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One Nation Under God
Author Dr. David Gibbs presents ten incontrovertible, heavily documented, and politically incorrect historical facts which prove that Christianity played a pivotal role in uniquely shaping the most free, prosperous, and powerful nation in history.
203 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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June 25, 2025
A book that's definitely worth a read by American Christians, as well as those who subscribe to the secular humanist ideology who deny the Christian roots of this great nation. This book was written by Dr. David C. Gibbs, Jr., the founder and president of the Christian Law Association, a nationwide legal ministry that has been helping to defend Christian liberty in America since 1969, in conjunction with Jerry Newcombe, a senior producer of The Coral Ridge Hour. Here are some quotes from the book that resonated with me:
"The point modern separationists miss is that the religious liberty enjoyed in America is an outgrowth of Biblical doctrines. The Bible is the basis for true liberty, not its opponent, as some secularists today would have us believe. It is possible for the state to honor God, even to encourage religion, without imposing religious conformity or operating a state church in violation of the First Amendment prohibition against an 'establishment of religion.'" - pg. 52
"I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth." - Martin Luther, pg. 68
"...the Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College, 1643, which begins by stating: 'Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3).' - pg. 71
"There is no leveler like Christianity, but it levels by lifting all who receive to the lofty table-land of a true character and of undying hope both for this world and the next." - Jonathan Edwards, pg. 84
"He that shall collect all the moral rules of the philosophers and compare them with those contained in the New Testament will find them to come short of the morality delivered by our Saviour and taught by His disciples: a college made up of ignorant but inspired fishermen..." - John Locker, A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity, pg. 135
"As Men we have God for our King, and are under the Law of Reason: as Christians, we have Jesus the Messiah for our King, and are under the Law reveal'd by him in the Gospel." - John Locke, pg. 135
"If American democracy is to remain the greatest hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible." - Calvin Coolidge, pg. 143
"President Adams said Independence Day should 'be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival, commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward and forevermore." - pg. 144
"Whilst we assert ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observer the religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. If this freedom be abused, it is an offence against God, not against man: To God therefore, not to men, must an account of it be rendered." - James Madison, Memorial and Remembrance, pg. 149
"The point modern separationists miss is that the religious liberty enjoyed in America is an outgrowth of Biblical doctrines. The Bible is the basis for true liberty, not its opponent, as some secularists today would have us believe. It is possible for the state to honor God, even to encourage religion, without imposing religious conformity or operating a state church in violation of the First Amendment prohibition against an 'establishment of religion.'" - pg. 52
"I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth." - Martin Luther, pg. 68
"...the Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College, 1643, which begins by stating: 'Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3).' - pg. 71
"There is no leveler like Christianity, but it levels by lifting all who receive to the lofty table-land of a true character and of undying hope both for this world and the next." - Jonathan Edwards, pg. 84
"He that shall collect all the moral rules of the philosophers and compare them with those contained in the New Testament will find them to come short of the morality delivered by our Saviour and taught by His disciples: a college made up of ignorant but inspired fishermen..." - John Locker, A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity, pg. 135
"As Men we have God for our King, and are under the Law of Reason: as Christians, we have Jesus the Messiah for our King, and are under the Law reveal'd by him in the Gospel." - John Locke, pg. 135
"If American democracy is to remain the greatest hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible." - Calvin Coolidge, pg. 143
"President Adams said Independence Day should 'be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival, commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward and forevermore." - pg. 144
"Whilst we assert ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observer the religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. If this freedom be abused, it is an offence against God, not against man: To God therefore, not to men, must an account of it be rendered." - James Madison, Memorial and Remembrance, pg. 149
July 27, 2010
I can't do it, guys, and not just because I have to return this to its owner by the end of the week.
The thesis is that the United States was founded on Christianity and Christian principles, and pretty much everything that's wrong with the country right now traces back to our gradual slide away from that fact.
Do I think that a substantial number of the founding father were Christians? Yes. Do I think that Christian principles are a bedrock piece of our government? Yes. Do I think that Christianity is getting stomped on a bit more than it should in modern times as a backlash against its predominance for a thousand years? Yes. However, I feel like Gibbs took his evangelical self off the cliff in this. I also think that several of the founding fathers thought Christianity was as tyrannical as George III, that the government was founded on principles and not the religion, and that Christianity will be better for not having the upper hand for a while--you fight harder when you're not winning.
I only read the introduction, which I feel is all that I needed to read because this is written like a freshman comp paper, with thesis-topic sentence-conclusion; makes it easy to follow, but unnecessary to finish in a way. Here are my refutations to his chapters:
1) "Christopher Columbus...was motivated by his Christian faith to make his difficult voyage." Bullocks. Columbus was, in the great spirit of imperialism, trying to get to India and didn't realize there was a honking big continent in the way. Also, he got turned down by Portugal and Italy before Spain took him up for their own economic reasons. Did he bring Christianity with him to the natives? Sure. Also syphillis.
2) "...the Pilgrims...clearly stated that they had come to the New World to glorify God and to advance the Christian faith." Well, yeah, because England kicked them out after discovering they were about as much fun to hang around as the Puritans. They advanced the Christian faith on the other side of an ocean because they thought the Anglican church was nuts, so really, they were advancing their brand of the Christian faith; long live denominational freedom.
3) "The Puritans...created Bible-based commonwealths in order to practice a representative government that was modeled after their previous church covenants...[that:] essentially laid the foundation for America's Constitution." The Puritans were also kicked out of the English clubhouse, not least because no one liked them after the Glorious Revolution told them to take their anti-fun and stuff it. I agree that their system of self-government was useful, but I'm pretty sure the essential foundation for the constitution was, in fact, the Magna Carta.
