD OF STRENGTH
Captain Russell Rippetoe was a member of the Alpha Company, Third Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. Previously, while serving in Afghanistan, Rippetoe saw men die for the first time; and it brought a renewal to his Christian faith and a new passion for the Bible, which he carried in his backpack. On the chain around his next, he wore a "Shield of Strength," a one-by-two-inch emblem that displays a U.S. flag on one side and the words from Joshua 1:9 on the other. In his combat diary dated March 27, Rippetoe has written; "Think about what Mom and I talked about: all things happening for a reaon, and God knows the reason." On April 3,2003, Alpha Company was manning a nighttime checkpoint near the Hadithah Dam in western Iraq when a vehicle approached. Suddenly, a women jumped out and cried, " I'm hungry. I need food and water!" Protecting his men, Rippetoe gave and order to "hold back" as he moved toward the woman to see how he could help. When she hesitated, the driver detonated a car bomb that killed Captain Rippetoe, Sergeant Nino Livaudais, and Specialist Rayan Long, and wounded others. Rippetoe beleived and ancient words given to Joshua "....the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." That those who knew him. He became the first casualty of the Iraq conflict to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the hallowed ground that is memorial to more than 250,000 American soldiers spanning back to the Revolutionary War.
PROTECTOR "Be strong and of good courage;; do not be afraid..." JOSHUA 1:9
WOMEN IN THE CIVIL WAR
During the Civil War, hundreds of women served as frontline nurses, spies, saboteurs, and in the infantry, cavalry, and artillery for both the Union and Confederate armies. From all walks of life and for numerous reasons, many took on male disquises and often remained undiscovered until they were either wounded or killed, enduring hardships and dangers and serving with distrinction.
Sarh Rosetta Wakeman, called Rosetta, was a poor farm girl who cut her hair and joined the 153rd Regiment of New York State Volunteers. Enlisting under the name"Lyons Wakeman" on August 30, 1862, she sent most of her army pay home to keep the family farm going. Her regiment first performed guard duty in Alexandria, Virginia, and then they marched 700 miles to join General Banks 'Red River campaign in Louisiana in February 1864. The Unionists repelled a Confederate attack, but soon had to retreat.
Near the end of the campaign, Rosetta was stricken with dysentery and died in the Marine Hospital of New Orleans on June 19, 1864. Her identity remained undiscovered for more than a century until her letters home surfaced. She has left behind a ring, which was engraved with her regiment and name on it. She is buried in Louisiana in a grave marked by a headstone that reads simply:"4006 Lyons Wakeman, N.Y."
In her letters home, Rosetta wrote of the battlefield and the pride she felt at being a good soldiers, but she also expressed her strong religious faith as well as her strong desire to be financially independent and buy a farm of her own after the war. In one letter she wrote; " I don't feel afraid to go (into battle). I don't beleive there are any Rebel bullets made for me yet... But if it is God's will for me to fall in the field of battle, it is my will to go and never return home."
Rose Rooney joined the Confederate Army, openly signing on as a female enlistee to serve as cook and laundress for the Crescent Blues Volunteers at New Orleans in 1861. her unit eventually became Company K of the 15th Louisiana Infantry and went to Virginia. At the First Battle of Bull Run, she is reported to have run through a field of heavy fire to tear down a rail fence, allowing a battery of Confederate artillery to stop a Union charge. She served through the end of the war.
COURAGE....she hid the messengers whon Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.....JOSHUA 6:25
MORAL STRENGTH
" Therefore the children of Isreal count not stand before their enemies....." JOSHUA 7:12
The Loss of Virtue
Samuel Adams, the great American patriot accused by King George III of being " The chief rablle-rouser" of American independence, wrote in a letter to James Warren in 1779: A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external of internal invader. How necessary then is it for those who are determined to transmit the blessings of liberty as a fair inheritance to posterity, to associate on public principles in support of public virtue.
CIVIL DUTY " Pick out from among you three men for each tribe..... JOSHUA 18:4
Voting: Since the founding of our nation, voting has been considered on one of the core responsibilities of citizenship. The " Father of the American Revolution' and signer of the declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, said of voting in 1781: Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not makin a present or a compliment to please an individual-or at least that he ought not so to do: but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.
".........ASK NOT.........."
Called the most memorable speech of any twentieth-century politician, President John F. Kennedy spoke these inspirational words to an American citizenry that was torn by fears of war in his 1961 Inaugural Address: .........The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beleifs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe- the beleif that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from his time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born is this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are comitted today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure that survivial and the success of liberty.....
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility-I welcome it. I do not beleive that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it- and the glow from the fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country..........
Finally,...... with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history and final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
" But as for me and my house, we will serve theLord." Joshua 24:15
WOMEN IN THE REVOLUTIONALRY WAR:
It was not unusual to see women of the battlefield during the Revolutionary War, particulary as camp followers, who mostly came from poor families that were rescued to homelessness withouth their husband's income. Camp followers would perform the army's mundane but vital chores of cooking, doing laundry and mending, carrying water, loading weapons, and nursing the wounded. Though not in uniform, these women shared soldiers' hardships, including inadequate housing and little compensation.
Margaret Corbin, for instance, followed her husband, John, when he joined the Continental Army in 1776. During the Battle fo Fort Washington in 1776, an artillery bombardment fatally wounded John, who manned one of the two cannon until she also was severly wounded. Three years, she became the first women in the United States to receive a pension from Congress.
Deborah Sampson Gannett was the first known American woman to impersonate a man in orde to join the army to take part in combat. She fought in several skirmishes and took musket balls in her thigh and a huge cut on her forehead from the bullet. Her secret was discovered after she came down with a malignant fever. After the war, Sampson requested equal payment for her service and recieved a pension that matched that of the men who fought.
Women also served a spies during the Revolutionary War, alerting American troops to enemy movement, carrying messages and contraband. For instance, Ann Simpson Davis was handpicked by General Washington to carry messages to his generals while the army was in eartern Pennsylvania. Davis was a accomplished horsewoman and slipped throught areas accupied by the British army unnoticed.. She carried secret orders in sacks of grain and sometimes in her clothing to various mills around Philadelphia and Bucks Country. Davis recieved a letter of commendation for her services from General Washington.
...they lay Sisera, dead with a peg in his temple. JUDGE 4:22
|
