7/13/2014
The Christian Heritage of America 2014 Pt 2
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE From God or From God?
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord! ~ Psalm 33:12 ~
It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.
– Patrick Henry, Founding Father
Our Political Rights Are Spiritually Conceived
…the Declaration of Independence is a spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man—these are not elements which we can see and touch, they are ideals. They have their source and their roots in religious convictions…unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions endures, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We cannot continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.–Calvin Coolidge
The Basis of Our Rights Were Rightly Understood as Having Originated from the Bible!
The right to freedom is the gift of the Almighty. The rights of the colonists as Christians may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of The Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.–Samuel Adams
Christian Faith was seen as Essential to American Politic
The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity…The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity…The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. –John Adams
The Founders Knew the Only Chance for Victory Was In God Himself
…it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments (war with Brittan)…all confidence in the means we possess must be set aside; and reposed only on GOD; Who rules the Armies of Heaven, & without Whose Blessing the best human counsels are but foolishness.–John Hancock
Resistance to Tyranny is a Spiritual Duty
Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. …Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.–John Hancock
Our Country Was A Miracle Baby!
Attainment of the object for which we contended (Liberty) against so formidable a power (Britain) cannot but inspire us with astonishment and gratitude,(to God) The disadvantageous circumstances on our part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The singular interpositions of Providence (God) in our feeble conditions were such, as could scarcely escape the attention…while the unparalleled perseverance of the Armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle! General Washington’s Farewell to the Army November 2, 1783
The Founders Themselves Acknowledged Christian Faith as the Faith of the Founders.
It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. –Patrick Henry
Law was Believed to Be Based in Christian Belief
I believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law … There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations. —Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story
Academic Endeavor was based in Christian Belief
Ninety-percent of the private colleges of this country were founded as Christian institutions to teach the Gospel. Harvard, Yale and Princeton are three examples. All three were established to teach young men to be pastors. The founders of Harvard College, established in 1636, professed that, “All knowledge without Christ was vain.” The word “Veritas” appears on the crest of Harvard even today. The word meant Divine truth. The motto of Harvard was officially, “For Christ and the Church.”
A Nation That Is Contrary to God Will Find God Contrary to Them.
Whether this new government will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy.If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.–Patrick Henry
He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them. Job 12:23