January 17, 2010
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Christian Nation?????
I was reading someone else’s blog and it made me think of a few questions…..
Do you believe that this country was founded as a Christian Nation?
Does that mean the country we split from was a non-Christian Nation? or were they too a Christian nation?Do you believe in the idea that God blessed America?
Where does that come in context to the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is the promised land?
Does not the whole idea of the “christian nation” of America and the blessing of it come from the idea that to many Christians have of replacement theology?
(Replacement theology (also known as supersessionism) essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel.)
Comments (24)
I believe Israel is, and always will be, God’s chosen people (with a huge role to play in the end times) and that believers in Christ are grafted into God’s family (Romans 11).Many Christians had a hand in founding America, and God has blessed America in many ways. I believe the original Promised Land was Israel and that the eternal Promised Land is heaven.
Do you believe that this country was founded as a Christian Nation?
Yes
Does that mean the country we split from was a non-Christian Nation? or were they too a Christian nation?
Didn’t the Pilgrims leave for freedom of worship?
Do you believe in the idea that God blessed America?
Within 200 years America went from nothing to a world power…seemed pretty blessed to me.
Where does that come in context to the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is the promised land?
The Jews are indeed God’s people, although many are rejecting his plan of salvation right?
Does
not the whole idea of the “christian nation” of America and the
blessing of it come from the idea that to many Christians have of
replacement theology?
Probably. lol I don’t believe the current America is Christian at all anymore.
@Pickwick12 -
agree. My belief also.
Israel is definitely part of end times, so will be interesting.
I definitely think we (u.s.)were blessed (also alienated us from many) for our support of Israel. Not sure but think our nation may be considered “mighty men” that Daniel talks about ( don’t quote me on it though — my brain is fuzzy right now)
How are you by the way Amy?
. Hope you have a good rest of day 
Thought provoking post ( that comment of mine is starting to sound cliché but it’s true
@YouTOme - I’m doing well, thanks, Julie! You made a good point. I agree that the US has been blessed because of its past support of Israel.
I believe that we should love one another as we love ourselves.
I believe there were Christians who may have invoked blessing upon America, however- I would be very hesitant to place all of the credit/blame there. For starters, most of the country’s founders were not what we would call “born again’; someone pointed out to me recently that they were deists, which means that they believed in God, even followed some of God’s laws, but did not embrace the Gospel in its fullness. For example, Thomas Jefferson had an illicit relationship with a slave woman working in his house that resulted in at least one illegitimate child, a sin he kept hidden and not confessed or repented of. (I learned this during a visit at Monticello, where pictures of his offspring were displayed.)
Much of the wealth that America gained in such a short time was due to the cast amounts of African slave labor, as well as taking land away from Native Americans, slaughtering them, and forcing them on excursions to reservations that resulted in many deaths. Was some of our accumulated wealth blessing or simply greed by the exploitation of the innocent?
Also, what constitutes a “Christian” nation? Is it the people or the leaders? Take China, for instance, where the house churches are growing daily by the thousands, and Christians are being tortured and killed, as well as other oppressed and poor countries where people are finding Christ. This is not the kind of faithfulness and growth we see displayed in much of America’s “Christianity”… is it fair to say that China is cursed because of their “foundation” and America is blessed because of theirs? Do we consider a rich nation that is poor in Christianity more blessed than a poorer nation that is rich in real and genuine Christianity? Where does the true blessing lie?
I’m not saying I know the answers- I’m not sure if America really was “blessed” all along solely because its founders believed in a Deity, or where this blessing ends- or if it is still continuing. These are just some questions that I have that keep me from labeling us as a “favored” nation at this point….
As for Israel, I’m not familiar enough with the facts (America’s involvement, etc) there to make any assumptions, although I do think the Jews have not deserved the treatment they have received through much of their history.
@mikenpeg - Thomas Jefferson was a deist. Most of the other founders espoused born-again Christian beliefs. It’s a sad byproduct of revisionist history that children are now taught that the founders were not actually Christian. I recommend The Light and the Glory and From Sea to Shining Sea, which quote the founders themselves on the subject.
A few quotes from the founders:
“What students would learn in American schools above
all is the religion of Jesus Christ.”
–George Washington in a speech to the Delaware Indian
Chiefs May 12, 1779
“We recognize no Sovereign but God, and no King but
Jesus!”
