The Intersection of Church and State…
What was the mindset of our Founders less than four months before they signed the Declaration of Independence?
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
What activity did our Founders do in unison, less than two months before they signed the Declaration of Independence?
Most people are familiar with the largest and most recognizable signature on the Declaration of Independence… that of John Hancock.
But most people are not familiar with another document that he (and several others) consented to less than four months earlier…
Take a serious look at this and compare it to today.
(Black and red emphasis is mine, capitalization emphasis is from the original text. Based on looking at the original document image, I believe that the Library of Congress transcript has some mistakes…that the word they have as “bandage” is actually “bondage” in the original document. I have taken the liberty of using “bondage” in my transcript below. Simliarly, the Library of Congress transcript has “unversally” where it should be “universally”, and the document image shows the “i” is present.) Also, some of the missing words which appear as {Omitted text, 1w} in the Library of Congress transcript, can be found in other places (such as here and here), and I have filled those in accordingly.
One can’t fully appreciate this:
… without understanding and appreciating this:
In CONGRESS,
SATURDAY, March 16, 1776.IN times of impending calamity and distress; when the Liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive Administration, it becomes the indispensible duty of these hitherto free and happy Colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publickly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God; to confess and deplore our offences against him; and to supplicate his interposition for averting the threatened danger, and prospering our strenuous efforts in the cause of Freedom, Virtue and Posterity.
The Congress therefore, considering the warlike preparations of the British Ministry to subvert our invaluable rights and privileges, and to reduce us by fire and sword, by the savages of the wilderness and our own domestics, to the most abject and ignominious bondage: Desirous, at the same time, to have people of all ranks and degrees, duly impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, and of their duty devoutly to rely in all their lawful enterprizes of his aid and direction–do earnestly recommend, that FRIDAY, the seventeenth day of May next, be observed by the said Colonies as a day of HUMILIATION, FASTING, and PRAYER; that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere, repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel purposes of our unnatural enemies; and by inclining their hearts to justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood. But if continuing deaf to the voice of reason and humanity, and inflexibly bent on desolation and war, they constrain us to repel their hostile invasions by open resistance, that it may please the Lord of Hosts, the God of Armies, to animate our Officers and Soldiers with invincible fortitude to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and to crown the Continental arms by sea and land with victory and success: Earnestly beseeching him to bless our civil Rulers and the Representatives of the People in their several Assemblies and Conventions; to preserve and strengthen their Union, to inspire them with an ardent disinterested love of their Country; to give wisdom and stability to their Councils; and direct them to the most efficacious measures for establishing the Rights of America on the most honorable and permanent basis–that he would be graciously pleased to bless all his People in these Colonies with Health and Plenty, and grant that a spirit of incorruptible Patriotism and of pure undefiled Religion may universally prevail; and this Continent be speedily restored to the blessings of Peace and Liberty, and enabled to transmit them inviolate to the latest Posterity. And it is recommended to Christians of all denominations to assemble for Public Worship, and abstain from servile Labour on the said Day.
By Order of Congress,
JOHN HANCOCK, PresidentAttest………..CHARLES THOMPSON, Secretary.
Colony of the
Massachusetts-Bay.In COUNCIL, April 3, 1776.
READ and accepted, and Ordered, That a suitable Number be printed, in order that each of the religious Assemblies, in this Colony, may be furnished with a Copy of the same.
Sent down for Concurrence………..PEREZ MORTON, Dep. Sec’ry.
In the House of REPRESENTATIVES, April 4, 1776.
Read and concurr’d………..SAMUEL FREEMAN, Speaker, pro Tem.
Consented to,
JAMES OTIS,
BENJAMIN GREENLEAF,
CALEB CUSHING,
JOHN WINTHROP,
JOHN WHETCOMB,
ELDAD TAYLOR,
MICHAEL FARLEY,
JOSEPH PALMER,
SAMUEL HOLTEN,
MOSES GILL,
JOSEPH GERRISH,
BENJAMIN LINCOLN,
CHARLES CHAUNCY,
JOHN TAYLOR,
BENJAMIN WHITE.GOD SAVE THE PEOPLE.
