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America's Godly Heritage

Taken in part from "AMERICA'S GODLY HERITAGE" by David Barton

As a point of clarification, throughout the writings of the Founders of the Constitution, they sometimes refer to Christianity, sometimes religion, sometimes Godly principles, etc. Also "Providence" was a term used commonly to refer to God. The religion they are referring to is always Christianity and the God is the God of the Bible. It was so well known at the time and referred to in so many writings, that it was assumed in other writings that everyone knew the religion they were talking about.

GEORGE WASHINGTON - 1755 FRENCH & INDIAN WAR

In the French & Indian war in 1755, George Washington commanded 1300 troops against the Indians in a woodland battle. Washington's officers (on horseback) and most of his troops were cut down. At the end of the battle Washington was the only officer that remained & still on horseback. Afterwards he found 4 bullet holes in his jacket & wrote to his wife that God had protected him.

Fifteen years later, the Indian chief that fought against Washington traveled a good distance to meet him when he heard that he was in the area of the battleground. This chief stated that he had commanded his braves to concentrate on killing Washington and had personally shot at him 17 times. He wanted to meet the man that "God wouldn't let die".

This exciting story and Washington's letter, used to be in the American history books. In an effort to degrade American heroes that depended on God, American history books are being revised and this story & letter have been removed in this century.

PATRICK HENRY - AN AMERICAN PATRIOT

He is known for his saying "Give me liberty or give me death." He also said "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often, that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ."

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY - AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY (and others)

It is interesting that the Founders of the Constitution of the U.S. were the same people that were among the Founders of the early religious evangelical societies that are still in existence today. In 1813 the American Tract Society bound together their tracts from many years past into a book and the names of many of the Founders are included.

THE NEW ENGLAND PRIMER - 1795

The New England Primer was a reader used in what would be our 1st grade. It was first introduced in 1690 and taught for 200 years in America, until 1900. The Alphabet was taught with Bible verses that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Also lessons had questions about the Bible and the Ten Commandments.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

With the education that had a Godly influence, John Quincy Adams received an appointment to Ambassador to Russia at 14 years of age. He later wrote "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it tied together in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."

JOHN JAY

Jay was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the three men most responsible for the writing of the Constitution of the U.S. He said "Providence has given to our people the choice of their Rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select & prefer Christians for their Rulers." How long has it been since the Supreme Court said to make sure you elect Christians for your leaders? We have lost this guidance which made our country great.

GEORGE WASHINGTON - PRESIDENTIAL FAREWELL SPEECH

Washington was a public servant for 45 years. He was President of the convention that gave us the Constitution. He called for the 1st Amendment Bill of Rights. After 2 terms as President, he gave a farewell speech which was heralded as the most significant political speech ever given to the nation. It has since been removed from American history books and it would be rare to find it in any for at least the last 30 years. Why? - In it he said "Of all the habits and dispositions which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars." Apparently the people writing our history books want to change what our children are taught about the connection between political prosperity and religion and morality.

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

The form of government established by the Founders of the U.S. has lasted over 200 years. Some other countries have undergone many different forms during this same period; such as France, 7 forms & Italy 40 forms.

MEN MOST QUOTED BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE U.S.

Political Science professors at the University of Houston wondered if there was something unique about the government of the U.S. They gathered 15,000 quotes from the Founders and located where all of them came from. They then boiled that down to 3,154 quotes that had significant impact on the founding of America. It took them 10 years to finish the project, but they found that the three men most quoted by the Founding fathers were Blackstone, Montesquieu, and John Locke. They also found that the Bible was quoted: 4 times more often than Montesquieu, 12 times more often than Blackstone, and 16 times more often than Locke.

Additionally, 34% of all quotes were from the Bible, and another 60% of the quotes were from men who were using the Bible to arrive at their conclusions. Added together, 94% of all the quotes of the Founders had their origin in the Bible, which shows the importance of God's word in their lives and of this Nation's founding.

BLACKSTONE'S COMMENTARY & CHARLES FINNEY

Blackstone's Commentary on the Law, introduced in 1758, became the law textbook for lawyers for 160 years, and the Supreme Court quoted from it to settle cases. It gave Bible verse references to the law. For instance the three branches of government are based on Isaiah 33:22, the separation of powers is based on Jeremiah 17, and the tax exemption for Churches on Ezra 7:24. Countries even next to the U.S., such as Canada and Mexico, don't have tax exemption for churches.

