Saturday, October 24, 2009 "Give me Liberty!"

Saturday, October 24, 2009

"Give me Liberty!"

To many here in America the name Patrick Henry is synonymous with Liberty, you all know the famous quote, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

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To state the fuller version it goes like this “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

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A lesser-known quote that lies at the foundation of his view of liberty is, “The great pillars of all government and of social life are virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.” - Patrick Henry.

It must be understood the term virtue, morality, and religion, he is talking about is the virtue, morality, and religion of Christianity. It was the religion of the Founders that produced our governing documents.

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In Del Monte Beach, Monterey, California, in 1969 as a bicentennial remembrance of a significant historical event the Portol-Crespi Cross was erected. In December 1769, explorer Don Gaspar de Portol and Father Juan Crespi raised a wooden cross on the beach as a signal to a supply ship that was due to arrive from Mexico. The bicentennial cross stood until September 2009 when vandals sawed it off near the base and left it lying on the sand.

City Council members were unanimous in wanting to restore the cross, but the American Civil Liberties Union told them ( in essence told us as Americans ) it is illegal. They based their obscured legality upon The United States Constitution. Yet one of our most revered founders of liberty said that our virtue, our morality, and our religion were the very pillars of our government and society.

He even went so far as to say because of this virtue, morality, and religion we were invincible! I know I will be accused of excluding many Americans who do not hold to the Christian faith. I am not excluding anyone, but simply embracing the principles of Christianity which gave us the liberty to hold our independent views. It was not Islamic principles or principles of any other religion that built this Nation. It was according to our founders the principles of Christianity and the influence of the Christian faith. I simply acknowledge that fact of our history and the source to which they themselves attributed America’s success.

It must be understood that living by Christian principles does not make you a Christian, it is simply a quality of life that can be enjoyed which breeds freedom and liberty which will be extended to anyone of any faith who subscribes to such principles.

It is these principles our nation has embraced which have produced an experience of freedom never before known in human history. It is these principles alone which will maintain this experience of freedom and liberty, principles which we must embrace.

In the Christian view, your faith is based upon your understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His finished work of redemption, and that alone makes you a Christian. But the principles that our founders derived from this Christian faith simply make you free men and women in a free nation.

May God bless each of you,

David