The Library of Congress Document Image
The Library of Congress Transcript
Our nation’s Founders obeyed the Biblical advice found in Second Chronicles:
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Less than two months before they signed the Declaration of Independence, they unified on May 17, 1776 and observed
a day of HUMILIATION, FASTING, and PRAYER; that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere, repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel purposes of our unnatural enemies; and by inclining their hearts to justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood. But if continuing deaf to the voice of reason and humanity, and inflexibly bent on desolation and war, they constrain us to repel their hostile invasions by open resistance, that it may please the Lord of Hosts, the God of Armies, to animate our Officers and Soldiers with invincible fortitude to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and to crown the Continental arms by sea and land with victory and success: Earnestly beseeching him to bless our civil Rulers and the Representatives of the People in their several Assemblies and Conventions; to preserve and strengthen their Union, to inspire them with an ardent disinterested love of their Country; to give wisdom and stability to their Councils; and direct them to the most efficacious measures for establishing the Rights of America on the most honorable and permanent basis…
Their prayers were answered.
Try telling this nation’s Founders that they could not invoke the name of Jesus Christ in government activities and documents!
You won’t find a call for Christianity to be separated from our government in any of our founding documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution), but you will find it in Article 124 of the
1936 Constitution of the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics):
Again I ask:
What was the mindset of our Founders less than four months before they signed the Declaration of Independence?
What activity did our Founders do in unison, less than two months before they signed the Declaration of Independence?
They humbled themselves, fasted, and prayed, so “that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere, repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring his assistance…”
That day of unified “HUMILIATION, FASTING, and PRAYER” on May 17, 1776 likely had a significant impact on our independence being declared 48 days later, and the Lord of Hosts, the God of Armies, animating our Officers and Soldiers with invincible fortitude to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and crowning our Continental arms by sea and land with victory and success.
————————————————
————————————————
A Few Declarations of Founding Fathers and Early Statesmen on Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible.
Some, like Dan Riehl, like to make hay about “What Washington didn’t say about God and the Bible“. Let them go back and read the multitude of primary source documents that clearly show how the overwhelming majority of our founders based both their lives and founding of this country upon the Bible.
MYTH: The Founders were mostly Deists.
TRUTH: The Founders were mostly “Christians of all denominations”.
MYTH: The Founders wanted a complete separation of religious expression from our government.
TRUTH: The Founders, in Congresss, wholeheartedly endorsed Christianity and said that it is our “indispensible duty”, “with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publickly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God; to confess and deplore our offences against him; and to supplicate his interposition for averting the threatened danger, and prospering our strenuous efforts in the cause of Freedom, Virtue and Posterity.”
The Founders did not want a government-established church (a church founded, owned, and operated by the state) and that is why the 1st Amendment prohibits Congress from the establishment of religion. But the 1st Amendment does not prohibit the endorsement of religion. See “Establishment” Vs. “Endorsement”. Our Founders most emphatically endorsed Christianity and “recommended to Christians of all denominations to assemble for Public Worship”.
Our nation was birthed on July 4, 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, which emphasized God, Creator, Divine Providence, and sacred Honor.
On November 1, 1777, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress recommended to the several states to set apart a day of public thanksgiving on December 18th, 1777, with the following words, as printed in the Journals of Congress:
Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the governments of these states respectively, and prosper the public council of the whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace; that it may please him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
And it is further recommended, that servile labor, and such recreation as, though at other times innocent, may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.
If you dismiss these historical documents because they were written before the Constitution, (thinking that somehow the Founders had changed their minds by the time they wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights), then take a look at this…
The Constitution was ratified June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the 9th of the 13 states to ratify it.
The first Amendment was ratified December 15, 1791.
Just over three years later, on January 1, 1795, President Washington issued another Thanksgiving Proclamation.