4) "Various settlements throughout the early colonies provided refuge for religious dissidents of all faiths." Yeah, not so much all faiths as all denominations, which they did because they mostly ignored the Native Americans that were already here practicing their faith and being called ignorant savages for it. Three cheers for selective toleration.
5) "The education of America's settlers and founders was uniquely Christian and Bible-based." Well, not completely. The western hemisphere was predominately Judeo-Christian because of the lingering influences of the Catholic Church, so everyone was Bible-based. Primers had bits of the New Testament as writing exercises. Also, everyone knew the scriptures because that was what was most in print in the 18th century, considering the first true novel wasn't printed until the 1720s and most lower-class Englishmen were functionally illiterate.
6) "The Great Awakening was a key factor in uniting the separate pre-Revolutionary War colonies and in increasing communication among them." Sure, I'll believe this, but I don't see how this proves your thesis. It means that churches had better organization, which was true because they were communal centers and hubs of information for the frontier peoples, not necessarily because their beliefs were in any way administratively superior.
7) "The colonial pulpits, especially in New England, played a pivotal role in encouraging American independence from Britain." Of course, because usually the elders of the church and the members of the local council were the same people. What was politically necessary became what was religiously necessary, which is usually something to be wary of (yes, I'm looking at you, Pope Urban II).
8) "Christianity played a very important role in bringing about American independence, including shaping the thinking of President George Washington." I won't argue that, it did. But so did being a surveyor under the grace of Lord Fairfax, being a landowner, and taking a jaunt to Barbados.
9) "The Declaration of Independence was based on Christian ideas and viewpoints." Wholeheartedly, yes. This is not the same as it being based on Christianity, as some of the same tenants of human interaction can be found in all major world religions.
10) "The Biblical understanding of the sinfulness of man was the guiding principle behind the United States Constitution." Can't really get behind this. I'll agree that "the Bible was quoted more than any other source in the political writings of America's founding era", but see point 5. It was less the sinfulness of man and more the distrust of the human capacity to properly rule oneself that guided the constitution, which is how we end up with things like the electoral college. Its writers took the best of what they knew from the English government, the French government, the Bible, and their own observations of what leadership could or should be and created a new document that was meant to govern "a great experiment" that no one was even sure would last the century. Some of the writers didn't even believe in the sinfulness of man as a starting point, believing rather that the world corrupted the inestimable possiblity of mankind, stunting his capacity to effectively govern and live. Also, Gibbs, when you say "in the First Amendment, the founders presented America with a framework for religious liberty, not a weapon to be used by secularists against any public expression of Christianity" I know you're just sore that the bully on the playground pushed you down and the teacher didn't help you. The country is not out to get you, I promise.
So yes. I believe that Christianity is inextricably woven into the basis of the United States. And if Gibbs had written the book that focused on that as a guiding light to all of the other influences, that would be great. However, I feel that this is not that; it is instead a narrow view of how a religion shaped a country and nothing else matters because we have forsaken our origins and that is bad. Not something I could really read all the way through.
The thesis is that the United States was founded on Christianity and Christian principles, and pretty much everything that's wrong with the country right now traces back to our gradual slide away from that fact.
Do I think that a substantial number of the founding father were Christians? Yes. Do I think that Christian principles are a bedrock piece of our government? Yes. Do I think that Christianity is getting stomped on a bit more than it should in modern times as a backlash against its predominance for a thousand years? Yes. However, I feel like Gibbs took his evangelical self off the cliff in this. I also think that several of the founding fathers thought Christianity was as tyrannical as George III, that the government was founded on principles and not the religion, and that Christianity will be better for not having the upper hand for a while--you fight harder when you're not winning.
I only read the introduction, which I feel is all that I needed to read because this is written like a freshman comp paper, with thesis-topic sentence-conclusion; makes it easy to follow, but unnecessary to finish in a way. Here are my refutations to his chapters:
1) "Christopher Columbus...was motivated by his Christian faith to make his difficult voyage." Bullocks. Columbus was, in the great spirit of imperialism, trying to get to India and didn't realize there was a honking big continent in the way. Also, he got turned down by Portugal and Italy before Spain took him up for their own economic reasons. Did he bring Christianity with him to the natives? Sure. Also syphillis.
2) "...the Pilgrims...clearly stated that they had come to the New World to glorify God and to advance the Christian faith." Well, yeah, because England kicked them out after discovering they were about as much fun to hang around as the Puritans. They advanced the Christian faith on the other side of an ocean because they thought the Anglican church was nuts, so really, they were advancing their brand of the Christian faith; long live denominational freedom.
3) "The Puritans...created Bible-based commonwealths in order to practice a representative government that was modeled after their previous church covenants...[that:] essentially laid the foundation for America's Constitution." The Puritans were also kicked out of the English clubhouse, not least because no one liked them after the Glorious Revolution told them to take their anti-fun and stuff it. I agree that their system of self-government was useful, but I'm pretty sure the essential foundation for the constitution was, in fact, the Magna Carta.
4) "Various settlements throughout the early colonies provided refuge for religious dissidents of all faiths." Yeah, not so much all faiths as all denominations, which they did because they mostly ignored the Native Americans that were already here practicing their faith and being called ignorant savages for it. Three cheers for selective toleration.
5) "The education of America's settlers and founders was uniquely Christian and Bible-based." Well, not completely. The western hemisphere was predominately Judeo-Christian because of the lingering influences of the Catholic Church, so everyone was Bible-based. Primers had bits of the New Testament as writing exercises. Also, everyone knew the scriptures because that was what was most in print in the 18th century, considering the first true novel wasn't printed until the 1720s and most lower-class Englishmen were functionally illiterate.