John Adams,April 18, 1775, on the eve of the Revolutionary
War]
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan
to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this
model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read
Isaiah 33:22;
“For the LORD is our judge, [judicial]
the LORD is our lawgiver, [legislative]
the LORD is our king; [executive]
He will save us.”
• “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world,
your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth
of July]?” “Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday
of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it
forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that
the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation
of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government
upon the first precepts of Christianity”?
John Quincy Adams
I don’t mean to be rambling on. This is a subject that interests me greatly. Deists do not believe in Jesus as the Savior, or in God’s intervention in human affairs. Because of his deism, Jefferson wrote his own version of the Bible. Many of the other founders were far more orthodox in their Christian beliefs.
You may enjoy this.
@agnophilo - I don’t agree with Obama on a lot of things but I do agree with him on what he said in the first minute and 30 seconds for sure. I am still listening to the rest.
@Kristenmomof3 - It’s a very good video. I believe he was reading from one of his books.
Do you believe that this country was founded as a Christian Nation?
Yes. The U.S. was founded on Christian principles. Revisionist history would have us believe that the majority of those who founded this nation were merely deists, but the historical fact is that deists comprised a miniscule minority among the founding fathers. Furthermore (and even more importantly), the overwhelming majority of the population professed the Christian faith. A government of the people, by the people,and for the people will reflect the will and character of the people.
Does that mean the country we split from was a non-Christian Nation? or were they too a Christian nation?
There are many denominations within the “church”. Each of them is “christian”, and each of them came out from other “christian” churches. Are the “churches” they came out from non-”christian”?
Do you believe in the idea that God blessed America?
Yes. A handful of colonial farmers with essentially no military training or organization beats the world’s most powerful empire. It was a miracle. By and large, Americans have enjoyed great bounty since then. Judged by the standard of 2/3 of the world’s population, even the poor in our country are wealthy. We have, as a people, been blessed. We have, as a people, become ungrateful and blind to the blessings we have been given.
Where does that come in context to the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is the promised land?
The jews are God’s chosen people, no doubt about that! But who is a jew?
Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:26-29)
That land was promised to the children of Abraham through Isaac. Who are the true children of Abraham?
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-7)
Who is Israel? Is it by ancestry that the children of God are defined?
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. (Romans 9:6-8)
Is there anyone else who may be called chosen?
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. (Romans 9:23-26)
The jews were chosen to receive God’s oracles.
What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. (Romans 3:1-2)
As a people, they had a head start of thousands of years to study and understand Father’s Word, yet they failed to do so. More importantly, they failed to believe what He told them. This was true centuries before Yeshua walked among men.
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalms 14:2-3)
We would all do well to remember what scripture says regarding believers.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (Romans 10:12)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:9-11)
Does not the whole idea of the “christian nation” of America and the blessing of it come from the idea that to many Christians have of replacement theology?
Hardly. The concept of America as a christian nation springs from the fact that the majority of the founders of this nation (and the people of the nation) identified as christians at the time the nation was founded. Even today, the majority of Americans identify themselves as christians. Although the preponderance of the majority is shrinking, this still holds true nonetheless. As I noted earlier, a nation with a government of the people, by the people and for the people will reflect the character of the people.
Regarding replacement theology, there certainly has been a replacement, but of covenants, not of people. Have the jews been supplanted by gentiles as God’s chosen people? No! But the definition of who is a Jew has changed, the definition of who is an heir according to the promises made to Abraham has changed, or to put it more accurately, those things have been revealed in Yeshua. Merely being a descendant of Abraham and Isaac in the physical sense no longer defines who and what a Jew is. A new covenant is in force, the old covenant having been broken by the people who entered into it with God. It is not people who have been replaced, it is a covenant which has.
Yeshua’s peace be with you and all reading.
@Pickwick12 - What do you make of the Treaty of Tripoli, “carried unanimously by the Senate” in 1797, and signed into law by John Adams, quoting: “As
the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on
the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity
against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims] …
it is declared … that no pretext arising from religious opinion shall
ever product an interruption of the harmony existing between the two
countries….
“The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or a Mohammedan nation.” (Treaty of Tripoli)
I’d avoid whoever comes up with this stuff.
@mikenpeg - I believe the treaty was meant in the context that America would in no way prohibit religions other than Christianity from being practiced in the United States, that the US would always have religious freedom. Also, in my previous comment, the only point I made was that many of the founders were Christians, by their own admission. I did not make a claim about the country beyond that.