And just over two years after that, on March 20, 1797, Samuel Adams, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, issued a proclamation that some would challenge as “unconstitutional” today, yet those who actually wrote and ratified the 1st Amendment did not challenge or question the constitutionality of this proclamation:
PROCLAMATION.
[Independent Chronicle, March 30, 1797; the text is in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., pp. 365, 366.]
By Authority. Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
BY THE GOVERNOR,
A PROCLAMATION FOR A DAY OF SOLEMN FASTING AND PRAYER.
IT having been the invariable practice derived from the days of our renowned ancestors, at this season of the year to set apart a Day of Public Fasting and Prayer: And the practice appearing to be in itself productive, if well improved, of happy effects on the public mind–
I have therefore thought fit, by & with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint Thursday, the FOURTH day of May next ensuing, to be observed and improved throughout this Commonwealth for the purpose of PUBLIC FASTING AND PRAYER: Earnestly recommending to the Ministers of
the Gospel with their respective Congregations then to assemble together and seriously to consider, and with one united voice confess our past sins and transgressions, with holy resolutions, by the Grace of God, to turn our feet into the path of His Law– Humbly beseeching him to endue us with all the Christian Spirit of Piety, Benevolence and the Love of our Country; and that in all our public deliberations we may be possessed of a sacred regard to the fundamental principles of our free elective civil Constitutions–That we may be preserved from consuming Fires and all other desolating Judgments.And as at this season the general business of the year commences, it seems highly proper humbly to implore the divine blessing on our Husbandry, Trade, and Fishery, and all the labour of our hands–On our University and Schools of Education–On the Administration of the Government of the United States and of this and the other States of the Union –On the foreign relations of the United States; and in a particular manner that all misunderstanding between them and a Sister Republic may be happily, so adjusted as to prevent an open Rupture, and establish Peace.
And as it is our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great Family of Man, I concede we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the World–That the rod of tyrants may be broken into pieces, and the oppressed made Free–That wars may cease in all the Earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among the Nations may be overruled for the promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period, when the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all the people willingly bow to the Sceptre of Him who is the Prince of Peace.
And I do hereby recommend that all unnecessary labour and recreation may be suspended on the said day.
Given at the Council Chamber in Boston, this 20th day of March, in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Ninety seven, and in the twenty first Year of the Independence of the United States of America.
SAMUEL ADAMS.
Attest, JOHN AVERY, Secretary.
GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS!
——————————————————————————
Update: Virginia AG tests politics from the pulpit
More on the Intersection of Church and State…
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke to the approximately 250 church leaders on Thursday, outlining for them what they are allowed to do when it comes to political engagement.
A personal endorsement of a candidate is permissible under the law, he said at the Virginia Christian Alliance’s “Christian Citizenship and Godly Government Breakfast.” But they cannot use their church to endorse anyone.
“The biggest no-no of them all, do not put your church’s name behind any candidate,” he made clear as he pointed out that churches that endorse candidates could lose their 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
Commenter “pat” is spot-on:
The AG is clearly wrong from a Constitutional point of view. The First Amendment protects religious and political speech. The fact they are intertwined does not negate one. The AG is actually enunciating IRS guidelines that are blatantly unconstitutional and only used to threaten white conservative Christian congregations.
I covered this almost three years ago in the post:
LBJ’s Unconstitutional Amendment
——————————————————————————
I Took The Red Pill 
Pingback: Atheist Hitchens Wrong About Founders « I Took The Red Pill (and escaped the Matrix)
Pingback: Observations on this National Day of Prayer « I Took The Red Pill (and escaped the Matrix)
I face booked this, hope you don’t mind
shimauma,
I don’t mind at all… in fact I’m glad you did. The more people who know the truth about the founders and what they did, the better.
