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A LAND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BLESSING ONCE CALLED AMERICA!
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12 April, 1999 A.D.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, IN "INFORMATION TO THOSE WHO WOULD REMOVE TO AMERICA":
Hence bad examples to youth are more rare in America, which must be a comfortable consideration to parents. To this may be truly added, that serious Religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated, but respected and practised.Atheism is unknown there; Infidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an atheist or an infidel.
And The Divine Being seems to have manifested His approbation of the mutual forbearance and kindness with which the different sects (Church denominations) treat each other; by the remarkable prosperity with which He has been pleased to favor the whole country. (2,3)
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PROVERBS 14:34:
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. (1)
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JOHN ADAMS:
The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were...the general Principles of Christianity, in which all these Sects were United: And the general Principles of English and American Liberty, ...which has United all Parties in America, in Majorities sufficient to assert and maintain her Independence.Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God... (3,40)
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DEUTERONOMY 10:12 & 28:1:
And now, Israel, what doth The LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear The LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve The LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of The LORD thy God, to observe and to do all His Commandments which I (Moses) command thee this day, that The LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. (1)
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NOAH WEBSTER:
The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the Religion of Christ and His Apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free Constitution of Government. (3,40)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MATTHEW 5:6-9:
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (1)
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GEORGE WASHINGTON:
No people can be bound 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 (favorable) smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal Rules of order and right which Heaven itself ordained. (3,6,40,61)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I PETER 3:12:
For the eyes of The Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of The Lord is against them that do evil. (1)
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CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: REPORT OF A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION ON "THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES" TO THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTE, 1853:
The (First Amendment) clause speaks of an "establishment of religion." What is meant by that expression? It referred, without doubt, to that establishment which existed in the mother-country...endowment at the public expense, peculiar privileges to its members, or disadvantages or penalties upon those who should reject its doctrines or belong to other communions, - such law would be a "law respecting an establishment of religion..."They intended, by this amendment, to prohibit "an establishment of religion" such as the English Church presented, or any thing like it. But they had no fear or jealousy of religion itself, nor did they wish to see us an irreligious people...
They did not intend to spread over all the public authorities and the whole public action of the nation the dead and revolting spectacle of atheistic apathy. Not so had the battles of the Revolution been fought and the deliberations of the Revolugionary Congress been conducted.
In the law, Sunday is a "dies non;" ...The executive departments, the public establishments, are all closed on Sundays; on that day niether House of Congress sits...
Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, recognized and respected by all the departments of the Government...
Here is a recognition by law, and by universal usage, not only of a Sabbath, but of the Christian Sabbath, in exclusion of the Jewish or Mohammedan Sabbath...the recognition of the Christian Sabbath (by the Constitution) is complete and perfect.
We are a Christian people...not because the law demands it, not to gain exclusive benefits or to avoid legal disabilities, but from choice and education; and in a land thus universally Christian, what is to be expected, what desired, but that we shall pay due regard to Christianity. (3)
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PSALM 71:1-5:
In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline Thine ear unto me, and save me.
Be Thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: Thou hast given commandment to save me; for Thou art my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, oout of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For Thou art my hope, O LORD God: Thou art my trust from my youth. (1)
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CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: REPORT OF A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION ON "THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES" TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, 1854:
What is an establishment of religion? It must have a creed, defining what a man must believe; it must have rites and orginances, which believers must observe; it must have ministers of defined qualifications, to teach the doctrines and administer the rites; it must have tests for the submissive and penalties for the non-conformist. There never was as established religion without all these...At the adoption of the Constitution...every State...provided as regularly for the support of the Church as for the support of the Government...
Down to the Revolution, every colony did sustain religion in some form. It was deemed peculiarly proper that the Religion of liberty should be upheld by a free people.
Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle.
At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, not any one sect (denomination). Any attempt to level and discard all religion would have been viewed with universal indignation. The object was not to substitute Judaism or Mohammedanism, or infidelity, but to prevent rivalry among the (Christian) sects to the exclusion of others.
It (Christianity) must be considered as the foundation on which the whole structure rests. Laws will not have permanence or power without the sanction of religious sentiment, - without a firm belief that there is a Power above us that will reward our virtues and punish our vices.
In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity: that, in its general principles, is the great conservative element on which we must rely for the purity and permanence of free institutions. That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. There is a great and very prevalent error on this subject in the opinion that those who organized this Government did not legislate on religion. (3)
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II TIMOTHY 1:7-10:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,...but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God;
Who hath saved us, and called us with an Holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and Grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to the light through the Gospel. (1)
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THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, THE CASE OF CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY VERSUS UNITED STATES, 1892:
Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation.
