Americans Must Never Forget The Divine Author Of Our Independance
By ICRJCalvin Posted in History — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Never forget that this country was discovered by a man who said:
"It was the Lord who put into my mind... the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies... There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit... It is merely the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied... No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior if it is just and if the intention is purely for His Holy service... the fact that the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time - this is what convinces me." (Dairy of Christopher Columbus)
Never forget that the Virginia Company, which sponsored the Jamestown expedition in 1607, stated that the first purpose for the plantation was:
"To preach and baptize into (the) Christian religion, and by propagation of the Gospel, to recover out of the arms of the devil a number of ... souls wrapped up into death."
Never forget that this country was colonized not by humanists, but by men who said that they undertook their voyage to plant their colony:
"... for the Glory of God and for the advancement of the Christian faith." (Mayflower Compact)
Never forget that the first written constitution in America, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, recognized in 1639 that:
"The Word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such people, there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God."
Never forget that the New England Confederation of May 19, 1643 recognized that the common bond between its signers was not the philosophy of secular humanism, but the desire to:
"...advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity with peace."
Never forget that the Rhode Island Charter of 1683 began with these words:
"We submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given to us in His Holy Word."
Never forget that the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges of 1701 required the following affirmation from all prospective Colonial officers:
"... all Persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, shall be capable ... to serve this government in any capacity..."
Never forget that on July 2, 1776, when the vote to declare independence was taken, Samuel Adams declared the sentiment of the day, not in terms of humanistic rhetoric, but by saying:
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and ... from the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come."
Never forget the John Quincy Adam's speech commemorating the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1837 clearly acknowledged our Christian heritage when he said:
"... the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission. ...it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity ..."
Never forget that one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution was:
"No King but King Jesus."
Never forget that General Washington issued the following general order to the Continental Army the day after he took command on July 3, 1775:
"The General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of those articles ... which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness. And in like manner, he requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged in actual duty, a punctual attendance of Divine services to implore the blessing of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense."
Never forget that the pledge taken by the Minutemen Militia included these words:
"Let us be ... altogether solicitous that no disorderly behavior, nothing unbecoming our characters as Americans ... and Christians, be justly chargeable against us."
Never forget that concerning the Revolutionary War itself, President John Quincy Adams noted in 1821 that:
"The highest and greatest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."
Never forget that even in his zeal for liberty Patrick Henry remembered the source of true freedom when he said,
"It cannot be emphasized to strongly or to often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!"
Never forget that in 1828, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story acknowledged that:
"...at the time of the adoption of the Constitution and of the First Amendment to it,... the general if not the universal sentiment in America was that Christianity ought to receive encouragement by the state so far as was not incompatible with the private rights of conscience and the freedom of religious worship. Any attempt to level all religions (that is, to make Christianity simply one of many religions) and to make it a matter of state policy to hold all in utter indifference, would have created universal disapprobation if not universal indignation..."
Never forget that the volume of evidence which points towards the Biblical underpinnings of our constitution is so overwhelming that even purely secular historians such as H.G. Wells were forced to admit that the Constitution is:
"indubitably Christian."
Never forget that this country was organized not by secularists, but by men who said such things as:
"No people can be found to acknowledge and adore the invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States... We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a Nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right Heaven itself ordained." (Inaugural Address of George Washington, April 30, 1789)
Continue reading. . . .
http://samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/americans-must-never-forg...
The First Amendment means exactly what it says. That didn't take time to figure out, and puts no stipulations other than Congress may not establish a state church.
But I laugh at sideshow geeks.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
such as that we can't conduct prayer in school, and can't teach that the world was created by God in science class, and can't outlaw gay sex because the Bible says it's wrong. Our Constitution has changed very little (and in terms of this discussion, virtually not at all), but our body of legal jurisprudence has grown as practices that go unchallenged, often for generations, are finally brought before the courts. And, as in the above examples, often shot down.
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Jesus welcomed sinners into his presence in order to save them from their sin. Some Christian leaders in this country blame sinners for natural disasters or wish for their deaths.
I'm all for following the teachings of Christ. Not so much following the preachings of some who call themselves Christians.
"Having rejected both the plea that Palestine should be offered as a place of refuge for the Jews and the idea that the Western democracies should launch a war to overthrow Hitler, Gandhi offered only one avenue for the Jews to resist their persecution while preserving their “self-respect.” Were he a German Jew, Gandhi pronounced, he would challenge the Germans to shoot or imprison him rather than “submit to discriminating treatment.” Such “voluntary” suffering, practiced by all the Jews of Germany, would bring them, he promised, immeasurable “inner strength and joy.” Indeed, “if the Jewish mind could be prepared” for such suffering, even a massacre of all German Jews “could be turned into a day of thanksgiving and joy,” since “to the God-fearing, death has no terror.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-schaefer042803.asp
I'm for following the teachings of Christ,too. I have much less regard for criticism of any religion by Gandhi.
"Americans Must Never Forget What People Used To Say A Long, Long, Long Time Ago Before We Finally Understood What The First Amendment Really Means, And What We Have To Do To Conform To Its Stipulations."
Other that that, great post.