Pingback: God, Moses, Crosses and the Bible in Our Capitol Building « I Took The Red Pill (and escaped the Matrix)
I am FBing this, too. Something to think about: Not one state, not one, has set any state testing standards for social studies. NCLB (no child left behind) does not concern itself with social studies dictates, only math and reading, so the states don’t either. Learning about our history has taken a back seat and one reason is NCLB’s neglect in addressing its importance. This follows European schooling where most of the general population does not know anything but revisionist history. The focus is reading, math and, in some places, science. My son went to France and a boy from the family that hosted my son came to the US. This boy came from a wealthier family and an affluent school. My son was taking an AP European history class and the french boy was stunned and didn’t understand why Americans studied history to the extent that we do (or did). He had no clue about France’s Vichy government. We have a being like Bill Ayers, who is a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, providing instruction to future teachers of America. Very scary times.
Excellent points, ms. Remember that self-admitted revolutionary Communist Bill Ayers says, “Education is the motor-force of Revolution”.
I agree as well. History is possibly the most important subject we should study and know. We cannot know where we are going without knowing where we have been.
Too many left-wingers want to revise history in order to further their political objectives. Thankfully, Texas is pushing back against that with their latest textbook purchasing plans. They are pushing back against the last 40 years of left-wing historic revisionism and restoring the truth of history back into many aspects of their latest textbook editions.
There is the rumor emerging that publishing text books is now so cheap it doesn’t matter what books Texas, California, and I think today New York, decide on. There has been one hell of a fight in the state lately about the revision of history, the inclusion of more Blacks, more Hispanics, and the removal of old established names from all our school books. Courtesy Bill Ayers and Obama of course. Now it seems each and every state may decide for themselves what history will be in the school text books. The following is a partial list: Note in particular the 11th grade “.
http://historytextbooks.org/adopted.htm
Harcourt/Holt Ayers American Anthem (New)
skeeter,
I looked into that book on Amazon, and the “Ayers” is for Edward L. Ayers… do you know if he is any relation to Bill Ayers?
I am still searching too. I would like to see some of the book content also.
While searching with WorldCat, for the book “American Anthem” by Edward Ayers, I was finally directed to the following site.
http://news.richmond.edu/features/article/www/1254/university-president-edward-l.-ayers-leads-alumni-on-a-bus-tour-of-richmonds-past.html
Dr Edward L. Ayers certainly is one of the people pushing for more minority inclusions and less Davey Crocket and Daniel Boone and ETC. in a revision of American history. I don’t think he is related to Bill Ayers, but who knows? I am sure they are related in their way of thinking about America.
Being the historian he is, I am sure Dr Ayers is aware of the documented county and state tax records of the Virginias and Carolinas as well as other states, which shows the amount of taxes “ALL PROPERTY OWNERS” have paid in the past and present. If he wants to revise history books for the schools that would be a good place to start. Especially since he says “You can’t tell a true story by relling only part of the story.” I suppose the book is (new) if it has only now been included in all the High School text books.
I couldn’t find his American Anthem in Ebrary or Ebooks, but now I have a fairly good idea of the books contents without having to read it.
I am FBing this, too. Something to think about: Not one state, not one, has set any state testing standards for social studies. NCLB (no child left behind) does not concern itself with social studies dictates, only math and reading, so the states don’t either. Learning about our history has taken a back seat and one reason is NCLB’s neglect in addressing its importance. This follows European schooling where most of the general population does not know anything but revisionist history. The focus is reading, math and, in some places, science. My son went to France and a boy from the family that hosted my son came to the US. This boy came from a wealthier family and an affluent school. My son was taking an AP European history class and the french boy was stunned and didn’t understand why Americans studied history to the extent that we do (or did). He had no clue about France’s Vichy government. We have a being like Bill Ayers, who is a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, providing instruction to future teachers of America. Very scary times.
+1
History at the Margins
Nicholas Lemann’s Redemption.