Mikenpeg and others,
The colonies wanted to get rid of slavery but the King of England vetoed it. It wasn’t a question of not having enough Christians.
Here is a page where there are a lot of quotations that America was a Christian nation and it is freely distributable. On their pages is also evidence of athiests’ attempts to take quotations out of context.
http://www.eadshome.com/QuotesoftheFounders.htm
Did you know that Benjamin Franklin is burried at Christ’s Church in Philadelphia? Benjamin Rush (signer of Declaration) is burried here too. Some of the other famous names are George Ross(signer of Declaration), Joseph Hewes (signer of Declaration), and Francis Hopkinson (signer of Declaration).
http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Burial_Ground/59/
http://www.christchurchphila.org/SiteData/docs/ccbg-map/2bb71d24513b57e1e0cddea2468bd666/ccbg-map.pdf
There wasn’t a seperation of Church and State and this is proof.
I have over four pages of quotations that America was a Christian nation but I don’t want to overwhelm Kristen’s blog.
Few people understand what 17th or 18th century deism looked like. I had to find a scholar on the subject to understand it and I’m not about to explain it to everyone.
Kristen, I can send you the link to the four pages of American quotations free of charge or I can email it to you with other documents and things. Besides, I need some help with understanding some problematic Hebrew verses. One site worth visiting is wallbuilders.com
I left Revelife because of the amount of attacks on the Christian faith and I was spending too much time on it. The administration of Revelife appears to be positioning non-Christians and Christians against each other with their placement of articles to generate responses. The addition of paid clergy to the Revelife blogs was one of the last straws because it probably was an unknown phenomenon to me to be afraid of an avatar/picture (Jeremiah 1:8) because I’m not. Besides, I have a marriage and a child to take care of.
-Chuck
1 Corinthians 10:32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
This verse shows a clear distinction between Israel and the Church and you can’t have a literal interpretation unless you make these distinctions.
Psalm 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Psalm 89:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
This is a literal promise to a literal person. I and others think these verses do away with Replacement Theology and I have other articles and links to other posts because I’m working on disproving Replacement Theology.
@chuckt - what problematic Hebrew verses?
@Chuckt - I to have spoken before against Replacement Theology. I am very against it
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].
I believe there is a difference between moral and penal evil.
A while ago I received my new “Key Word” Study Bible by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D as the newer version just came out. He writes that the basic meaning of this word displays ten or more various shades of meaning and one of them can mean “grave”. He says in a literal sense, the word depicts something that is of poor quality or even ugly in appearance. He also says from these observations, it is clear that the word can be used to attribute a negative aspect to nearly anything.
There is a large range and the larger the range the more room for anyone unqualified to make an assumtion with room to argue error or truth.
I googled the topic ‘Did God create evil?’ because I was looking for a defense and found some good links:
http://www.rbc.org/questionsDetail.aspx?id=45864
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/evil.html#WSn1hkheuwoI
http://www.christian-thinktank.com/iamwrong1.html
I’m missing one other link which I have at home but it is obvious that I couldn’t have come up with these meanings by reading some of the dictionaries.
If you have time, you can see my other arguments on this site though I’m not advocating this site:
http://www.lampstandstudy.com/forum/debating-christianity-bible/6960-evil-suffering.html
There is at least one other verse I may need help with in the future but I know you are busy. I can wait. Thank you.
America – a Christian nation
With much discussion as to the character of our elected officials, it may be of interest to know that our Founding Fathers were similarly concerned. They believed that lack of faith and moral convictions in a candidate’s private life was harbinger of betrayal in public life.
Evidence of these values can be seen in the strong oaths in early official documents, state constitutions, the various branches of government, and court decisions. These were intended to guarantee the virtue of our officials and the stability of our society. In looking objectively at these oaths, we can gain insight into the values which made our country great.
EARLY OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
In the Colony of Maryland, after the passage of the famous Toleration Act of 1649, the governors of Maryland annually took the oath:
I do further swear that I will not myself, nor any other person, directly or indirectly, trouble, molest, or discountenance any person whatever, in the said province, professing to believe in Jesus Christ.
The Charter of Privileges of Pennsylvania, 1701, granted by William Penn to the province of Pennsylvania, stated:
And that all persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, shall be capable to serve this government in any capacity, both legislatively or executively.