While Finney was studying to become a lawyer, he became a Christian and then a well known Evangelist in the 1800's, primarily because he saw the truth of the Bible verse references in Blackstone's Commentary.

"SEPARATION", "CHURCH", & "STATE" do NOT appear in the CONSTITUTION

Many people think it is part of the 1st Amendment, but it is not. The 1st Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishing of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

What the Founders DID NOT want was any ONE DENOMINATION of the Christian religion to run the nation. They wanted to stay away from what they had left in England, where the King was the head of the Church. However the Founding Fathers and the Supreme Court were quite clear that Christianity was the established religion, and WAS to be involved in the government. This is evident in the Supreme Court decision of 1796, and many other writings.

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SUPREME COURT - 1796 - RUNKEL VS WINEMILLER

"By our form of government the Christian religion is the established religion, and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed on the same equal footing."

January 1, 1802 LETTER from PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON To the DANBARY BAPTIST, of CONNECTICUT

In 1801 the Danbary Baptist Church heard a rumor that the Congregationalist Denomination was going to be made the National Denomination. This disturbed them as it well should.

Jefferson answered in his letter:
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut. Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 1. 1802.

The Congress went through twelve different iterations before determining the final wording. It is evident from the other wordings that what they wanted was to always have God's principles in government, but not to have one denomination running the nation, or any interference from the government into religion. The 1st Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishing of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

RESPONSE FROM THE HOUSE AND SENATE - 1853

Minority groups from time to time did keep trying to change things to their way of thinking and in 1853 there was a group that petitioned Congress for the separation of Christian principles from government. The House and Senate had a one year investigation of the matter.

The House Judiciary Committee on March 27, 1854 reported: "Had the people during the revolution, had any suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that revolution would have been strangled in its cradle." The Senate also made a similar statement.

The report continued: "At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the Amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect. In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity. That was the religion of the Founders of the Republic and they expected it remain the religion of their descendants."

"The great, vital and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

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THE "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" PRAYER

The case was over a 22 word prayer which the Court said later was a "to whom it may concern prayer", a very bland prayer that mentioned God only once, and Jesus not at all. It read: "We acknowledge our dependence on thee, and we beg thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country."

The Declaration of Independence was written & approved by the same people as the Constitution and it refers to God four times. Yet it has never been declared unconstitutional.

JAMES MADISON - THE MAN MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSTITUTION

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Note that the Founders based everything, not on the Constitution, but on the Ten Commandments, which 200 years later an out of touch Court says should not even be displayed because it would not be permissible for it to be obeyed.

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF NATIONAL MORALITY IN AMERICA SINCE THE REJECTION OF GOD IN 1963

GEORGE WASHINGTON gave a warning when he said: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." In other words, you will lose national morality when you reject the religious principles found in the Bible.

CONSIDER THE FOUR AREAS THAT THE "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" PRAYER DEALT WITH
AND HOW THE LOSS OF NATIONAL MORALITY HAS AFFECTED THOSE AREAS

A. us - (the students)
1. Before 1963 pregnancies in girls ages 15 through 19 years had been no more than 15 per thousand for 15 years. After 1963 pregnancies increased 187% in the next 15 years.
2. For younger girls, ages 10 to 14 years, pregnancies since 1963 are up 553%.
3. Before 1963 sexually transmitted diseases among students were 400 per 100,000. Since 1963, they were up 226% in the next 12 years.

B. parents - (families)
1. Before 1963 divorce had been declining for 15 years. After 1963 divorces increased 300% each year for the next 15 years.
2. Since 1963 unmarried people living together is up 353%
3. Since 1963 single parent families are up 140%.
4. Since 1963 single parent families with children are up 160%.

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C. teachers - (schools)
1. The educational standard of measure has been the SAT scores. SAT scores had been going along rather steady for many years before 1963. Since 1963 they took a rapid decline for 18 consecutive years, even though the same test has been used since 1941.

2. In 1974-75 the rate of decline of the SAT scores decreased, even though they continued to decline. That was when there was an explosion of private religious schools. There were only 1000 Christian schools in 1965. Between 1974 to 1984 they increased to 32,000.
a. That could have an impact if the private schools had higher SAT scores. In checking with the SAT Board it was found that indeed the SAT scores for private schools were nearly 100 points higher than public schools.
b. In fact the scores were at the point where the public schools had been before their decline started in 1963 when prayer and Bible reading/ instruction was removed from the schools.
c. The scores in the public schools were still declining.

