PART 16
By
Pastor Roger Anghis
May 30, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
We have seen through the writings of the Founding Fathers, the actions of the Founding Fathers and the beliefs of the Founding Fathers that their religion, Christianity, was the guiding force in their lives. They allowed the Word of God to be THE dominate guide of their affairs. Today we see organizations like the ACLU doing everything that they can to separate any form of religion from government AND public domain. Was this what our Founding Fathers wanted? Is this how they ran their affairs? I want to look at the first inauguration that occurred in 1789. The New York Daily Advertiser reported the event as follows: “On the morning of the day in which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at 9 o’clock, when the people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessing of the Most High.
An early hour is prudently fixed for this peculiar act of devotion and is designed Wholly for prayer.” After the oath of office was given the Senate and the members of the House of Representatives, the President and vice-President all went to St. Paul’s Chapel to hear Divine Service. This was done by Resolution by the Senate. It was done by a unanimous vote. I would propose the question that if there was to be a total separation of church and state, then why would Congress resolve to have the entire United States government at the time, attend a church service?
Another interesting question concerning the separation of church and state is on the same day that Congress approved the 1st Amendment; they requested that President Washington designate a national day of thanksgiving. (1) This day was to be spent giving thanks to Almighty God, not mohammed or buddah, but THE God of the universe, the maker of heaven and earth. President Washington concurred and on October 3, 1789 he declared a day of thanksgiving.
After the Revolution and the forming of our government, it was a wonder to many foreigners the rapid rise as a successful nation that the United States enjoyed. They were still in amazement as to how a small nation of farmers and merchants was able to defeat what was arguably the world’s greatest military power. They were also amazed at how we could form a government so quickly that was envied across the globe.
To answer these questions, many writers came to America and traveled about studying our government and just how the American people lived their lives. They would then report what they had discovered to their countrymen. One such visitor was Edward Kendall. He traveled across America from 1807 to 1808 and then returned to England where in 1809 he published his notes on his travels entitled, Travels in America. Here is how he described election day in Connecticut in 1807: “At about eleven o’clock, his Excellency Governor Jonathan Trumball entered the statehouse and shortly took his place at the head of a procession which was made to a meetinghouse or church at something less than then a half a mile distance.
The procession was on foot and was composed of the person of the governor, together with the lieutenant-governor, assistants, high-sheriffs, members of the lower house of assembly, and, unless with accidental exceptions, all the clergy of the state. The pulpit, or desk as it is called here, was filled with three if not four clergymen; a number which, by its form and dimensions, it was able to accommodate. Of these, one opened the service with prayer; another delivered the sermon; a third made a concluding prayer, and a fourth pronounced the benediction. Several hymns were sung; and, among others, an occasional one [a special one for that occasion]. The total number of singers was between forty and fifty. The sermon was, as will be supposed, touched upon matters of government. When all was finished, the procession returned to the statehouse.”
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I included this entire description for the purpose of pointing out that all of the members of the government attended the church service and the minister preached a message on Biblical government. This, according to revisionist historians, would not have occurred because our Founding Fathers were not Christians. This is the history that we, the pastors, must re-introduce to America.
A Frenchman,
Alex de Tocqueville, visited America in 1830’s and studied the American
life and government and in 1835 published what is now called Democracy
in America. His findings would make the ACLU’s founder turn over
in his grave. He observed: “Upon my arrival to the United State,
the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my
attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more did I perceive the
great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which
I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion
and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each
other; but in America I found that they are intimately united, and that
they reigned in common over the same country.” There is a reason
for that peace Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.
(7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
We have seen that prayer was a major part of the lives of our Founding Fathers. All of Congress attending divine services before attending to business or at least having a prayer made in the Name of Jesus before the start of each session. There was no ‘separation of church and state’ practiced by our Founding Fathers. In fact, the exact opposite is true. They intertwined their faith with the government to insure that God was part of the daily affairs in both private life and the affairs of government. They wanted and needed His guidance and were not afraid to act accordingly. Too bad our Congress today is too proud and arrogant to seek His help.
All through this study we have looked at how the religious faith of our Founding Fathers influenced not just their daily, lives but also the civil laws of this nation, the manner in which a politician would govern himself as a leader of the people and it was also the foundation for the framing of the Constitution of the United States.
We do not have the time to study the lives of each of the 250 Founding Fathers, but we should look at a few of the statements that today’s revisionists have attributed to our Founding Fathers.
One of these statements is from John Adams – “This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion at all.” What the revisionists do tell you is what he said next; “But in this exclamation I would have been as fanatical as Bryant and Cleverly. Without religion this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company, I mean hell.” This is a simple lie to make it appear that one of our Founding Fathers was not the Christian that he really was.
Another quote that is often used is one attributed to George Washington. “The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian religion.” This phrase was taken from a treaty with Tripoli, a Muslim nation, in 1797. The biggest problem with this statement is George Washington didn’t say it or write it. This treaty was not the work of Washington as he had nothing to do with it. The other problem with that statement is it is taken out of context and references the federal government which supports no religion, making the statement true, but without the rest of the treaty it was taken from leads the reader to believe that America had no religious basis, which is why they use that statement.
This treaty was ratified under the Presidential term of John Adams. It would be absurd to suggest that President Adams would have endorsed any provision that repudiated Christianity. To prove this, while discussing the conflict that brought about the treaty with Thomas Jefferson, Adams declared: “The policy of Christendom has made cowards of all the sailors before the standard of Mahomet. It would be heroical and glorious in us to restore courage to ours.”
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It was also Adams that stated: “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were . . . the general principles of Christianity . . . I will avow that I believe then, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature.”
Click here for part -----> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
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Pastor Roger Anghis is the Founder of RestoreFreeSpeech.org, an organization designed to draw attention to the need of returning free speech rights to churches that was restricted in 1954.
President of The Damascus Project, TheDamascusProject.org, which has a stated purpose of teaching pastors and lay people the need of the churches involvement in the political arena and to teach the historical role of Christianity in the politics of the United States. Married-37 years, 3 children, three grandchildren.
Web site: RestoreFeeSpeech.org
E-Mail: editor@restorefreespeech.org
