Saturday, November 05, 2011 "Christian Nation" Part IV

Saturday, November 05, 2011

"Christian Nation" Part IV

First From Julie's Keboard:
                                                                 LOVE IN ACTION
This week as I was studying a lesson on love for others, I came across a news article that spoke volumes on the subject.  An elderly Ukranian lady was relating her story of how as a ten year old girl during the holocaust, her family (which was her mother and siblings, because her Dad had been killed in a prior Stalin raid), hid a family of five Jews in their home for three long years.  They had to move them from the cellar to the attic during different seasons of the year.  Yet, at great risk to their own lives, they helped the Chosen of God.

When I thought on love in action, this example was right up there at the top.  It seems as believers in this great nation, we seldom encounter the risk of death in our acts of love toward others.  This precious lady moved to Israel to deepen her ties with God's people.  She is one among approximately 130 others who are living there for similar reasons.  What precious demonstrations of God's love!

Jesus gave us two great commandments in His Word and stated that all other commandments are attached to these.

Matt. 22:37-40 "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." KJV

Love carries the things that we "shalt not" do a little bit further.  Love reaches out in the action of doing and demonstrating the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Are we meeting the "love" requirement today?  In closing, I leave some characteristics of this great "love" as a reminder of the disposition He desires for us.

I Corinthians 13:4-8a  "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  Charity never faileth:" KJV

In His Great Love,

Julie


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"Christian Nation" Part IV

It seems prudent to continue our discussion on "Christian Nation" and travel a little further down the road of our American spiritual history.

I have made the argument that the term "Christian Nation" as defined by the United Supreme Court http://spiritualheritage.blogspot.com/2011/10/christian-nation.html as our foundation to build from was established out of the heart of a people and not by government mandate.  We have followed this though with several post confirming the purpose and intent of our forefathers being documented in their own writings and institutions of government. 

Now I want to take a few minutes to look at how this was propagated on to preceding generations.  It was of course instilled through their educational system.  We could discuss the implication of religious thought throughout the 17th Century and early 18th Century.  But for the sake of time I want to quickly move on to the period of time of which our free Government and Independence was being formed. 

I want to ask the question, "What was being instilled into the understanding of our Founders that developed and formed their World view and gave birth to the ideas of freedom and our Declaration of Independence and ultimately United States Constitution?"

In 1790 requirements at Harvard university looked like this:

All persons of what degree forever residing at the College, and all undergraduates . . . shall constantly and seasonably attend the worship of God in the chapel, morning and evening. . . . All the scholars shall, at sunset in the evening preceding the lord's Day, lay aside all their diversions and. . . . it is enjoined upon every scholar carefully to apply himself to the duties of religions on said day.  (The Laws of Harvard College - Boston: Samuel Hall, 1790, pp. 7-8)

This goal was further exemplified by their motto's "For the Glory of Christ" and "For Christ and the Church."  This school produced signers John Adams, John Hancock, Elbridge Gerry, John Pickering, William Williams, Rufus King, William Hooper, William Ellery, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, and numerous other illustrious Founders.

Princeton University was similar, declaring:

Every student shall attend worship in the collage hall morning and evening at the hours appointed and shall behave with gravity and reverence during the whole service.  Every student shall attend public worship on the Sabbath. . . . Besides the public exercises of religious worship on the Sabbath, there shall be assigned to each class certain exercises for their religious instruction suited to the age of standing of the pupils. . . . and no student belonging to any class shall neglect them.  (The Laws of the College of New Jersy - Trenton: I saac Collins, 1794, pp. 28-29)

This college produced such signers as James Madison, Richard Stockton, Benjamin Rush, Gunning Bedford, Joanthan Dayton, and numerous other prominent Founders.  

But what was the purpose for all this religious emphases? This answer can be found in the commencement speech of William Samuel Johnson who was appointed as first president of Columbia College in 1787.  In this speech he declared:

You this day, gentlemen, . . . . have . . . received a public education, the purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve your Creator and your country. . . . Your first great duties, you are sensible, are those you owe to Heaven, to your Creator and Redeemer.  Let these be ever present to your minds and exemplified in your lives and conduct.  Imprint deep upon your minds the principles of piety towards God and reverence and fear of His holy name.  The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. . . . Remember, too, that you are the redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought with a price, even the inestimable price of the precious blood of the Son of God. . . . Love, fear, and serve Him as your Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.  Acquaint yourselves with Him in His Word and holy ordinances.  Make Him your friend and protector and your felicity is secured both here and hereafter.  (Edwards Beardsley, Life and Times of William Samuel Johnson - Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886, pp. 141-142)

With such religious instruction coming from our Colleges and Universities one can hardly imagine how they were able to build the greatest experience of freedom this world has ever know, build a nation that in 1892 was defined by it's Supreme Court as a "Christian Nation."

Of course now we have finally freed ourselves from all this Christian influence, purged our schools and universities of any Bible reading, prayer, or religious activity.  Finally we are removing our religious landmarks and I suppose will soon be grinding off the religious quotations from the granite upon which they are written. 

Since we are no longer instilling the faith and convictions of our Founders into the minds of our Children we can move on and do a much better job of establishing freedom and national unity than our Founders and previous generations that were bound and restricted by such ridiculous beliefs!

Of course we are still riding on the coat tails of what they have left to us, but as we drive ourselves further from their faith and values we are able to instill and replace those old ideas with our new found freedoms!  One can already see how well we are doing!

May God bless each of you,

David