6) "The Great Awakening was a key factor in uniting the separate pre-Revolutionary War colonies and in increasing communication among them." Sure, I'll believe this, but I don't see how this proves your thesis. It means that churches had better organization, which was true because they were communal centers and hubs of information for the frontier peoples, not necessarily because their beliefs were in any way administratively superior.
7) "The colonial pulpits, especially in New England, played a pivotal role in encouraging American independence from Britain." Of course, because usually the elders of the church and the members of the local council were the same people. What was politically necessary became what was religiously necessary, which is usually something to be wary of (yes, I'm looking at you, Pope Urban II).
8) "Christianity played a very important role in bringing about American independence, including shaping the thinking of President George Washington." I won't argue that, it did. But so did being a surveyor under the grace of Lord Fairfax, being a landowner, and taking a jaunt to Barbados.
9) "The Declaration of Independence was based on Christian ideas and viewpoints." Wholeheartedly, yes. This is not the same as it being based on Christianity, as some of the same tenants of human interaction can be found in all major world religions.
10) "The Biblical understanding of the sinfulness of man was the guiding principle behind the United States Constitution." Can't really get behind this. I'll agree that "the Bible was quoted more than any other source in the political writings of America's founding era", but see point 5. It was less the sinfulness of man and more the distrust of the human capacity to properly rule oneself that guided the constitution, which is how we end up with things like the electoral college. Its writers took the best of what they knew from the English government, the French government, the Bible, and their own observations of what leadership could or should be and created a new document that was meant to govern "a great experiment" that no one was even sure would last the century. Some of the writers didn't even believe in the sinfulness of man as a starting point, believing rather that the world corrupted the inestimable possiblity of mankind, stunting his capacity to effectively govern and live. Also, Gibbs, when you say "in the First Amendment, the founders presented America with a framework for religious liberty, not a weapon to be used by secularists against any public expression of Christianity" I know you're just sore that the bully on the playground pushed you down and the teacher didn't help you. The country is not out to get you, I promise.
So yes. I believe that Christianity is inextricably woven into the basis of the United States. And if Gibbs had written the book that focused on that as a guiding light to all of the other influences, that would be great. However, I feel that this is not that; it is instead a narrow view of how a religion shaped a country and nothing else matters because we have forsaken our origins and that is bad. Not something I could really read all the way through.
November 18, 2013
If you love America and want to learn about how our country was founded on Godly principles, then this book is for you. The author has practiced law for many, many years. I trust you will enjoy the quotes from this book:
… those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. ~Abraham Lincoln
In a very real way, North America began in 1620 “in the name of God,” as the Mayflower Compact, our very first self-governing document clearly proclaims. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In the early 1830’s, a Frenchman came to America to investigate how our nation dealt with prisoners. Instead, he expanded his study and wrote a two-part book about his general observations entitled Democracy in America. Amazingly, after some 170 years, Alexis de Tocqueville’s book is still in print. In the opening of his second volume, de Tocqueville reminds us: “It must never be forgotten that religion gave birth to Anglo-American society.”
G. K. Chesterton was a popular writer who lived in the early part of the 20th century in England. In an essay entitled, “What I Saw in America,” he made this observation: “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence.”
The Bible “is the rock on which our Republic rests.” ~Andrew Jackson
Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary. ~Daniel Webster
In 1681, William Penn provided a haven in Pennsylvania for Quakers and for all those professing Jesus as the Christ and Savior. He established a community based on both political and religious freedom that would be an example to the nations. Viewing his colony as a “Holy Experiment,” Penn wanted to establish a society that was both Godly and virtuous and to bring “the savage natives by gentle and just manners to the Love of Civil Societ[y] and Christian religion.”
One of the goals of the Georgia Trustees under James Oglethorpe in 1733 was to provide for the conversion of the Indians through the colony’s good discipline and example of just, moral, and religious behavior. Oglethorpe’s first official act as a Trustee in Savannah was to kneel with his company to offer thanksgiving and prayer to God. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
My hope in the One who created us all sustains me: He is an ever present help in trouble … ~Christopher Columbus
The Pledge of Allegiance was created to honor the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. The Pledge was written by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy (1856-1931) of Boston. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Some people now find the Pledge offensive, particularly because of the phrase “under God” which was added by Congress in 1954. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said at the time he signed the law: “FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country’s true meaning.”
In 1955, President Eisenhower said, “Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first – the most basic – expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”
Columbus portrayed as a devout and sincere Christian who rejoiced in the souls that would be saved in this new land. He wrote: “Therefore let the king and queen, the princes and their most fortunate kingdoms, and all other countries of Christendom give thanks to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has bestowed upon us so great a victory and gift. Let religious processions be solemnized; let sacred festivals be given; let the churches be covered with festive garlands. Let Christ rejoice on earth, as He rejoices in heaven, when He foresees coming to salvation so many souls of people hitherto lost.”
No one should be afraid to take on any enterprise in the name of our Savior, if it is right and if the purpose is purely for His holy service. ~Christopher Columbus
Columbus felt an urgency from the Lord, not merely to open a new trade route, but also to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. His purpose was twofold. First, of course, he wanted to reach Asia. Secondly, in the words of the World Book Encyclopedia, he wanted to use the proceeds from his expedition to “recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims. There, he said, he would rebuild the Jews’ holy Temple and bring on a new ‘Age of the Holy Spirit.’” He wanted to liberate Christ’s holy sepulcher from Muslim ownership back to Christian control. Because of all this, George Grant calls him “the last crusader.” ~David Gibbs, Jr.