By Edward L. Ayers
Posted Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, at 11:50 AM ET
“Beguiled and benumbed by Gone With the Wind, many white Americans still imagine Reconstruction as a crime against the white South, marked by the sins of the carpetbaggers and the corruption of the Reconstruction governments. It is good to have this stubborn fable of Reconstruction refuted by a gifted and respected writer. It is good that it received a front-page New York Times review with a striking graphic of a Confederate battle flag in which the stars have been replaced by bullet holes. May it be widely read.”
http://www.slate.com/id/2153327
“May it be widely read”, but as Edward L. Ayers wishes it to be read. However, history has a way of revealing itself, and not necessarrilly as the revisionist wishes. As he, Ayers, stated, “You can’t tell a true story by telling only part of the story.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellison
It was not only the white southerners who stood to lose in the great battle over states rights that lead up to the Civil War.
This is pretty much run of the mill stuff for slate.com. Their bias goes beyond even the NY Times to almost the level of Daily Kos and Huff Post.
The slate article bears all the hallmarks of typical left-wing racism by mentioning race no less than 13 times. Further, he selects a particular racial group along with a geographic region the sinister-wing considers acceptable targets and proceeds to bash, demonize, and paint with his preferred light no less than 12 times throughout the grand total of 8 paragraphs in the article.
Only someone dumb enough to buy into left-wing politics could be motivated to read that piece of Airport Fantasy level garbage. Just from the article alone, you can tell that the story is formulaic and caters to left-wing dogma.
It fits nicely next to the novelization of “Dances with Smurfs”–I mean “Avatar”.
Airport Fantasy: the informal name for the lowest category of printed fiction. AKA the junk-food of literature; fitting considering they’re usually displayed exclusively next to junk food snacks in airport retail bays across the world.
“It fits nicely next to the novelization of “Dances with Smurfs”–I mean “Avatar”. ”
I like that description, Aaron. You are right, these people are like animations. They have no substance and the herd mentallity of goats, like if when one walks through a gate and it kicks, all the goats that follow will instinctively kick when it goes through the gate. It’s the nature of the goat.
DKOS, HUFF Post, Jeremiah Wright and his GD America church, are all lead goats. When they kick all the other goats follow suit. It’s the herd mentallity in them. Alinsky was a lead goat, and just consider his disciples, Hillary Clinton, Obama, and their followers. LOL!
Matthew 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will seperate them from one another, as a Shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.”
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4321945/beck-restoring-honor
Compare and contrast:
The 8/28/2010 “Restoring Honor” rally, which honored God and drew a very sizable crowd,
vs.
The 10/2/2010 “One Nation Working Together” rally, which replaced “Under God” with “Working Together”, and drew a much smaller crowd, even with unions pressuring members to go, and arranging bus transportation for them.
“The Communists and Socialists had a rally on Saturday, and the Democrat Party fully embraced them“
There was a rally on 10/2?
That photo looks like a slightly busier than normal tourist day.
“One Nation” (Of Commies, Unions, & Other Leftist Extremists)…Trashing The Mall
Saudi Arabia bans the practice of any religion aside from Islam.
Saudi police raided a secret Catholic mass in Riyadh last week and arrested a dozen Filipinos and a Catholic priest, charging them with prosyletising, a local daily reported on Wednesday.
Hey left-wingers,
Where’s the peace in islam? Where’s the “peaceful coexistence” majority of muslims that you speak so much of? Where is the religious tolerance and respect for others that–according to the left–is supposedly the sentiment of most of islam? It doesn’t exist in the very bastion of islam, the very core of the muslim religion, Saudi Arabia itself has ZERO tolerance for any religion other than that of terrorists.
Further, why isn’t the left-wing holding protests outside Saudi embassies? Where is the left-wing outrage at this atrocious violation of human rights?
The answer: The left-wing only has outrage when they can perceive or spin something–however minor it may be–that happened by or can somehow be attributed to Christians.
You see, despite the fact that islam and atheism each have committed more atrocities, genocides, terrorism, murder, etc…than all of Christianity combined, the left wing continue to label Christians as somehow evil and they persecute, demonize, attack, and silence Christians at every opportunity.
Aaron,
Check out these two posts:
A post I wrote over two years ago:
Now the left-wing is trying to google-bomb the internet by spamming links in effort to ultimately bury internet articles that are not supportive of their agenda. Check out this little email I got from Daily Kos.