STATE CONSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of the State of Massachusetts, 1780, stated:
Chapter VI, Article I [All persons elected to the State office or to the Legislature must] make and subscribe the following declaration, viz.”I,_____, do declare, that I believe the Christian religion, and have firm persuasion of its truth.”
This document also declared:
“The Governor shall be chosen annually; and no person shall be eligible to this office, unless, at the time of his election…he shall declare himself to be of the Christian religion.
The Constitution of the State of Delaware, until 1792, stated:
Article XXII Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust…shall…make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit:”I _____ do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.”
The Constitution of the State of North Carolina, 1776-1876, stated:
Article XXXII That no person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.
In 1885 the word Protestant was changed to Christian, and in 1868, among the persons disqualified for office were: All persons who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
The Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania stated:
Frame of Government, Section 10. And each member [of the legislature]…shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz:”I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.”
The Constitution of the State of Vermont, 1786, stated:
Frame of Government, Section 9. And each member [of the legislature] before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz:”I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration, and own and profess the [Christian] religion. And no further or other religious test shall ever, hereafter, be required of any civil officer or magistrate in this State.”
The Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, 1784, 1792-1877, required senators and representatives to be of the “Protestant religion.”
The Constitution of the State of Maryland, August 14, 1776, stated:
Article XXXV That no other test or qualification ought to be required, on admission to any office of trust or profit, than such oath of support and fidelity to this State and such oath of office, as shall be directed by this Convention, or the Legislature of this State, and a declaration of a belief in the Christian religion.
to be continued…
In 1851, the oath of the Constitution of Maryland was reworded to require:
A declaration of belief in the Christian religion; and if the party shall profess to be a Jew the declaration shall be of his belief in a future state of rewards and punishments.
In 1864, the Constitution of Maryland was modified to read:
A declaration of belief in the Christian religion, or of the existence of God, and in a future state of rewards and punishments.
The Constitution of the State of Tennessee, 1796, stated:
Article VIII, Section II. No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State.
The Constitution of the State of Mississippi, 1817, stated:
No person who denies the being of God or a future state of rewards and punishments shall hold any office in the civil department of the State.
These early documents and constitutions reveal that officials not only had to swear into office with a hand upon the Bible, they had to swear that they believed in the Bible! This only makes sense, as there would be no value in swearing upon a book one did not believe in. The requirements for politicians to believe in “a future state of rewards and punishments” was the primary security citizens had, since it was known that in occupying high office one would have the opportunity to do things “on the sly” without the people’s knowledge. Before casting their votes, citizens wanted to be confident that elected officials had the fear of God and believed God was looking over their shoulders, holding them eternally accountable for their actions!
JUDICIAL, LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE BRANCHES
Sir William Blackstone, the great English jurist who held such an influential role in forming the basis of law in America, considered the oath as preeminent. Being the second most frequently quoted author by our Founders, his work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765-70, sold more copies in America than in England. In it, Sir William Blackstone described the oath as a presuppositional base for law:
The belief of a future state of rewards and punishments, the entertaining just ideas of the main attributes of the Supreme Being, and a firm persuasion that He superintends and will finally compensate every action in human life (all which are revealed in the doctrines of our Saviour, Christ), these are the grand foundations of all judicial oaths, which call God to witness the truth of those facts which perhaps may be only known to Him and the party attesting; All moral evidences, therefore, all confidence in human veracity, must be weakened by apostasy, and overthrown by total infidelity. Wherefore, all affronts to Christianity, or endeavors to depreciate its efficacy, in those who have once professed it, are highly deserving of censure.
In February of 1776, our Founding Fathers expressed their attitudes toward those eligible to hold office when Roger Sherman, John Adams and George Wythe instructed an Embassy headed for Canada:
You are further to declare that we hold sacred the rights of conscience, and may promise to the whole people, solemnly in our name, the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion. And…that all civil rights and the right to hold office were to be extended to persons of any Christian denomination.
Again, in 1776, John Dickenson, a signer of the Constitution, met with the other delegates from Pennsylvania less than two months before the Declaration of Independence was signed. They suggested requirements for the members of the Convention to subscribe to before being seated, of which one was the declaration:
I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus CHrist his Eternal Son the true God, and in the Holy Spirit, one God blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by Divine inspiration.
