Oh,
wonderful July! Fireworks, barbecues, and community parties welcome this hot
summer month. My heart beats with pride as I listen to patriotic music. How
wonderful to be an American and live in the land of the free.
My wife and
I try to instill in our children a taste of the incredible heritage we have as
citizens of the United States of America. That heritage is one to be embraced
and valued. A careful look at our Founding Fathers and their documents reveal
an overwhelming bias toward biblical Christianity.
Fifty-five
delegates attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which produced the
Constitution of the United States. The religious sympathies of this core group
of men shaped the foundations of our republic: 28 Episcopalians, eight
Presbyterians, seven Congregationalists, two Lutherans, two Dutch Reformed, two
Methodists, two Roman Catholics, one unknown, and only three deists. So, 93
percent of the attendees were self-proclaimed Christians.
The American
Patriot’s Bible shares, “While much has been written in recent years to try to
dismiss the fact that America was founded upon the biblical principles of
Judeo-Christianity, all the revisionism in the world cannot change the facts.
Anyone who examines the original writings, personal correspondence,
biographies, and public statements of the individuals who were instrumental in
the founding of America will find an abundance of quotations showing the
profound extent to which their thinking and lives were influenced by a
Christian worldview.”
HIGH VIEW OF GOD
U.S. Supreme
Court Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “With us, Christianity and religion
are identified. It would be strange, indeed, if with such a people our
institutions did not presuppose Christianity and did not often refer to it and
exhibit relations with it.”
And U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote, “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 at its foundations.”
STRONG BELIEF IN THE BIBLE
The New
England Primer, America’s first textbook, taught the ABCs 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. C. Christ crucified for sinners
died. The Founding Fathers stressed the relationship between a sound education
based upon biblical absolutes and the future of the nation.
Noah Webster wrote,
“The moral principles and precepts found in the Scriptures ought to form the
basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.” In 1791, Benjamin Rush, signer
of the Declaration and Constitution and leading educator, argued why the Bible
should never be removed from public education: “In contemplating the political
institutions of the United States, I lament that we waste so much time and
money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them.”
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ETHICS
The Founding
Fathers’ documents shaped the genesis of this nation, springing from a common
understanding, or what we today call “worldview,” of how the Creator designed
life to work. This approach to life is known
as the Seven Principles of the Judeo- Christian Ethic, rooted in values
from the Old and New Testaments.
1. The
dignity of human life. God made every person in His image, and thus every human
has certain “unalienable rights.”
2. The
traditional monogamous marriage. The biblical family unit is the basic building
block of our society.
3. A national
work ethic. Working hard represents dignity, and our free enterprise system
encourages it.
4. The right
to a God-centered education. Our forefathers intended an education system that
taught the Bible, Creationism, and moral obligation.
5. The
Abrahamic Covenant. Covenantal theology understands that obedience to God
yields blessing for a nation or individual.
6. Common
decency. America is great when her people follow the Golden Rule, treating
others as they want to be treated.
7. Divinely
ordained establishments. God established the home, civil government, and the
church.
The founders
of America understood the constitutions, laws, and agreements of federal and
state governments depended on the acceptance of these basic ethics.
As Christian
parents, may we instill in our children a love and respect for our nation. And
may we proudly proclaim, “In God we trust!”
Pictures used by permission from Pixabay.
Pictures used by permission from Pixabay.
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