I forbade that they [the Indians] should be given things so worthless as pieces of broken crockery and broken glass, and lace points. … I gave them a thousand good, pleasing things which I had bought, in order that they might be fond of us, and furthermore might become Christians and be inclined to the love and service of Their Highnesses and the whole Castilian nation [Spain], and try to help us to give us of the things which they have in abundance and which are necessary to us. ~Columbus in a letter to the King and Queen of Spain written on February 15, 1493
Columbus himself tells of the Christian motivation for his voyage in his Book of Prophecies, a volume he wrote in 1505, so named because he quotes many Biblical prophecies:
It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) to sail to the Indies and wonderful things for the earth, and the signs are that the Lord is hastening the. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures.
Columbus elaborates further:
For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied … These are great end. The fact that [the] gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time – this is what convinces me.
Columbus erected a cross on the landing site, symbolizing the claim of Christ on a land that had not previously been exposed to the Gospel. He named the first island on which they landed “San Salvador,” which translated means “Holy Savior.” Other lands he later named included “Trinidad” (meaning “Trinity”), “Vera Cruz” (meaning “True Cross”), and “Navidad” (similar to our word “Nativity,” meaning Christmas). These Christian names remain to this day. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, our nation’s spiritual heritage id honored even today among eight large paintings depicting important moments in American history. About half of these paintings have a direct reference in one way or another to Christ, including the Christian baptism of Pocahontas. One of these paintings depicts Rev. Robinson’s prayer meeting with the Pilgrims on board ship before they departed for America. In the picture, Robinson is holding a large open Bible. The name of Jesus Christ can clearly be seen (upside down) on the open page of the Scriptures. Visitors to Washington, D.C., can visit this very large painting. The picture stands as a beacon of our nation’s true history. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
What was remarkable about this particular contract [the Mayflower Compact] was that it was not between a servant and a master, or a people and a king, but between a group of like-minded individuals and each other, with God as a witness and symbolic co-signatory. ~Paul Johnson
The Mayflower Compact begins by recognizing the hand of God who had been leading all along: “In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James. … Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern Parts of Virginia do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid. …”
Soon after the first Puritans arrived in Salem they called for a day of fasting and prayer in August 1629. Their goal, according to Cotton Mather’s early history of New England, was to settle “a Church State among them, and for making a Confession of their Faith, and entering into an holy Covenant, whereby that Church State was formed. “ ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In a sense, the clergy were the first elected officials of the new American society, a society which to that extent had a democratic element from the start … ~Paul Johnson
The Bible did not merely govern their [The Puritans] spiritual lives. It also formed the basis for their political views. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
God alone is Lord of the conscience … Chapter 21 of “The American Church Manual” written September 30, 1648
The ultimate source of political power, as the Puritans saw it, was God Himself. Human rulers must rule under His dominion. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
The Puritans did not view politics as a dirty business, as has sometimes been the case for modern Christians. For them, politics was a Biblical undertaking. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Rhode Island was a sanctuary for religious dissidents. Roger Williams called his new settlement Providence to honor God for miraculously sparing his life during his winter flight to the colony and also to honor God’s sovereignty over the affairs of man. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
There is one great God and Power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day given an account, for all that we do in the world. William Penn, in a letter to Indians
The social experiment in a rankles community, where the right of self-determination of every individual was sacred, where God was the final source of authority, succeeded and prospered, and it did so on the simple formula: love-industry-integrity. Catherine Owens Peare, William Penn’s biographer, reflecting upon the success of the colony and its government based upon Biblical principles.
Liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery. ~William Penn
This great God hath written His law in our hearts by which we are taught and commanded to love and help and do good to one another and not to do harm and mischief one unto another. ~William Penn
Religion and government are so intertwined in this document [William Penn’s “Frame of Government” for Pennsylvania] that it is impossible to separate them. To hold public office, one had to be a Christian, but there were no restrictions on denominational affiliation. Furthermore, like Roger William’s colony in Rhode Island, no one could be “molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion, or practice, in matters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled, at any time, to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.” ~David Gibbs, Jr.
It is very clear that what Penn envisioned for his colony was not freedom from religion, but freedom of religion – not a separation of government from all religion, but a government that respected the religious consciences of all its citizens. He envisioned a place where every man was free, not to live an ungodly life, but to practice his religion in peace, to have the right to rule his own estate, and to participate in making laws and enforcing them. Individual freedom could only work if the people were self-governed and industrious. That statement is as true today as it was in 1680. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Any government is only good as its people. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
William Penn turned down a great deal of money to betray the Indians and declared the following: “I will not abuse the love of God … nor act unworthy of His Providence, by defiling what came to me clean. No; let the Lord guide me by His wisdom to honor His name and serve His truth and people, that an example and a standard may be set up to the nations.”
The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life. ~Herbert Hoover
The Son is not to be excluded from anything. You cannot point to any natural realm or star or comet or even descend into the depth of the earth, but it is related to Christ, not in some unimportant tangential way, but directly. There is no force in nature, no laws that control those forces that do not have their origin in that eternal Word. For this reason, it is totally false to restrict Christ to spiritual affairs and to assert that there is no point of contact between Him and the natural sciences. ~Abraham Kuyper
During the Revolutionary War, the British Prime Minister, Horace Walpole, remarked to Parliament, “Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson.” That Presbyterian “parson” was Rev. John Witherspoon, the president of Princeton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.
