Should We Remain One Nation Under God?
Posted: Sunday, July 13, 2008
by Jay Hopson
The moral fabric of our nation is constantly being bombarded with half truths and the rewriting of history by those who belong to a religion named secular humanism. Though probably still in the minority, this group screams the loudest, so they tend to be heard more than the gentle voices of reason.
Do a Google search on religion in the US and you will find these secular arguments leaping at you from the first 20 pages. You have to painstakingly deepen your search to find those who stand up for the cause of faith in government. The fact that 90% of our forefathers spoke often of God and prayed for His wisdom as they began the creation of our government is being systematically hidden.
The Myth:
The First Amendment built a wall of separation between Church and State.
The Truth: The First Amendment does no such thing.
The First Amendment reads in full:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
The original intent of the First Amendment was to protect churches from the government, not to protect government from religion. It certainly had nothing to do with keeping prayer out of schools. In fact, the bible was the only book used in many of our schools at the time. The creators of this amendment were also adamant that no church become THE national church, like the Church of England which many Americans had fled from. This part of the equation, I can agree with.
But, the secular humanists use these later words of Thomas Jefferson to make their greater argument, the argument they would use to drive God out of our country:
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."
--Letter to the Danbury (Conn.) Baptist Association, January 1, 1802
That one statement contains the few words they now use to try to remove God from the very foundation of our nation. This argument conveniently forgets Jefferson's own later words, (which are on the Jefferson memorial,) "The God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God; That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Author Tim LaHaye points out:
"This Christian consensus (of our forefathers) is easily verified by the fact that prior to 1789; many of the states still had constitutional requirements that a man must be a Christian in order to hold public office."
Later on in 1863 Abraham Lincoln actually called for a "National Fast Day," citing the fact that..."We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven ...But we have forgotten God."
If we forget God now, we are in danger of sliding down the slippery path of the Roman Empire and other great civilizations that have crumbled over the centuries. Religion and morality are a vital part of the American political system. Rampant homosexuality, drugs, teen pregnancy, and school shootings all spring from the same source, the act of turning our backs on God.
Our nation continues even today to turn to God when we need Him. After 911 the churches filled for months as men and women bowed before a God they had all but forgotten. How much better for us to turn to Him even when we are not in trouble? I preach to myself here, not just to you, dear reader. Far from casting the first stone, my goal is simply to raise a voice in the defense of Christ, and His rightful place in our nation.
The sad truth is that these secular humanists aren't just raising a cry against religion and morality in government, they are raising a voice against Christ, in other words… anti---Christ; The spirit of Anti-Christ is alive and well in America today, and those of us who know the truth must raise our voices in response.
Should religion run our government? Absolutely not, but… our government should be run by men of faith and morals. Yes, they will fail us at times, as all humans will, but with the grace of God we will find a way to continue to be the greatest nation on earth.
More Quotes from our Forefathers
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)hi jay, this article was very well written, deep, although easy to understand, and was about an important subject. i think you presented it well. "...our government should be run by men of faith and morals. Yes, they will fail us at times, as all humans will, but with the grace of God we will find a way to continue to be the greatest nation on earth..." very true. thanks for sharing, best regards, sueThank you Sue,
I was hoping it wasn't too long and complicated. It is a bit of a hard subject to tackle.
Jay, I agree with you and wonder if our country can ever get out of our socialistic and humanistic ways. I am proud of our country, love her, and am afraid for her at the same time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.Yes, Lorrie,
it is a bit of a scary time for our nation, but God has a plan, I am sure, and His plan is always right, even when we can't understand it.
Great information. very well written. I couldn't agree with you more.Thank you for your comment, Roschelle. Keep up the good work.
Excellent piece, The first amendment doesn't say a thing about the separation of church and state. We need to keep emphasizing this until it is better known.
Rev Michael BrescianiThank you Reverend,
I agree. the voices of those who ridicule God in our culture will not cease, so we must not cease our efforts to voice the truth.
Wonderfully, well-written article, Jay. You make these pros and cons so much easier to understand. You are absolutely right---we don't need religion running the government and we do need men of faith as our leaders. And we don't need government to monopolize our religion. The Bible plainly states, 'obey the laws of man'---that should be enough; why complicate things? SandraThank you Sandra,
I have enjoyed this article. It is the kind of stuff I love to write and I pray it gets to some of the right readers.