“[XXXX],
Every time you post a hyperlink anywhere on the Internet–including on message boards and social networking sites–it impacts search engines like Google. Also, one of the most common actions undecided voters take online is to use search engines like Google to find information about candidates. As such, shouldn’t we learn how to post hyperlinks in a way that helps lead to our preferred political outcomes?
With a new campaign from Daily Kos, Grassroots Search Engine Optimization, you can do just that. By learning about the most effective ways to post hyperlinks, Grassroots SEO will help hundreds of thousands of undecided voters read damaging news articles on the Republican candidate for Congress in their district.
It sounds tricky, but it’s pretty easy. To make it work, we just need a few hundred grassroots activists like you to sign up and take part.
In 2006, we used this technique to reach over 700,000 voters in key congressional districts during the last two weeks of the midterms. With the rise of Twitter and Facebook, we can do even better in 2010.
To get started, sign up here. Once you sign up, you will be redirected to a Daily Kos diary that explains the next steps.
Keep fighting,
Chris Bowers
Campaign Director, Daily Kos”
There is really no low the left won’t stoop to IOT further their agenda.
A computer rendition of President George W. Bush reading this Congressional Order…
Our Founders did exactly that, and God heard from heaven, forgave their sin, and healed their land.
Is it time for us to follow the lead of our Founders?
Read this, and you decide…
FYI, many of the Founding Fathers were ordained clergymen. Just one example: the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg, whose signature appears on the Bill of Rights along with the signature of the President of the Senate (a.k.a. the Vice President of the United States) John Adams.
Well done, Red Pill. Thank you for your time and your focus. It matters!
I don’t know that I have ever completely gotten my heart around the texts in Nehemiah and Daniel where those two men, each in their own time, embraced the nation’s sins “as their own” and stood before God asking for mercy and deliverance. In such intercession, we are not asked to “become sin” (as Jesus Christ did for us, II Corintinthians 5:21 “God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”)…but to acknowledge our culpability in the nation’s sins.
And neither of them interceded (or confessed) as an alternative to working, planning and fighting for their nation’s survival. They did both.
Thank you, Sharon, for your comment. I appreciate your kind words and excellent perspective on Nehemiah and Daniel.
Pingback: Honey Trail Redux
Thank you Red Pill, for this important reminder. It is also absolutely on target for today.
Pingback: Supremes to Conference on Obama Eligibility « drkatesview
When it comes to the Founders and the Constitution, David Barton knows orders of magnitude more than Jon Stewart.
Jon Stewart threw every straw man (that his staff gave him on note cards) that he could at David Barton, and Barton knocked every single one of those straw men down. Barton has spent decades studying thousands of primary source documents. Stewart has spent minutes, possibly hours, studying the note cards his staff gave him. It was no contest. Every time Stewart threw a false accusation at Barton, Barton countered with the truth. And every time, Stewart would interrupt Barton’s answer. Stewart could only crack a joke or change the subject; he couldn’t have a straight-up discussion of the truth.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-4-2011/david-barton-pt–1
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-4-2011/david-barton-pt–2
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-4-2011/exclusive—david-barton-extended-interview-pt–1
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-4-2011/exclusive—david-barton-extended-interview-pt–2
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-4-2011/exclusive—david-barton-extended-interview-pt–3
I would love to see a similar discussion between David Barton and “Constitutional Law” lecturer Barack Obama.
When it comes to the Founders and the Constitution, David Barton knows orders of magnitude more than Barack Obama.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/founders-scholar-david-barton-vs-jon-stewart-boom-winning
President Abraham Lincoln reminded the nation of that great truth contained in the Declaration of Independence when he said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The Supreme Court declared in 1897, the Constitution is the body and letter of which the Declaration of Independence is the thought and the spirit, and it is always safe to read the letter of the Constitution in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
The Constitution itself connects itself to the Declaration of Independence by dating itself from the date of the Declaration of Independence, thereby showing clearly that it is the second great document in the government of these United States and is not to be understood without the first. How many today say the Constitution stands alone devoid of all reference to the Declaration? Let them see hear and understand what those who wrote the Constitution said about our American government. See Article VII.
