The great patriot Patrick Henry, who's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech was delivered in a Virginia Church in 1775, wrote; "The Bible is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed." The famous educator Noah Webster (Webster's Dictionary 1806), wrote; "The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good, & the best corrector of all that is evil in human society." That is how central the Bible was to the lives of our forefathers. On Sept 6 1774, the 1st Colonial Congress, in their very first meeting together, prayed for three hours and did a Bible study on Psalm 35, all of which is clearly recorded in the Records of Congress.
Jump to 1776. Where 24 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had full seminary degrees! Nearly one-half of the signers of our Declaration of Independence were ordained Ministers. Many of the concepts they used for the Declaration of Independence came from a writing by John Locke called "Two Treatises of Government," in which the Bible is mentioned no less than 1500 times. As soon as the Declaration of Independence was signed, one of the signers, Benjamin Rush, started the 1st Bible Society in this country. Within 8 years the same men who signed our Declaration of Independence had started 121 Bible Societies, for the sole purpose of getting the Bible into the hands of the people of this new country.
Jump to 1781 and the end of the American Revolution. In that same year a plan was advanced in Congress, to print and distribute America's first English language Bible, printed by congress, with tax money. On Sept 12 1782 the full Congress approved this Bible, and the Records of Congress state, regarding this Bible; It is a needed addition of the Holy Scriptures, for the use of our schools. Imagine that, a government who would state that the Bible was needed IN our schools.
Jump to 1787 and the Constitutional Convention, where a new government document was created; The United States Constitution. During a difficult time at that convention, on June 28 1787, Benjamin Franklin, generally considered one of the least religious of our founding fathers, addressed the president of the convention, George Washington, with these words; "In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain . . . we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. Our prayers were heard, and they were graciously answered . . . And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? . . . We have been assured in the Sacred writings, that unless the Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it . . . I therefore beg leave to move, that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessings on our deliberation, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business." And that was the institution of Congressional prayer before each session, which still stands (barely) today.
Our founding fathers established this country as ONE NATION UNDER GOD. Founding father John Adams wrote; "The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. Now I will avow that I then believed and now believe, that those general principals of Christianity are as eternal & immutable as the existence and attributes of God." Gouverneur Morris, signer of the Constitution, and its actual penman, said; "Religion is the only solid basis of good morals. Therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man toward God." James Wilson, signer of the Constitution, and our first Supreme Court Justice said; "Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is divine. Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants." That is a quote from our first appointed Supreme Court Justice.
These quotes don’t sound much like the “Separation of Church and State” we hear today. But did you know, the phrase "Separation of Church & State" appears nowhere in the Constitution, or the 1st Amendment, or any other original governing document of this nation. The phrase first appeared in a private letter by our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson. He was writing to a group of Baptist churches and reassuring them that the Government would never interfere with their public religious expressions, like the church of England had. In fact, when Thomas Jefferson was in charge of the Washington D.C. schools, he required only two books must be used in the public schools - The Bible & the Watts Hymnal. Yet, the courts have now taken that little phrase from a private letter by Jefferson, insuring the government would never stop public expression of religion, and they have used it to try to stop public expression of religion. Which is exactly opposite of the purpose for which it was written.
Here’s a quote we really need to hear from Thomas Jefferson himself in 1782; "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction on the minds of the people that these liberties are 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"
This country has been the greatest country in the world because we have been “One Nation Under God.” We must uphold the righteousness of God that this country was built on. Let's do all we can to call this nation back to its Godly heritage.
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