Thursday, March 1, 2012

Faith of our Fathers ..

Christianity has been under assault in America for decades.  Prayer has been banned in schools, nativity scenes taken from city halls, and the ten commandments purged from court houses.  Most Christians sit idly by, buying the liberal argument that 'Separation of Church and State' makes these actions justified, but what most Americans don't know, is that the words 'Separation of Church and State' do not appear in our constitution, and beyond that, our founding fathers were deeply religious people who believed that only a moral society that had a strong faith and fear of God would ever realize the America they had envisioned.  No doubt our founding fathers would be horrified at the assault on Christianity that is being played out in America now.

Here are the words of our founders regarding religion:

George Washington:
     "The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that  lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations" 

Thomas Jefferson:
    "Among the most inestimable of our blessings is that ... of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will; a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support."

James Madison:
     "It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.

Benjamin Franklin:
     " 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 worshiped. That the most acceptable service we render him is 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."

John Adams:
     "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

An extensive recounting of our nations founding and the role of religion is found in the Library of Congress 

What is noted, among other things, is that people came to this land from Europe because they were deeply religious people, escaping religious persecution.  The establishment clause in the first amendment to our constitution was put there to protect citizens from tyrants who would dictate how they would worship God; it was not put there to remove any mention of God from civil society.  Liberals today suggest otherwise.  What would stun most Americans is that the establishment clause in the 1st amendment did not apply to the states.  States were allowed, and did, have state-run Christian churches.  I doubt any liberal mentions that.

Newt Gingrich regularly addresses this assault on Christianity, and how our founders viewed God and government.  This address to the First Redeemer Church in Cummings, GA one of his finest example.

Our Declaration of Independence references God's place in our founding:

—We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

— And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.


Our Constitution says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Christians need to fight back, armed with the facts.  There are no provisions in our constitution that provide for the wholesale purging of God from the public square.  Christians not only have the right to profess their faith openly, but it is perfectly acceptable and in keeping with our founding principles for prayer to be offered up by those in Government and students in our schools.  Government can't force you to adopt a particular religion, but is also can not stop you from openly practicing your faith.

Christians are routinely ridiculed in our culture.  Comedians, liberal pundits and godless celebrities scoff at the very mention of Christianity.  No doubt the moral decay in our country is directly proportional to the erosion of religious faith among our people.  We need to be that beacon on a hill for the rest of this world.  As Reagan said, "If we cease to be one nation under God, we'll be one nation gone under."

1 comment:

  1. Great post Sue. Those are such profound statements of faith spoken by our founding fathers. This is why it is imperative for us to elect Newt Gingrich. It is frightening the way our religious freedoms are being taken away at such a rapid pace. Obama's health care bill is reprehensible the way it takes away our religious liberty. Oh, and we need to get John 3:16-17 in schools, not just the Ten Commandments.
    Thank you for speaking the truth so boldly and plainly here in your corner of the internet.

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