I recently came across a remarkable quote that was referenced in one of the introductions to W. Cleon Skousen's excellent The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World. The quote is itself from a book by Peter Marshall called The Rebirth of America.
In that book Mr Marshall says to every generation, "The choice before
us is plain, Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or
or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and
privileges as American citizens. The time is come, it is now, when we
ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship.
America's future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God's
government."
God's government.
It is rarely taught in history classes these days, but the great
majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were men of
absolute God-ly conviction (admittedly in the spirit of their heroes, Locke and Calvin),
if not practicing traditional Christians. Before them, the
pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock seeking to build a Christian community
that could worship freely apart from the 17th century oppressions of
the Church of England. It was paramount to the
Founders that a union of free states could only be successful if the
church remained free from control of the state to accomplish its divine
mission while at the same time maintaining a vital influence in
American communities. This important ideal was solidified in words when
President Eisenhower, inspired by the words of a pastor he heard one
Sunday morning, signed a law that added "under God" to the "Pledge of
Allegiance".
In the digital age the default definition of the separation of
church and state has evolved from Bible instruction in 18th century New England grammar schools to the outright eviction of God from our political buildings
and education. In order to justify such movements as pro-choice and
pro-homosexuality rights, judges at every level of the U.S. justice
system as well as Constitutional law educators and organisations have
embraced a progressive "freedom from religion" interpretation of the First Amendment that is wholly contrary to the Founders original intent.
Other than in the Declaration of Independence where "Life" is
clearly identified as sacred to the American moral fabric, nowhere is
this intent more plain than in Article III of the Northwest Ordinance--an act unanimously passed
by the same Congress that would ratify the United States Constitution
almost a year later--where it is written, "Religion, morality, and
knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of
mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever
encouraged."
George Washington reaffirmed this stance in his Farewell Address
(1796) written to the new American nation: "Of all the dispositions and
habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are
indispensable supports.... Reason and experience both forbid us to
expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious
principle." This Address was not meant as the mere swansong of an
American patriarch, but a real call to awareness that is as relevant
right now as it was to the United States in the twilight of the 18th
century. The Farewell Address was published while much of Europe was
squarely in the middle of the bloodlust-chaos that characterised the
French Revolution; God and morals were deemed expendable as the French
people searched for a new identity. The result was a country that threw
off its unwanted monarchy only to be seized by a God-less dictator who
would plunge the whole continent into war for over a decade.
In 1831, French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville, was
touring the United States and wrote often on the positive relationship
between faith, citizenship, and government in the U.S. Growing up in
post-Napoleon Europe, de Tocqueville was pleasantly encouraged by the
energy and integrity of the Christian-American landscape. His
observances were published in his famous Democracy in America
(1835) and included insights such as, "The revolutionists of America
are obliged to profess an ostensible respect for Christian morality and
equity, which does not permit them to violate wantonly the laws that
oppose their designs.... Thus, while the law permits the Americans to
do what they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and
forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust." I fear that de
Tocqueville would be terribly disappointed to find the America he
experienced gravitating towards the cynical, anti-religion European
attitudes that emerged in his day. Much less because Americans no
longer hold to Christian principle, but more because modern American
government, law, and culture is being allowed to stifle Christian
morality.
God has promised to bless any nation that places their trust on him.
This does not mean that the United States won't face hardship or
tragedy. We do ourselves a great disservice if we blame God when
such
events occur as part of a world cursed with original sin. This curse means that political freedom is never guaranteed; our men and women in uniform pay
for it daily through their courage and sacrifice. The day
may still be coming when the U.S. is reduced in its influence, and
perhaps even its freedoms. What do we do then?
Paul reminds us in his letter to the Galatians of a different, and far more valuable, freedom that has been won
for us by our Saviour, God's Son, Jesus. This is where our focus needs to be. It is our duty
as a God-serving, freedom-loving people to aid those who are less
fortunate in their political freedoms. But more important is our
duty as Christians to proclaim the liberty of the human heart, broken under the crushing weight of sin and death. This eternal liberty is guarenteed for those with the spiritual strength to believe and provides citizenship in a heavenly nation comprised of God's people. This citizenship can never be taken from us by any force man-made, natural, or supernatural.
God's Word was not written for political advice or pop culture commentary, but it does speak clearly of God's plan of salvation marked by humanity's "Independence Day"--Easter.
Recent Comments