So interwoven in our government were oaths acknowledging God that the Congress of the United States of America, 1789, passed a resolution giving instructions regarding the Presidential “Inaugural Oath” which George Washington was about to take:
Resolved, That after the oath shall have been administered to the President, he, attended by the Vice President, and the members of the Senate, and House of Representatives, proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel, to hear divine service, to be performed by the Chaplain of Congress already appointed.
On the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States with his hand upon a Bible opened to Deuteronomy 28. He then gave his famous “Inaugural Speech to Both Houses of Congress,” in which he stated:
It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations and whose providential aids can supply every human defect.
Our leaders considered an oath as an “obligation” to God. President William McKinley proclaimed in his “Inaugural Address,” on March 4, 1897:
Let me repeat the oath administered by the Chief Justice:”I will faithfully administer the office of the President of the United States….” This is the obligation I have reverently taken before the Lord this day. To keep it will be my single purpose and my prayer.
COURT DECISIONS
The Supreme Court of Maryland in the case of M’Creery’s Lessee v. Allender, 1799, revealed the importance of the oath by citing it as a key factor in the decision that Thomas M’Creery, an Irish immigrant, had indeed become a naturalized American citizen. How the oath to become a citizen was administered speaks volumes as to the values upon which our nation was built!
I, Samuel Chase, Chief Judge of the State of Maryland, do hereby certify all whom it may concern, that…Personally appeared before me Thomas M’Creery, and did repeat and subscribe a declaration of his belief in the Christian Religion, and take the oath required by the Act of Assembly of this State, entitled, An Act for Naturalization.
The Supreme Court of New York, in the case of the People v. Ruggles, 1811, sentenced a man to three months in jail and fined him $500 for uttering reproaches against Jesus Christ. Citing the “efficacy of oaths,” Chief Justice Chancellor Kent rendered the court’s decision:
Christianity was parcel of the law, and to cast contumelious reproaches upon it, tended to weaken the foundation of moral obligation, and the efficacy of oaths….Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil government.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in the case of The Commonwealth v. Wolf, 1817, stated that revering “the sanctity of an oath” was necessary for laws to be administered:
Laws cannot be administered in any civilized government unless the people are taught to revere the sanctity of an oath, and look to a future state of rewards and punishments for the deeds of this life. It is of the utmost moment, therefore, that they should be reminded of their religious duties at stated periods….
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in the case of Updegraph v. The Commonwealth, 1824, defined perjury as “taking a false oath upon the book”:
The act against cursing and swearing, and breach of the Lord’s day; the act forbidding incestuous marriages, perjury by taking a false oath upon the book….all these are founded on Christianity….Christianity, general Christianity, is and always has been a part of the common law…Not Christianity founded on any particular religious tenets; not Christianity with an established church…But Christianity with liberty of conscience to all men…
In August of 1831, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville observed a court case while traveling through New York. Considered one of the highest authorities on American culture of that period, his record of the importance of court oaths acknowledging God discloses our country’s universal respect of religion:
While I was in America, a witness, who happened to be called at the assizes of the country of Chester (state of New York), declared that he did not believe in the existence of God or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say. The newspapers related the fact without any further comment. The New York Spectator of August 23d, 1831, relates the fact in the following terms:”The court of common pleas of Chester county (New York), a few days since rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice: and that he knew of no case in a Christian country, where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief.”
The United States Supreme Court, in the case of Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1892, cited oaths “concluding with an appeal to the Almighty.” Justice Josiah Brewer rendered the high court’s decision:
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.”…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.
The United States Supreme Court, in the case of Zorach v. Clauson, 1952, included oaths in the meaning of the First Amendment. Justice William O. Douglas delivered the court’s decision:
The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every respect there shall be a separation of Church and State….Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly….Prayers in our legislative halls; the appeals to the Almighty in the messages of the Chief Executive; the proclamation making Thanksgiving Day a holiday; “So help me God” in our courtroom oaths; these and all other references to the Almighty that run through our laws, our public rituals, our ceremonies, would be flouting the First Amendment….We cannot read into the Bill of Rights such a philosophy of hostility to religion.