The Founders believed the Declaration was the foundational document in our Constitutional form of government. The Founders dated their government acts from the year of the Declaration rather than the Constitution. The date of the Declaration of Independence was the recognized date of Sovereignty and Independence of the United States.
In the Declaration, the Founders established the foundation and the core values on which the Constitution was to operate. The Constitution was never to be interpreted apart from those values expressed in the Declaration.
Samuel Adams pointed out: Before the formation of this Constitution this Declaration of Independence was received and ratified by all the States in the Union, and has never been disannulled.
Well into the twentieth century, the Declaration and the Constitution were viewed as inseparable and interdependent. While the Court’s change of standards has perhaps been a display of poor judgment, the Court’s actions have actually been illegal under the standards of original intent. Furthermore they have violated the value system of “the laws of nature and of nature’s God” established in the Declaration of Independence.
The First Amendment was clearly understood and explained by the man who wrote it and the man who first applied it as law. Fisher Ames wrote the First Amendment. He also wrote that the Bible should always remain the principle text book in America’s classrooms. John Jay, original Chief-Justice U.S. Supreme Court, said it is the duty of all wise, free, and virtuous governments to help and encourage virtue and religion.
The Constitution of the United States of America was penned by the man who was head of the committee which created the final wording. That man, Governor Morris of Pennsylvania, was also the most active member of the Constitutional Convention. He spoke 173 times. He also advocated that “education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God.”
An early House Judiciary Committee affirmed the Founder’s lack of pluralistic intent when it declared: “Christianity …was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”
Words and sentiments of other founding fathers can be given to fill a library; but these few show the whole idea to anyone to is willing to hear.
” You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention.” George Washington
” Let…statesmen and patriots unite their endeavors to renovate the age by…educating their little boys and girls…and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.” Samuel Adams
“History will also afford frequent opportunities of showing the necessity of a public religion…and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.” Benjamin Franklin
“Only one adequate plan has ever appeared in the world, and that is the Christian dispensation.” John Jay, ORIGINAL CHIEF-JUSTICE U.S. SUPREME COURT
“The United States of America were no longer Colonies. They were an independent nation of Christians.” John Qunicy Adams
A page of history is worth a volume of logic. History shows the intent and purpose of our founding fathers. Contemporary logic is wrong whenever it contradicts the clear explanations of those men who wrote the Constitution.
97% of the founding fathers were practicing Christians and exercised their faith in public office, at work, at home, and had it taught to their children in their schools. 187 of the first 200 colleges in America were Christian, Bible teaching institutions. Entrance to Harvard required strong knowledge of the Bible. The money was printed, “One Nation Under God.” Noah Webster wrote the dictionary with Bible verses explained so children could understand the words of God and know the truth of Jesus Christ. Webster even wrote a translation of the Bible for the American speaking people.
You could hardly find a school in America that wasn’t Christian based with the Bible as its main text book until the 1830’s. That was when a humanist named Horace Mann worked for ten years to deceive the state of Massachusetts to produce its own state supported schools and leave the Bible out of those schools. As a result of the attack upon children learning the truths of God and Salvation, the American Sunday School League was formed during that same decade so those children who were deprived could still get Bible knowledge.
During the next hundred years humanism grew bolder in its attack against the founding fathers ideas of education and more and more schools omitted the Bible. Fewer and fewer remembered the exhortations of those men who established this nation to follow Christ and give Christian teaching in the schools, as the backbone and main course of our schools. p>
The ax has been laid to the very roots of our Constitution. The Supreme Court now makes laws. Not only does it make laws, it overthrows those which have existed for generations upon generations of Americans and calls them unconstitutional. Why? Because of the new morality that says, the end justifies the means, and if it seems good do it. And no man stood strong enough to stop that encroachment when it happened. The Founders would have denied what the Warren Court did on the grounds of Treason. Why Treason? Because the Founders believed that whosoever attacked the strength and education of Christianity attacked this great nation which was founded on the principles of Christianity. It’s OK to exercise free speech on the streets if one wants to attack Christianity, but it is High Treason for a judge to throw down laws that were established to protect Christian education according to individual faith of Americans.
http://www.christianparents.com/lrconst.htm
From WallBuilders
As Discussed with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: John Adams 1809 Letter
A December 21, 1809 letter by John Adams to Benjamin Rush.
