Psalm 11:3
Monuments
to American Patriotism
The Washington Monument - Latus Deo – praise be to God; lining the walls of the stairwell are
carved tribute blocks that declare biblical phrases: Holiness to the Lord,
Search the Scriptures, Train up a child in the way he should go, The memory of
the just is blessed.
The
Bible and American Education
The
New England Primer taught the ABC’s to children by
memorizing basic biblical truths and lessons about life: A – In Adam’s fall, we
sinned all. B – Heaven to find, the
Bible Mind. Included were the Lord’s
Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Westminster
Catechism.
The Founding Fathers stressed the relationship
between a sound education based upon biblical absoluters and the future of the
nation.
Why
then, if these [new] books for children must be retained – as they will be –
should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book? - Fisher Ames, Founding Father who offered
the final wording for the House version of the First Amendment
In
contemplating the political institutions of the United States, [if we remove
the Bible from schools] I lament that we waste so much time and money in
punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. – Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration
and Constitution, leading educator
Yale College established in 1701 with a stated goal
that “every student shall consider the main end of his study to wit to know God
in Jesus Christ and answerably to lead a godly, sober life.”
The
Separation of Church and State
Many Founding Fathers asserted that religious faith
was the most important source of civil virtues.
There is no country in the whole world in which the
Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in
America – and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its
conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt
over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth. – Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America
It seems that today [21st century] in
sculpting the faith and values of American culture is the extraconstitutional
phrase “separation of church and state.”
Significantly, that now-popular phrase is found in none of our governing
documents, despite the widespread belief to the contrary. – Barton
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof. – US
Constitution. They were seeking to
prevent what they had experienced in Great Britain: the legal establishment by
the national gov’t of a single religious denomination in exclusion of all
others. Congress could not establish any
one denomination in America. (The
founding fathers often used the word “religion” interchangeably with the word
“denomination.”
First Amendment- contained two separate clauses , 1
– to prohibit a national denomination, and 2 – to prohibit the interference
with people’s public religious expressions.
Interpreted this way for 150+ years.
The First Amendment is now used to prohibit the very religious activities
the Founders themselves once encouraged under that same Amendment.
The
Ten Commandments
The tap-root of American order runs deep into a
Levantine desert; it began to grow some thirteen centuries before the birth of
Jesus of Nazareth. Through Moses,
prophet and law-giver, the moral principles that move the civilization of
Europe and America and much more of the world first obtained clear
expression. Moses made known that there
exists but one God, Jehovah; that God made a covenant or compact with His
people; that He had decreed laws by which they should live. From that revelation have grown modern ethics
and modern social institutions and much besides. – Russell Kirk, The Root of American Order
Law is much more than a human tool. Flowing from the divine law, it is a
reflection of the Creator – it is primarily the Creator’s tool. – Michael Schutt, Redeeming Law
Law is rooted in the created order.
The Founding Fathers embraced the Ten Commandments
in both the legal and public arenas.
They viewed them and moral laws in Scripture as an indispensable part of
sound public policy and gov’t.
The
Seven Principles of the Judeo-Christian Ethic
When our Founding Fathers gave us documents such as
the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and
others, they had to lean upon a common understanding of law, government, social
order, and morality, which sprang from the common acceptance of the
Judeo-Christian Ethic, the system of moral and social values that originate
from the Old and New Testaments.
Principle One – The Dignity of Human Life (Ex.
20:13; Mt. 22:39)
Principle Two – The Traditional Monogamous Marriage
(Gen. 2:23,24)
Principle Three – A National Work Ethic (2 Thes.
3:10)
Principle Four – The Right to a God-Centered
Education (Eph. 6:4)
Principle Five – The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen.
12:1-3; Gal. 3:7)
Principle Six – Common Decency (Mt. 22:39)
Principle Seven – Our Personal Accountability to God
(He. 9:27)
What
is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind? wjas
asked Daniel Webster. He quickly
responded, My personal accountability to
God.
Resources: The
American Patriot’s Bible, Separation of Church and State: What the Founders
Meant by David Barton, The Ten
Commandments: Foundation of American Society by Kenyn Cureton
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