Jay, I Amen all the affirming comments already posted. This was an excellent piece, a clear and easy read. I share your concern for our nation and I have equal concern for Christ's Church (in all its different expressions) in our nation. Politcal correctness had displaced biblical correctness in too many places. Thanks for speaking up so well. Keep it up.Thank you Dane, for your kind words.. Yes, The Church and the nation is more in need of an Awakening than ever before. I pray that we get one soon.
Hi Jay, Bravo! Well laid out with facts that are hard to argue, though there will be those who try. And I agree with all comments above. Thanks for a well written article filed with knowledge and passion without condemnation. Glory be to our great God!Amen Teresa, to Him be the Glory. Thank you for commenting.
"Rampant homosexuality, drugs, teen pregnancy, and school shootings all spring from the same source, the act of turning our backs on God"The evidence is strongly against your suggested source of these social issues. The US has one of the most religious populations in the Western world yet also higher than average rates of many of those issues.
"This Christian consensus (of our forefathers) is easily verified by the fact that prior to 1789; many of the states still had constitutional requirements that a man must be a Christian in order to hold public office"This was obviously a severe restriction on religious freedom, in direct contradiction to the secular constitution and basic human freedom.Thank you Ben, for your comments. I was becoming concerned that I was only preaching to the choir! Obviously, I am going to raise some hackles yet!.
Religion and loving/serving God are not one and the same. I used the word religion in this piece a bit liberally as the article contest was about religion and morality. However, if we truly use the test for religion… here it is, " Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:27
How many of those Americans who consider themselves religious (including myself) can really say they meet these standards. I will admit I am far from unspotted and I fear few American Christians are.
Your second argument may well be true and in today's society we could hardly even mention the idea without the secular and political correctness crowds screaming at the top of their lungs. But, if we, as a (still) Christian nation fail to put Christians in office, I fear we do so to our own destruction.
And you, Sir, Do you feel that God should not be in our pledge of allegiance?
Religion and loving/serving God are not necessarily the same, but those who "turn their back on God" are not necessarily less moral than true believers.Nations that are secular (in practice) and with above average numbers of non-theists (e.g. humanists) tend to have less of the social ills (drug- and gun-crime etc).I agree that people's actions are what counts - doing good deeds and living a good life are more important than merely professing to be a member of a particular religion. But I don't think one has to believe in any particular God in order to live a good life or do be a generous and moral being - and the evidence supports this, with the non-religious being no more likely (and in many studies less likely) to commit crimes.I agree that most American Christians, and indeed most people from all faiths and from no faith, are probably not living as good a life as they'd hope - we're all human, and its not easy truly living the virtues to which we aspire. We could all do more to help others than we actually do.There are almost no openly declared atheists in US political offices, yet despite the extremely high proportion of Christian senators, governers and (historically) presidents the US has been and still is riddled with crime and immorality. Electing Christians doesn't seem to have put an end to, or even reduced, these problems.I think in a democracy in a country justly proud of the (religious and other) freedom it gives its populace, a reference to God in the pledge of allegiance is unnecessary - the freedom is for *everyone* in the US, not just the Christians or the Muslims or the Jews or the atheists.We should not force people to make a pledge to a God they may not believe in, rather everyone should make a pledge of allegiance to what makes the country great - its people, and its protection of individual religious (and other) freedom.Ben , we don't but we ask that they respect the view of the majority and that the majority respect yours. Silence and reverence is appropriate and respectful while non committal. I see the problem being more professors then doers and yes some who don't believe are better humans then some who profess. Perhaps there would be more true believers if we actually practiced what we preach rather then to try to impose it upon others? I do agree with he author's premise though. He did a good job at stirring the thought process. Respectfully.
hi jay,congrats on being one of the winners in the contest.you came in to searchwarp like a powerhouse, and i hope you remain so.i'm glad to see your writing added to what i can choose from to read,best regards,sueThank you Sue,
It was partly the encouragement from people like yourself that kept me going. I am honored and humbled to be among such wonderful writing talent. Needless to say, I love Searchwarp and hope to be here a long time!
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