Returning to Our Roots – Part 1

Again Michael writes that the governor of Mississippi declared in 1993 that America was a Christian nation.  He was denounced and criticized by Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, atheists, agnostics, and others.  He bowed to the pressure and retracted his statement.  In earlier times in 1947 Harry Truman noted that American was a Christian nation and no one objected.

Every nation is founded upon some theistic or anti theistic basis. If America were not founded on Christianity, then what was the theistic basis of America? In the "Trinity Decision" of 1892 the US Supreme Court examined all of the evidence for the founding of the United States and declared that America is a Christian nation. Today such a declaration would be denounced as intolerant, biased, and bigoted. 

The first Chief Justice chosen by Washington and an author of the Federalist Papers concluded that America is a Christian nation. Patrick Henry said, "Is life so sweet and peace so dear as to be purchased at the price of slavery?  Forbid it! As for me, give me liberty or give me death." He said, "our nation was not founded upon religion but upon Jesus Christ."  The founders acknowledged that they would not be subject to an earthly King and that there is only one Sovereign:  The Lord Jesus Christ himself.

TV Talk-show host Merv Griffin interviewed Pastor and Historian Dr. D. James Kennedy on the founding of America as a Christian nation. He was interviewed after Sam Donaldson, a secularist who kept interrupting him and objecting to his premise. After Kennedy supported his thesis, Donaldson said, "there may have been a "few" Christians around at our founding but they gave to us a secular government."  Kennedy responded, "at America's founding, 99.8% of the people called themselves Christians. The founders of this country never heard of a secular government since such a government had never before been contemplated.  When the French set up the first government not based on theism, the American founders were appalled." A secularist is one who denounces every religious basis of government and who believes that education should be without the religious element.

However, when George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America, the first thing he did was to kiss the bible. The second thing he did was to lead the congress to church to pray, which they did for two hours. He also appointed chaplains for both houses of congress and for the military.

The Northwest Ordinance which was the model for the American state constitutions said that since religion, morality, and knowledge are essential to good government, schools shall be forever established in the Northwest Territory.  When you get rid of religion, you get rid of morality.  When you get rid of morality you get rid of knowledge.  When the people of the nation think they are wiser than God, the education of the nation will suffer and the people will slide into depravity.

Let's continue Micheal's message on returning to our roots int he next post.
In Christ, Brian