This week we will look into answering the question: “Was America founded and built on faith in God?” If we look at the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776, we will read: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” As I have previously addressed, I have yet to find where the violation of any one of the Ten Commandments will contribute to a better life, to more liberty, or to happiness here on earth.
John Adams, America’s Second President, put it this way: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
What was it that our nation’s founders knew about God that many of today’s leaders have forgotten? Why are the founding principles that established what is probably the greatest nation ever on earth, no longer valid in the eyes of some of today’s leaders. Are those principles too focused on liberty and freedom and not enough on power and greed? Let’s then see what some of our other national founders thought about Godly principles and their ability to bring freedom and independence to a nation.
“God who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Thomas Jefferson, author of America’s Declaration of Independence & America’s Third President
“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of a Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” General George Washington, America’s First President
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” James Madison, primary author of the US Constitution & America’s Fourth President
“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth…that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” Benjamin Franklin, a signer of both America’s Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, founder of the University of Pennsylvania, & one of the leading theorists of the American Revolution.
This week we will look at a reasoned and scriptural defense of why pastors in America, who adhere to the Bible as the Word of God, have a responsibility before God to reject the false teaching prevalent in American society that pastors should not be involved in making public policy nor engaged in politics. We need to confront the wrongheaded idea that the Constitution of the United States forbids such involvement. These two prevailing myths threaten to undermine our freedoms and pave the way to an unprecedented era of tyranny in America. I suppose that if I were a politician with an agenda designed to give me power, influence, and feed my passion for greed, I would not want Christ followers to be monitoring me. Our government, like any other human involvement, needs a source of conscience. When that is missing, life can become very miserable. If pastors refuse to address the great issues of our culture, Biblically, from their pulpits, we will live to see professional politicians begin to pass laws that reward evil and punish those who stand for God’s truth. We find it addressed in Isaiah 5:20:
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
We are living in such an era now. The Congress of the United States passed a bill calling for the end of the ban on homosexuals serving in our military. This put an end to the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy from the Clinton era, and more than 230 years of American military tradition. This policy is going to ultimately force every chaplain who adheres to Biblical morality to resign from the military or change their views. And this is not the end of such legislation designed to reward evil and nullify God’s moral law. In the fall of 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed. This law provides the legal tools for aggressive secularist prosecutors to bring charges of hate speech against any preacher of the gospel who dares to declare what the Word of God says about homosexuality based on Romans 1:26 and following. And as might be expected the politicians did not stop there. Further Congressional legislation laid grounds that will force private businesses to accommodate transgenders and even cross-dressers or face fines and/or criminal charges for failure to do so. This includes, in its presented form, non-ministerial positions in churches.
Liberalism wears many hats, but it all flows from the same source; the Garden of Eden where Satan promised Eve that she could be as God if first she chose to ignore God’s Word and God’s Law. Liberalism at its lowest common denominator denies God’s law and rejects as all absolutes, whether it’s theological liberalism, political liberalism, moral liberalism, or educational/philosophical liberalism. For the first time in American history we have been able to see the end product of liberalism as liberals have had the opportunity to control both Houses of the Legislative Branch as well as the Executive Branch of Government during the period 2008 thru 2010. The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their political party affiliation, became fearful of what they saw as politicians ignored the will of the people and rammed through bill after bill, redefining what it means to be an American…anything from Hate-Crimes legislation to Obama-care.
Not only have American citizens been targeted by bills that slowly eroded liberties, but out-of-control politicians have put this nation fearfully close to fiscal destruction with random and wanton spending policies and practices.
Next week we look at some of these principles being put into practice and how the silence of the church…with few exceptions…has made this possible. Try living by Godly principles in a world where man is putting them aside so he can exercise his own will. For example…the murder of the unborn and ‘just’ born out of convenience.
-Bob Munsey
“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world would consider foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-27
Geezer Politics 