The little colonial student in early America marched off to his one-room schoolhouse and opened his new reading primer, but instead of reading about Jane and Spot, our little colonial friend was taught to read using magnificent truths based on the Word of God. Here is on example:
An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth
A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure & trouble therewith.
Come unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden and He will give you rest.
It being one chief project of that old deluder; Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue … It is therefore ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to fifty households shall forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children … ~The Old Deluder Act, 1647
The “New England Primer,” the book used to teach colonial children to read, included the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, and the text of many hymns and prayers by Isaac Watts. John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Elbridge Gerry (from whom we get the word gerrymandering), and hundreds of thousands of other colonists learned their ABC’s from this powerful, tiny book. Here is one lesson from the “New England Primer” entitled “A Lesson for Children:”
Pray to God
Love God
Fear God
Serve God
Take not God’s Name in Vain
Do not Swear
Do not Steal
Cheat not in your play
Mind your Book
Call no ill names
Use no ill words
Tell no lies
Hate Lies
Speak the Truth
Spend your Time well
Love your School
Strive to learn
When colonial children learned the alphabet, they also learned key messages from the Bible. There was more Biblical truth imparted in the “New England Primer” for early American school children than is probably preached in the average American church pulpit today. Here is another example of how these children learned the alphabet:
A
In ADAM’S Fall we sinned all.
B
Heaven to find; the Bible Mind.
C
Christ crucify’d for sinners dy’d.
I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. ~Martin Luther
One provision included in the Northwest Ordinance states, “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people. ~James Madison
We can learn a lot about Harvard by looking at some of its earliest rules, such as the Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College, 1643, which begins by stating: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3).”
Where there is no religion, there is no morality … With the loss of religion … the ultimate foundation of confidence is blown up; and the security of life, liberty and property are buried in ruins. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale, 1798
In the early years of Yale, the Word of God was preeminent. Consider, for example, the regulations for Yale College in its new charter in 1745. Here are two of the requirements listed: “All scholars shall live religious, godly, and blameless lives according to the rules of God’s Word, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures, the foundation of light and truth; and constantly attend all the duties of religion, both in public and secret.”
An early advertisement for King’s College (Columbia University) read: “The chief thing that is aimed at in this college is to teach and engage children to know God in Jesus Christ.”
Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind. ~Benjamin Rush, Signer of Declaration of Independence
Under God’s Power She Flourishers ~Princeton University’s official motto
One early Ivy League school was founded entirely to raise up ministers and missionaries to the Indians. That school was Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire.
You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. ~George Washington to the Delaware Indian chiefs
Jonathan Edwards was the third president of Princeton, which at the time was still known as the College of New Jersey.
Jonathan Edwards and his wife Sara (Sara Pierrepont, whom he married in 1727) had eleven children who were all raised to be Godly people. William J. Federer notes:
Their success as parents was revealed in a study done in 1990, showing that their descendants included 13 college presidents, 65 professors, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, a dean of a prestigious law school, 80 public office holders, nearly 100 missionaries, 3 mayors of large cities, 3 governors, 3 United States Senators, 1 comptroller of the United States Treasury, and 1 Vice-Presidents of the United States.
Paul Johnson points out that this Great Awakening “sounded the death-knell of British colonialism.
The Great Awakening helped to forge all sections of the country together.
As John Adams was to put it, long afterwards: “The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the mind and hearts of the people: and change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations.” … The Revolution could not have taken place without this religious background. The essential difference between the American Revolution and the French Revolution is that the American Revolution, in its origins, was a religious event, whereas the French Revolution was an anti-religious event.”
Both before and during the Revolutionary War, at least twice a year, and always around the time of local election days, the clergy would preach an election sermon on the state of political affairs.
Rev. Mayhew knew that the power of government was invested in the people. He also knew that the consent of the governed was more important than the petty whims of magistrates who lose their authority to rule over the
… those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. ~Abraham Lincoln
In a very real way, North America began in 1620 “in the name of God,” as the Mayflower Compact, our very first self-governing document clearly proclaims. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In the early 1830’s, a Frenchman came to America to investigate how our nation dealt with prisoners. Instead, he expanded his study and wrote a two-part book about his general observations entitled Democracy in America. Amazingly, after some 170 years, Alexis de Tocqueville’s book is still in print. In the opening of his second volume, de Tocqueville reminds us: “It must never be forgotten that religion gave birth to Anglo-American society.”
G. K. Chesterton was a popular writer who lived in the early part of the 20th century in England. In an essay entitled, “What I Saw in America,” he made this observation: “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence.”
The Bible “is the rock on which our Republic rests.” ~Andrew Jackson
Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary. ~Daniel Webster
In 1681, William Penn provided a haven in Pennsylvania for Quakers and for all those professing Jesus as the Christ and Savior. He established a community based on both political and religious freedom that would be an example to the nations. Viewing his colony as a “Holy Experiment,” Penn wanted to establish a society that was both Godly and virtuous and to bring “the savage natives by gentle and just manners to the Love of Civil Societ[y] and Christian religion.”
One of the goals of the Georgia Trustees under James Oglethorpe in 1733 was to provide for the conversion of the Indians through the colony’s good discipline and example of just, moral, and religious behavior. Oglethorpe’s first official act as a Trustee in Savannah was to kneel with his company to offer thanksgiving and prayer to God. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
My hope in the One who created us all sustains me: He is an ever present help in trouble … ~Christopher Columbus
The Pledge of Allegiance was created to honor the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. The Pledge was written by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy (1856-1931) of Boston. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Some people now find the Pledge offensive, particularly because of the phrase “under God” which was added by Congress in 1954. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said at the time he signed the law: “FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country’s true meaning.”
