I should say, America who were you? Let's ask the founding fathers:
Alexander Hamilton (First United States Secretary of the Treasury and led calls for the Constitutional Convention)
"I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me."
John Adams (Second President of the United States, Sponsor of the American Revolution, United States Representative for negotiating the peace treaty with Great Britain)
"The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in the ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virture, equity, and humanity."
"The ten commandments and the sermon on the mount contain my religion."
Thomas Jefferson (Third President of the United States and Primary author of the Declaration of Independence)
"I am a real Christian...a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. Had (they) been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians. I have little doubt that the whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator, and I hope, to the pure doctrines of Jesus also."
The Mayflower Compact (November 11, 1620) Drafted by the pilgrims landing in America crossing the Atlantic on the Mayflower. They state their reason for risking their life to colonize in this new world.
"In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread (revered and feared) sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do......."
What happened?
Have we drifted so far?
The haunting words of New York representative Peter Sylvester and Connecticut representative Benjamin Huntington show us our error. Here are their comments on the wording of the first amendment from the Constitutional Convention.
Peter "It might be thought to have a tendency to abolish religion altogether."
Benjamin "The words might be taken in such a latitude to be extremely hurtful to the cause of religion...the amendment (should) be made in such a way as to secure the rights of religion, but not to patronize those who profess no religion at all."
Let us not forget who we were. Our founding fathers fought and died for this country they loved. This was their chance to be unhindered from Great Britain and boldly explore Christianity without all the chains imposed by the Roman Catholic Church of England. They imprinted Christianity all over the money, the buildings, and they put it in school. At the core of America, was God Bless America, was God Shed His Grace on Thee, was One Country Under God Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All, was In God We Trust.........
The founders intent was not to pull Christianity out of government. They did not want them separate. It is obvious by the actions they themselves took. If you look at what they said, they knew the strength of the country rested upon the individual to have Christian virtues. They believed in small government. Small government because the people were taught morality. They believed in the individual. They believed in him to work hard, honestly, and to be loving of his neighbor.
They believed in God and the Ten Commandments. They believed in a morality that is outside of human creation and governs our behavior. The whole reason we have laws was that they believed there was a fixed standard to go off of.
Have we gotten so lazy? Have we forgotten who we are? Are we all just entertaining ourselves and don't care what happens here anymore? Does anyone wonder why politics is all messed up and no one cares? Does anyone wonder why?
We have forgotten God. We are removing Him from His throne in our country by outlawing school sanctioned prayer, outlawing Bible reading in schools, and by outlawing the display of the ten commandments in schools. The list goes on and on.
Is there any wonder the overall character of kids is so messed up? We are in the dark of our true heritage here. The schools never taught me about the true nature of the Godly men that founded this nation.
Is there any wonder kids idolize drug dealers, pimps, and sports athletes? We haven't been taught who the true heroes and role models were and are today. We haven't been told the truth.
These men risked their lives. They stood up for truth, justice and the American way. They liberated a people with God on it's side. All for the glory of the one true God who sits enthroned in heaven. Where are the men like that anymore? All we get are men telling people whatever they want to hear, rather than standing upon truth.
America was supposed to be a Christian nation. As it was from the beginning.
The popular ideas to fix our problems all seem to involve rolling out communist ideas and expecting big government to fix our problems. The only problem is, God is the only one who can fix us.
God awaken the people of this country to our true identity. Revive us oh Lord.
Remember John Adams,
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."
Remember Daniel Webster,
"If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
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2 comments:
I suppose it is somewhat ironic that an amendment meant to provide us with the freedom to worship as we choose is now being used to limit religious practices.
I guess, in a way, the Founding Fathers got what they were going for- a country where religion could not be forced upon citizens like the Anglican Church was forced upon England. At the time the Bil of Rights were penned, however, I doubt the Founding Fathers could ever imagine a day when Christianity played such a minor role in American life. Way back in 1791, almost everyone belonged to some sort of Christian denomination. I'm sure the Founding Fathers naturally assumed that, even though it would not be declared as a state religion, Christianity would remain as the backbone of American life. Unfortunately, that era in American culture was pretty much over by at least the middle of the 20th Century.
Now, most people seem to get uneasy just at the mention of "God," "Jesus," or "church." To make matters worse, the United States is still one of, if not the most "Christian" country on the planet. Christianity is dying in Europe and attempts to spread into Asia and Africa have been slow at best. I don't know much about the spread of the Gospel in South America, but for all of our short-comings, America still has among the most religious freedoms in the world and among the highest percentages of Christians in the world.
So, what's the answer? I think you're right that we have strayed greatly from the America envisioned by the likes of Jefferson, Adams, and Webster. But what can we do? We can't go back in time and fix things. God has placed us here in this place aty this time for a reason. I suppose we just continue to follow Him as best we can and pray that our country can one day return to its Christian roots.
II Chronicles 7:14
Josh, I thought long and hard about what to do. The short answer is, "i don't know!"
This is something that requires prayer. Outside of that, I think somehow someway our generation needs to know this stuff. For me it was a real eye opener to learn the truth of America's founding. I am sure I would not be the only one in that category.
I am praying that our generation would have their eyes opened to the truth of who the fouding fathers were and what their intentions were.
I am concerned specifically for our generation and younger. There seems to be many factors contributing to a generation that has no absolute truth and only seems to go with what feels good right now and have generally been spoiled in a very selfish culture. A culture that has afforded them all the luxuries anyone could ever want and leaves them empty and hungry for more. All the while you know well that many countries are in poverty and will fight over the right of running water. How do you wake up a spoiled generation? That their highest ambitions in life are to have a fast car, big house, so much stuff they have to rent storage facilities to put it all in, sex with no commitment, and a hope to retire and do nothing?
You know kids today are cutting themselves with razors and that is something that is "cool"? And how many kids are being hooked on internet porn? How is that warping their brains to ever have the ability to be satisfied and complete in a healthy monogamous relationship, in which to provide a secure place to raise kids.
Any ideas to wake up this generation? I would like hear your thoughts......This has been on my mind since my CIY trip with my churchs youth group. I am also alarmed with the lack of involvement of people our age in traditional church settings. Does how we do church turn them off?
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