The United States Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1993, in the case of Walsh v. Boy Scouts of America ruled that the Boy Scouts could keep the phrase “duty to God” in their oath, and as a private organization they had the right to exclude anyone who refused to take the oath. Judge John Coffey, in delivering majority opinion, stated the Boy Scouts did not violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act as scouting was an activity and not a facility, a membership organization rather than a “place of public accommodation”:
When the government, in this instance, through the courts, seeks to regulate the membership of an organization like the Boy Scouts in a way that scuttles its founding principles, we run the risk of undermining one of the seedbeds of virtue that cultivate the sorts of citizens our nation so desperately needs.
WHERE IS AMERICA HEADED?
Johnathan Mayhew, the influential Congregational minister of West Church in Boston, held the distinguished position of Dudlein Lecturer at Harvard. In reflecting the colonists’ feeling toward King George III’s hated Stamp Act, Johnathon Mayhew delivered a powerful patriotic sermon in 1765, emphasizing that those with political power are bound to keep their oath:
The king is as much bound by his oath not to infringe the legal rights of the people, as the people are gound to yield subjection to him. From whence it follows that as soon as the prince sets himself above the law, he loses the king in the tyrant. He does, to all intents and purposes, un-king himself.
In examining the character of some political leaders in America, we may need to join with George Washington’s almost prophetic words concerning oaths, which he delivered in his “Farewelll Speech,” September 19, 1796:
Let it simply be asked where is the security for prosperity, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in the Courts of Justice….Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its virtue?
(Unless otherwise stated all quotations are taken from America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations by William J. Federer, Dallas, Tx: Fame Publishing, Inc, 1994)
AMERICA’S GOD AND COUNTRY NEWSLETTER OF QUOTATIONS
No prior permission is necessary to duplicate this newsletter.
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Do you know the Preamble for your state?
Be sure to read the message at the bottom!
Alabama 1901, Preamble
We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution..
Alaska 1956, Preamble We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.
Arizona 1911, PreambleWe, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution…
Arkansas 1874, PreambleWe, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government…
California 1879, PreambleWe, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…
Colorado 1876, Preamble We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe…
Connecticut 1818, Preamble.The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.
Delaware 1897, Preamble Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.
Florida 1885, Preamble We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution…
Georgia 1777, Preamble We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution…
Hawaii 1959, Preamble We , the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance … Establish this Constitution.
Idaho 1889, Preamble We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.
Illinois 1870, Preamble We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil , political and religious us liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors..
Indiana 1851, Preamble We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.
Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the St ate of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish this Constitution..
Kansas 1859, Preamble We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.
Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and relig ious liberties…
Louisiana 1921, Preamble We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.
Maine 1820, Preamble We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity .. An d imploring His aid and direction.
Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty…
Massachusetts 1780, Preamble We…the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction .
Michigan 1908, Preamble le. We, the people of the State of Michigan , grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution.
Minnesota, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:
Mississippi 1890, Preamble We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.
Missouri 1845, Preamble We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness . Establish this Constitution…
Montana 1889, Preamble.We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for theblessings of liberty establish this Constitution ..
Nebraska 1875, Preamble We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom . Establish this Constitution.
Nevada 1864, Preamble We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution…
New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.
New Jersey 1844, Preamble We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.
New Mexico 1911, Preamble We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty..
New York 1846, Preamble We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.
North Carolina 1868, Preamble We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those…
North Dakota 1889, Preamble We , the people of North Dakota , grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain..
Ohio 1852, Preamble We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common..
Oklahoma 1907, Preamble Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this
Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Sect. II All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences
Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance….
Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing…
South Carolina, 1778, Preamble We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
South Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties
Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience…
Texas 1845, Preamble We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.
Utah 1896, Preamble Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.
Vermont 1777, Preamble Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man .
Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other
Washington 1889, Preamble We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution
West Virginia 1872, Preamble Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ..
Wisconsin 1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility…
Wyoming 1890, Preamble We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this Constitution..
After reviewing acknowledgments of God from all 50 stateconstitutions, one is faced with the prospect that maybethe ACLU and the out-of-control federal courts are wrong! If you found this to be ‘food for thought’ copy and send to as many as you think will be enlightened as I hope you were.
(Please note that at no time is anyone told that they MUST worship God.)
‘Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.’ – William Penn
Why do the vast majority of us let a small minority of people in the United States dictate what the majority wants???
BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD … PSALM 33:12
GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!
AND
GOD FORGIVE AMERICA FOR IT’S POLITICALLY CORRECT ZEALOTS!!!