In 1955, President Eisenhower said, “Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first – the most basic – expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”
Columbus portrayed as a devout and sincere Christian who rejoiced in the souls that would be saved in this new land. He wrote: “Therefore let the king and queen, the princes and their most fortunate kingdoms, and all other countries of Christendom give thanks to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has bestowed upon us so great a victory and gift. Let religious processions be solemnized; let sacred festivals be given; let the churches be covered with festive garlands. Let Christ rejoice on earth, as He rejoices in heaven, when He foresees coming to salvation so many souls of people hitherto lost.”
No one should be afraid to take on any enterprise in the name of our Savior, if it is right and if the purpose is purely for His holy service. ~Christopher Columbus
Columbus felt an urgency from the Lord, not merely to open a new trade route, but also to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. His purpose was twofold. First, of course, he wanted to reach Asia. Secondly, in the words of the World Book Encyclopedia, he wanted to use the proceeds from his expedition to “recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims. There, he said, he would rebuild the Jews’ holy Temple and bring on a new ‘Age of the Holy Spirit.’” He wanted to liberate Christ’s holy sepulcher from Muslim ownership back to Christian control. Because of all this, George Grant calls him “the last crusader.” ~David Gibbs, Jr.
I forbade that they [the Indians] should be given things so worthless as pieces of broken crockery and broken glass, and lace points. … I gave them a thousand good, pleasing things which I had bought, in order that they might be fond of us, and furthermore might become Christians and be inclined to the love and service of Their Highnesses and the whole Castilian nation [Spain], and try to help us to give us of the things which they have in abundance and which are necessary to us. ~Columbus in a letter to the King and Queen of Spain written on February 15, 1493
Columbus himself tells of the Christian motivation for his voyage in his Book of Prophecies, a volume he wrote in 1505, so named because he quotes many Biblical prophecies:
It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) to sail to the Indies and wonderful things for the earth, and the signs are that the Lord is hastening the. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures.
Columbus elaborates further:
For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied … These are great end. The fact that [the] gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time – this is what convinces me.
Columbus erected a cross on the landing site, symbolizing the claim of Christ on a land that had not previously been exposed to the Gospel. He named the first island on which they landed “San Salvador,” which translated means “Holy Savior.” Other lands he later named included “Trinidad” (meaning “Trinity”), “Vera Cruz” (meaning “True Cross”), and “Navidad” (similar to our word “Nativity,” meaning Christmas). These Christian names remain to this day. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, our nation’s spiritual heritage id honored even today among eight large paintings depicting important moments in American history. About half of these paintings have a direct reference in one way or another to Christ, including the Christian baptism of Pocahontas. One of these paintings depicts Rev. Robinson’s prayer meeting with the Pilgrims on board ship before they departed for America. In the picture, Robinson is holding a large open Bible. The name of Jesus Christ can clearly be seen (upside down) on the open page of the Scriptures. Visitors to Washington, D.C., can visit this very large painting. The picture stands as a beacon of our nation’s true history. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
What was remarkable about this particular contract [the Mayflower Compact] was that it was not between a servant and a master, or a people and a king, but between a group of like-minded individuals and each other, with God as a witness and symbolic co-signatory. ~Paul Johnson
The Mayflower Compact begins by recognizing the hand of God who had been leading all along: “In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James. … Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern Parts of Virginia do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid. …”
Soon after the first Puritans arrived in Salem they called for a day of fasting and prayer in August 1629. Their goal, according to Cotton Mather’s early history of New England, was to settle “a Church State among them, and for making a Confession of their Faith, and entering into an holy Covenant, whereby that Church State was formed. “ ~David Gibbs, Jr.
In a sense, the clergy were the first elected officials of the new American society, a society which to that extent had a democratic element from the start … ~Paul Johnson
The Bible did not merely govern their [The Puritans] spiritual lives. It also formed the basis for their political views. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
God alone is Lord of the conscience … Chapter 21 of “The American Church Manual” written September 30, 1648
The ultimate source of political power, as the Puritans saw it, was God Himself. Human rulers must rule under His dominion. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
The Puritans did not view politics as a dirty business, as has sometimes been the case for modern Christians. For them, politics was a Biblical undertaking. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Rhode Island was a sanctuary for religious dissidents. Roger Williams called his new settlement Providence to honor God for miraculously sparing his life during his winter flight to the colony and also to honor God’s sovereignty over the affairs of man. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
There is one great God and Power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day given an account, for all that we do in the world. William Penn, in a letter to Indians
The social experiment in a rankles community, where the right of self-determination of every individual was sacred, where God was the final source of authority, succeeded and prospered, and it did so on the simple formula: love-industry-integrity. Catherine Owens Peare, William Penn’s biographer, reflecting upon the success of the colony and its government based upon Biblical principles.
Liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery. ~William Penn
This great God hath written His law in our hearts by which we are taught and commanded to love and help and do good to one another and not to do harm and mischief one unto another. ~William Penn
Religion and government are so intertwined in this document [William Penn’s “Frame of Government” for Pennsylvania] that it is impossible to separate them. To hold public office, one had to be a Christian, but there were no restrictions on denominational affiliation. Furthermore, like Roger William’s colony in Rhode Island, no one could be “molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion, or practice, in matters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled, at any time, to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.” ~David Gibbs, Jr.