Read Letter »»
As Discussed with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: Treaty of Tripoli
The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, specifically article XI, is commonly misused in editorial columns, articles, as well as in other areas of the media, both Christian and secular.
Read Article »»
As Discussed with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: The Aitken Bible
Robert Aitken’s Bible was the first known English-language Bible to be printed in America, and also the only Bible to receive Congressional approval.
Read Article »»
As Discussed with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: The Separation of Church and State
In 1947, in the case Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court declared, “The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.”
Read Article »»
Letters Between the Danbury Baptists and Thomas Jefferson
An 1801 letter from the Danbury Baptists and President Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 response in which he used the famous phrase “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Read Letters »»
The Founders And Public Religious Expressions
An article with quotes by various Founding Fathers on pubic religious expression.
Read Article »»
President Ronald Reagan’s Address to the Nation July 4, 1986
March 16, 1776:
Like!
I am FBing this, too. Something to think about: Not one state, not one, has set any state testing standards for social studies. NCLB (no child left behind) does not concern itself with social studies dictates, only math and reading, so the states don’t either. Learning about our history has taken a back seat and one reason is NCLB’s neglect in addressing its importance. This follows European schooling where most of the general population does not know anything but revisionist history. The focus is reading, math and, in some places, science. My son went to France and a boy from the family that hosted my son came to the US. This boy came from a wealthier family and an affluent school. My son was taking an AP European history class and the french boy was stunned and didn’t understand why Americans studied history to the extent that we do (or did). He had no clue about France’s Vichy government. We have a being like Bill Ayers, who is a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, providing instruction to future teachers of America. Very scary times.+1
+1
One of the first “Great Seal(s) of the United States”.
On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from Great Britain was declared by the thirteen states, the Continental Congress named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, The United States of America needed an official symbol of sovereignty to formalize and seal (or sign) international treaties and transactions. It took six years, three committees, and the contributions of fourteen men before the Congress finally accepted a design (which included elements proposed by each of the three committees) in 1782.[7]
[edit] First committeeInterpretation of the first committee’s seal proposal, made by Benson Lossing in 1856. The obverse drawing is slightly incorrect; the linked state initials should be on the shield itself.The first committee consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. While they were three of the five primary authors of the Declaration of Independence, they had little experience in heraldry and sought the help of Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, an artist living in Philadelphia who would later also design the state seals of Delaware and New Jersey and start a museum of the Revolutionary War. Each of these men proposed a design for the seal.
Franklin chose an allegorical scene from Exodus, described in his notes as “Moses standing on the Shore, and extending his Hand over the Sea, thereby causing the same to overwhelm Pharaoh who is sitting in an open Chariot, a Crown on his Head and a Sword in his Hand. Rays from a Pillar of Fire in the Clouds reaching to Moses, to express that he acts by Command of the Deity.” Motto, “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.” Jefferson suggested a depiction of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for the front of the seal; and Hengest and Horsa, the two brothers who were the legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain, for the reverse side of the seal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States
——————————————————————————
Update: Virginia AG tests politics from the pulpit
The Intersection of Church and State…
Commenter “pat” is spot-on:
I covered this almost three years ago in the post: LBJ’s Unconstitutional Amendment
——————————————————————————
——————————————————————————
Update: Virginia AG tests politics from the pulpit
The Intersection of Church and State…
(Hot Air) 
(Ben McLeod)
Commenter “pat” is spot-on:
I covered this almost three years ago in the post: LBJ’s Unconstitutional Amendment
——————————————————————————
Another Intersection of Church and State:
(Lisa Richards)