Ours is a nation founded and shaped primarily by European immigrants of Protestant Christian persuasion. The first pilgrims came over to spread the faith of Christ and live their Bible-based beliefs. When the settlements grew and spread and formed into 13 colonies, the charters of each were specifically Christian, e. g., “to the glory of God and in the name of Christ for propagating the Christian religion and invoking God’s blessings.” In the mid-18th Century each colony was mightily impacted by the First Great Awakening, a spiritual revival under the influence of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and many other evangelists and preachers. (The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. is a great place to learn about this.)
The Continental Congresses were represented by Christian gentlemen of various denominations, but all shared a Bible-based, Christ-centered perspective and commitment. (This you wouldn’t know from our modern history books or liberal media.) After much spirited and scholarly debate and deliberation and periodic days of fasting, repentance and prayer observed throughout the colonies, and many united worship services led by clergy of various Christian denominations, they unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776, and proclaimed it ceremoniously two days later. Included in this short document are numerous phrases reflecting their shared Christian convictions, citing: “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God,” “truths… that all men are created equal,” with rights “endowed by their Creator,” “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world,” “with a firm reliance on Divine Providence.”
Many recognized that the practice of racial slavery was inconsistent with this declaration and opposed it, but under pressure to act in a unified manner, that issue was tabled, but the foundation was laid for its eventual demise.
No Constitution has lasted so long or afforded such freedom and blessings, and people of every ethnicity and nationality have sought to come here and stay here or to replicate our system of government.
Today mobs of godless Marxists, anarchists, and racists are trying to destroy our history and heritage. They do not gather for worship, fasting, or prayer. They cite no Scriptures or godly examples. They deface churches, burn buildings and topple statues of men they know little or nothing about. Instead of gathering to reason, discuss, and conduct civilized debates, they shout profanities and obscenities, and intimidate, silence, assault, and even kill people and police. They imagine that when they destroy and burn down everything, that something better will miraculously replace it. (Consider Chaz/Chop in Seattle.) They are the consequence of an anti-God movement that has invaded and progressively undermined our culture and that has been eroding and corrupting the beliefs and morals that undergird two centuries of blessings, which are now hanging by a thread.
I advise all Christians and people of good will to follow our founding fathers’ example: gather for repentance and prayer, worship and thanksgiving, and “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” to recover, preserve, promote and celebrate the blessings of liberty under God.
In God We Trust.
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Excellent post. I appreciate these words of wisdom from Rev. Stelzer.
Ron,
Thanks for your wonderful remarks.
Your Davidson friends follow your comments with great interest and appreciation.