It is very clear that what Penn envisioned for his colony was not freedom from religion, but freedom of religion – not a separation of government from all religion, but a government that respected the religious consciences of all its citizens. He envisioned a place where every man was free, not to live an ungodly life, but to practice his religion in peace, to have the right to rule his own estate, and to participate in making laws and enforcing them. Individual freedom could only work if the people were self-governed and industrious. That statement is as true today as it was in 1680. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
Any government is only good as its people. ~David Gibbs, Jr.
William Penn turned down a great deal of money to betray the Indians and declared the following: “I will not abuse the love of God … nor act unworthy of His Providence, by defiling what came to me clean. No; let the Lord guide me by His wisdom to honor His name and serve His truth and people, that an example and a standard may be set up to the nations.”
The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life. ~Herbert Hoover
The Son is not to be excluded from anything. You cannot point to any natural realm or star or comet or even descend into the depth of the earth, but it is related to Christ, not in some unimportant tangential way, but directly. There is no force in nature, no laws that control those forces that do not have their origin in that eternal Word. For this reason, it is totally false to restrict Christ to spiritual affairs and to assert that there is no point of contact between Him and the natural sciences. ~Abraham Kuyper
During the Revolutionary War, the British Prime Minister, Horace Walpole, remarked to Parliament, “Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson.” That Presbyterian “parson” was Rev. John Witherspoon, the president of Princeton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.
The little colonial student in early America marched off to his one-room schoolhouse and opened his new reading primer, but instead of reading about Jane and Spot, our little colonial friend was taught to read using magnificent truths based on the Word of God. Here is on example:
An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth
A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure & trouble therewith.
Come unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden and He will give you rest.
It being one chief project of that old deluder; Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue … It is therefore ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to fifty households shall forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children … ~The Old Deluder Act, 1647
The “New England Primer,” the book used to teach colonial children to read, included the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, and the text of many hymns and prayers by Isaac Watts. John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Elbridge Gerry (from whom we get the word gerrymandering), and hundreds of thousands of other colonists learned their ABC’s from this powerful, tiny book. Here is one lesson from the “New England Primer” entitled “A Lesson for Children:”
Pray to God
Love God
Fear God
Serve God
Take not God’s Name in Vain
Do not Swear
Do not Steal
Cheat not in your play
Mind your Book
Call no ill names
Use no ill words
Tell no lies
Hate Lies
Speak the Truth
Spend your Time well
Love your School
Strive to learn
When colonial children learned the alphabet, they also learned key messages from the Bible. There was more Biblical truth imparted in the “New England Primer” for early American school children than is probably preached in the average American church pulpit today. Here is another example of how these children learned the alphabet:
A
In ADAM’S Fall we sinned all.
B
Heaven to find; the Bible Mind.
C
Christ crucify’d for sinners dy’d.
I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. ~Martin Luther
One provision included in the Northwest Ordinance states, “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people. ~James Madison
We can learn a lot about Harvard by looking at some of its earliest rules, such as the Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College, 1643, which begins by stating: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3).”
Where there is no religion, there is no morality … With the loss of religion … the ultimate foundation of confidence is blown up; and the security of life, liberty and property are buried in ruins. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale, 1798
In the early years of Yale, the Word of God was preeminent. Consider, for example, the regulations for Yale College in its new charter in 1745. Here are two of the requirements listed: “All scholars shall live religious, godly, and blameless lives according to the rules of God’s Word, diligently reading the Holy Scriptures, the foundation of light and truth; and constantly attend all the duties of religion, both in public and secret.”
An early advertisement for King’s College (Columbia University) read: “The chief thing that is aimed at in this college is to teach and engage children to know God in Jesus Christ.”
Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind. ~Benjamin Rush, Signer of Declaration of Independence
Under God’s Power She Flourishers ~Princeton University’s official motto
One early Ivy League school was founded entirely to raise up ministers and missionaries to the Indians. That school was Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire.
You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. ~George Washington to the Delaware Indian chiefs
Jonathan Edwards was the third president of Princeton, which at the time was still known as the College of New Jersey.
Jonathan Edwards and his wife Sara (Sara Pierrepont, whom he married in 1727) had eleven children who were all raised to be Godly people. William J. Federer notes:
Their success as parents was revealed in a study done in 1990, showing that their descendants included 13 college presidents, 65 professors, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, a dean of a prestigious law school, 80 public office holders, nearly 100 missionaries, 3 mayors of large cities, 3 governors, 3 United States Senators, 1 comptroller of the United States Treasury, and 1 Vice-Presidents of the United States.
Paul Johnson points out that this Great Awakening “sounded the death-knell of British colonialism.
The Great Awakening helped to forge all sections of the country together.
As John Adams was to put it, long afterwards: “The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the mind and hearts of the people: and change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations.” … The Revolution could not have taken place without this religious background. The essential difference between the American Revolution and the French Revolution is that the American Revolution, in its origins, was a religious event, whereas the French Revolution was an anti-religious event.”
Both before and during the Revolutionary War, at least twice a year, and always around the time of local election days, the clergy would preach an election sermon on the state of political affairs.
Rev. Mayhew knew that the power of government was invested in the people. He also knew that the consent of the governed was more important than the petty whims of magistrates who lose their authority to rule over the
September 12, 2024
Really great book that I dug up out of my book collection and needed to read at this time as we are seeing the collapse of our nation's Biblical foundations and our constitutional freedoms. This book reveals how are nation was formed along with its founders and their fight for freedom against the tyranny of England. It explores each man's life and their faith in God to preserve and maintain our rights from God to create a nation under God and His Biblical principles written into the Constitution and the Bill of rights. After reading this I see without any doubt, no matter what people of today say. Our nation is a Christian nation and our founders believed much in salvation through Jesus Christ, seeking God together for answers during war and tribulations. The book is historically accurate and documents the personal lives of our Patriotic fathers and their journey of faith in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The issue of separation of church and state was that their would be no imposed religion forced on anyone. God gave us all a free will. But the liberal progressives of today have twisted this for their own agenda. No person or governmental branch was given more power than the other because it was known as the Bible states , that the heart of man is deceitful above all things , not benign and full of goodwill that people believe today . Pastors as well as other ministers of the church were involved in the governmental sector, they did not stay out of politics, like some would believe for today. and the foundation of Ivy league universities and colleges were all Christian. They would not allow the lies and deceptions that take place today in these educational institutions that are brainwashing our younger generation.