3. Of the nation's top academic scholars, three times as many come from private religious schools, which operate on one-third the funds as do the public schools.

D. country - (nation)
1. Since 1963 violent crime has increased 544%.
3. Illegal drugs have become an enormous & uncontrollable problem.
2. The nation has been deprived of an estimated 30 million citizens through legal abortions just since 1973.

THOMAS JEFFERSON said: "The reason Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion in the world that deals with the heart."

Jesus says do not hate, don't lust in your heart (Mt.5:21). That takes care of adultery, stealing, killing, etc.

The Founders pointed out that Christianity was the only religion that could stop crime before it started because all crime came out of the heart. If you deal with the heart problem, you won't have to deal with crime.

JOHN ADAMS said: "We have no government armed with power which is capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

We have only to look at history to know that there is no government big enough to make you do what is right if you aren't guided by morality & religion.

JEREMIAH 6:16 "Thus says the Lord, Stand in the ways, and see, And ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk in it: Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

Since saying NO to Biblical principles AMERICA HAS BECOME A WORLD LEADER IN: DIVORCE, TEENAGE PREGNANCIES, VOLUNTARY ABORTIONS, ILLEGAL DRUGS, ILLITERACY (in the Industrial World)

What were the "old paths" which were good, that had been established by our Founders? Each state passed a State Constitution which had requirements they considered most important for those who would represent them. Generally they were along the line of the Delaware Constitution in 1776 which stated:

"Everyone appointed to public office must say: 'I do profess faith in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ his only son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God & blessed forevermore: and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old & New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.'" This was consistent with the constitution because it did not recognize one denomination over another or require you to belong to any particular denomination. But it did require that you understand God's principles and God as authority. They recognized that to be governed by someone without these principles would eventually undermine and destroy the very freedoms that they had fought so hard to gain.

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A 3rd requirement in their Constitution was a requirement that every public official must acknowledge a belief in future rewards & punishments. This was the idea of accountability to God even after leaving office.

Ungodly people will not use Godly principles to run a Nation. That's why the Founders were so emphatic about keeping Christian men in office. If you look at it from the standpoint that God will only bless a Nation operating under Godly principles, you can see how important it is to have Christian people in office.

DOES A NATION ANSWER TO GOD?

This was a question the American Founders dealt with on the floor of the Constitutional Convention. They concluded that a nation doesn't have a spirit or a soul. Therefore when a nation dies, it is dead and won't be resurrected later to answer for it's failures, as a person will be who does have a spirit & soul. GEORGE MASON said: "As nations cannot be punished or rewarded in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes & effects Providence punished National sins by National calamities." Providence was commonly used by the Founders to refer to God.

God's judgement on a Nation because of it's corrupt leaders is evidenced many places in the Bible. A couple of them are:

1. Because of the corruption of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, the nation went without rain for three years. The righteous had to suffer too even though they had no part in it.

2. King David was normally a good King, but because of his disobedience to God when he numbered his army, a plague came upon the nation and wiped out 70,000 people. The Nation suffered because of the leader.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN - JUNE 17,1787
"We need God as our friend not our enemy. We need him to be our ally not our adversary. We need to make sure that we keep God's concurring aid." He called for regular daily prayer to be sure we kept God alongside what we were doing in the Nation. If this was needed by our leaders, why would it not be good for children to be able to pray in school and learn & prepare for this important facet of life?

THOMAS JEFFERSON MEMORIAL
Part of the inscription on Jefferson's Memorial: "Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice can't sleep forever."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
When Lincoln was asked if God was on his side in the Civil War, he replied: "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on my side. My great concern is to be on God's side."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN - AS AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE
"Whoever will introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity will change the face of the world."

CHARLES FINNEY
"The Church must take right ground in regard to politics. Politics are a part of a religion in a country and Christians must do their duty to the country as part of their duty to God. He will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics."

If God's people don't make it into office, God's principles won't make it into office. WE MUST NOT BE ISOLATED, WE MUST GET INVOLVED!

PROVERBS 18:1 "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desires; he rages against all wise judgments."

Apparently there are people that do not want us to know what the Constitution and its' Founders really said, or that our freedom and liberty is based on God's principles put in place by Christians. Instead they use these freedoms to fight against Christians and God's principles, to take away freedoms the Founders sought to guarantee.

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