The commission to Christopher Columbus...(recited) that "it is hoped that by God's assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered..."
The first colonial grant made to Sir Waler Raleigh in 1584...and the grant authorizing him to enact statutes for the government of the proposed colony provided that they "be not against the true Christian faith..."
The first charter of Virginia, granted by King James I in 1606...commenced the grant in these words: "...in propagating of Christian Religion to such People as yet live in Darkness..."
Language of similar import may be found in the subsequent charters of that colony...in 1609 and 1611; and the same is true of the various charters granted to the other colonies. In language more or less emphatic is the establishment of Christian religion delcared to be one of the purposes of the grant. The celebrated compact made by the Pilgrims in the Mayflower, 1620, recites: "Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith...a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia..."
The fundamental orders of Connecticut, under which a provisional government was instituted in 1638-1639, commence with this declaration: "...And well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union...there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God...to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess...of the said Gospel (which) is now practiced amongst us."
In the Charter of Privileges granted by William Penn to the province of Pennsylvania, in 1701, it is recited: "...no people can be truly happy, though under the greatest enjoyment of civil liberties, if abridged of...their religious profession and worhsip..."
Coming nearer to the present time, the Declaration of Independence recognizes the presence of the Divine in human affairs in these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowedby their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions...And for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
...We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth...because of a general recognition of this truth (that we are a Christian nation), the question has seldom been presented to the courts...
There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons: they are organic utterances; they speak the voice of the entire people.
While because of a general recognition of this truth the question has seldom been presented to the courts, yet we find that in Updegraph v. The Commonwealth, it was decided that, Christianity, general Christianity, is, and always has been, a part of the common law...not Christianity with an established church...but Christianity with liberty of conscience to all men.
And in The People v. Ruggles, Chancellor Kent, the great commentator on American law, speaking as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, said: "The people of this State, in common with the people of this country, profess the general doctrinews of Christianity, as the rule of their faith and practice...We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those imposters (other religions)."
And in the famous case of Vidal v. Girard's Executors, this Court...observed: "It is also said, and truly, that the Christian religion is a part of the common law..."
If we pass beyond these matters to a view of American life as expressed by its laws, its business, its customs and its society, we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. Among other matters note the following: The form of oath universally prevailing, concluding with an appeal to the Almighty; the custom of opening sessions of all deliberative bodies and most conventions with prayer; the prefatory words of all wills, "In the Name of God, Amen";
the laws respecting the observance of the Sabbath, with the general cessation of all secular business, and the closing of courts, legislatures, and other similar public assemblies on that day; the churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe.
These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation...we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. (3)
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DEUTERONOMY 28:1-10 & 15-20:
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt harken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all His Commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and He shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
The LORD shall establish thee an Holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the Commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in His ways.
And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee...
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all His Commandments and His statutes which I commend thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Cursed shall be thy basked and thy store.
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed thalt thou be when thou goest out.
The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken Me. (1)
JOHN 13:34-35:
A new Commandment I (Jesus) give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another. (1)
JOHN 14:15:
If ye love Me, keep My Commandments. (1)
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If ye love Me, keep My Commandments. IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN!
Mr. Robert Baral
©Robert Baral 1997-2007 All Rights Reserved.
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REFERENCES
1. "The Holy Bible-Authorized King James Version-Scofield Study Bible." Oxford University Press, New York. 1945.
2. "The Rewriting Of American History." Catherine Millard. Horizon House Publishers, 3825 Hartzdale Drive, Camp Hill, Penn. 1991.
3. "America's God And Country Encyclopedia Of Quotations." William J. Federer. Fame Publishing, Inc. 820 South MacArthur Blvd., Coppell, Texas 75019-4214. 1994.
6. "Maxims Of Washington: With Washington's Farewell Address." John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Sprinkle Publications. PO Box 1094, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801. 1995.
40. "America: God Shed His Grace On Thee." David Barton. Wallbuilders. PO Box 397, Aledo, Texas 76008. www.wallbuilders.com
61. "One Nation Under God - America's Christian Heritage." The Christian Defense Fund. 6564 Loisdale Court, Suite 320, Springfield, Virginia 22150. www.christiandefensefund.org/menus/contact.html
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