September 21, 2023
⚓️ fantastic history lesson, sad reality of the state of our government, and Supreme Court leaders.
Our founding fathers believed in personal salvation. They believed that peace with GOD could be found through faith in Jesus Christ.
George Whitefield, key evangelist of the Great Awakening “would you have peace with GOD? Away, then, to GOD through Jesus Christ, who has purchased peace; The Lord Jesus has shed His heart’s blood for this; He ascended into the highest heaven, and is now interceding at the right hand of GOD.”
Romans 3:23
GOD Bless America 🇺🇸 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Our founding fathers believed in personal salvation. They believed that peace with GOD could be found through faith in Jesus Christ.
George Whitefield, key evangelist of the Great Awakening “would you have peace with GOD? Away, then, to GOD through Jesus Christ, who has purchased peace; The Lord Jesus has shed His heart’s blood for this; He ascended into the highest heaven, and is now interceding at the right hand of GOD.”
Romans 3:23
GOD Bless America 🇺🇸 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
July 4, 2018
Great collection of "10 Things Every Christian Should Know." I agree with the author's but this might not convince someone who is violently opposed to our heritage. Good place to start though and very encouraging.
July 17, 2013
This wonderful volume goes into the forgotten history of the founding of America. I learned much from this book. Not only did the Pilgrims come here to escape religious persecution but a number of other groups did so as well.
All of the of the original colleges in America, including the Ivy League ones, were founded as Christian schools.
In the decades leading up to the Revolutionary War, a spiritual revival took place, setting the stage for the fight for independence. Prior to and during the Revolution, a number of ministers spoke of how God gives us our rights and when a ruler such as the King of England tramples on those rights, his rule is no longer legitimate and the people have a right to oppose him. Local newspapers printed the sermons.
The Bible was well-known, frequently quoted and viewed as the ultimate authority. Prayer was not only allowed in schools but the Bible was the main textbook for religious instruction, as a source of wisdom and as a primer to help teach reading and language skills.
During the Revolution, at various times the leaders proclaimed days of prayer and fasting to beseech God for help in the struggle against the British. George Washington was widely known to be a praying man and a dedicated Christian, as were many of the other founding fathers.
As the book makes plain, the founders were not seeking to establish a secular, agnostic or atheistic society but one where people had the freedom to worship God as each saw fit. The intent was freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
At a time when our society seems headed in the opposite direction of the Revolutionary era, it's good to reflect on some of the factors that got our nation started and made it great.
All of the of the original colleges in America, including the Ivy League ones, were founded as Christian schools.
In the decades leading up to the Revolutionary War, a spiritual revival took place, setting the stage for the fight for independence. Prior to and during the Revolution, a number of ministers spoke of how God gives us our rights and when a ruler such as the King of England tramples on those rights, his rule is no longer legitimate and the people have a right to oppose him. Local newspapers printed the sermons.
The Bible was well-known, frequently quoted and viewed as the ultimate authority. Prayer was not only allowed in schools but the Bible was the main textbook for religious instruction, as a source of wisdom and as a primer to help teach reading and language skills.
During the Revolution, at various times the leaders proclaimed days of prayer and fasting to beseech God for help in the struggle against the British. George Washington was widely known to be a praying man and a dedicated Christian, as were many of the other founding fathers.
As the book makes plain, the founders were not seeking to establish a secular, agnostic or atheistic society but one where people had the freedom to worship God as each saw fit. The intent was freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
At a time when our society seems headed in the opposite direction of the Revolutionary era, it's good to reflect on some of the factors that got our nation started and made it great.
November 1, 2009
Gibbs explains how many of the Founding Fathers of the USA were Christians. Many of the colonies were founded as havens for religious dissidents. These are simple facts about the history of our nation, and I appreciated Gibbs's work to document and explain them.
For example, I find it stirring that a major reason why Columbus was looking for an easier trade route to the Indies was because of unfulfilled prophecy. He wanted all nations to know the Lord Jesus, and so he attempted to make it easier for the Good News to be preached.
Although what Gibbs writes does appear to be truth, I thought that he focused on only part of the truth. It is true that many Founding Fathers were Christians. But it is also true that many were not. I don't believe that the first fact makes the USA a "Christian Nation." And I don't believe that our goal should be to return America to "its Christian roots." Rather, we should continue preaching the good news and calling men and women to commit to Jesus.
For example, I find it stirring that a major reason why Columbus was looking for an easier trade route to the Indies was because of unfulfilled prophecy. He wanted all nations to know the Lord Jesus, and so he attempted to make it easier for the Good News to be preached.
Although what Gibbs writes does appear to be truth, I thought that he focused on only part of the truth. It is true that many Founding Fathers were Christians. But it is also true that many were not. I don't believe that the first fact makes the USA a "Christian Nation." And I don't believe that our goal should be to return America to "its Christian roots." Rather, we should continue preaching the good news and calling men and women to commit to Jesus.
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January 28, 2013Interesting read.
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