Faith of Our Fathers

1

• Faith of Our Fathers

2
Psalm 3312

• Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the
  people whom He has chosen for His own
  inheritance.

3
The Declaration of Independence
With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence.
4
Declaration of Independence

• 27 grievances listed
• no taxation without representation was number
  17 of 27 (contrary to current modern history
  economics were not the primary motivator
• Military abuses
• The kings override of colonial prohibition of
  slavery
• Religious freedom

5
Deists?

• God governs in the affairs of man.
• Constitutional Convention
• Thursday June 28, 1787

Ben Franklin
6
Deists?

• It is impossible to rightly govern the world
  without God and Bible.

George Washington
7
Deists?

• The duties of men are summarily comprised in the
  Ten Commandments, consisting of two tables one
  comprehending the duties which we owe immediately
  to God-the other, the duties we owe to our fellow
  men.

Noah Webster was responsible for Article I,
Section 8, Clause 8 of the US Constitution To
promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,
by securing for limited Times to Authors and
Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries
8
Deists?

• I tremble for my country when I realize that God
  is just and that His justice will not sleep
  forever.
• Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781

Thomas Jefferson
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Their own testimonies

• We recognize no Sovereign but God, and no King
  but Jesus!
• April 18, 1775, on the eve of the Revolutionary
  War after a British major ordered them to
  disperse in the name of George the Sovereign
  King of England."

John Adams
John Hancock
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Their own testimonies

• I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the
  Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus
  Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy
  pray for me.
• July 12, 1804 at his death

Alexander Hamilton
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The testimonies of others

• It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too
  often that this nation was founded, not by
  religionists, but by Christians not on religion,
  but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very
  reason, peoples of other faiths have been
  afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of
  worship here.
• May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses

Patrick Henry
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What were the commands and expectations of our
Founding Fathers?

• Carry on the Christian religion as the official
  religion of America, with no denomination
  receiving favor from the government
• Elect only Christians for our leaders
• Make worship a part of your public life make
  public service a part of your worship
• 4) Evangelize the nation, and especially the
  children, in the doctrines of Christianity as the
  best way to ensure liberty and security for our
  nation. Laws are not enough. You need Jesus.

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Christianity, the religion of America

• 1799 Runkel v. Winemiller
• By our form of government, the Christian
  religion is the established religion, and all
  sects and denominations of Christians are placed
  on the same equal footing.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase Signer of the
Declaration of Independence Delegate to 1st and
2nd Continental Congresses
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Christianity, the religion of America

• At the time of the adoption of the Constitution,
  and of the amendment to it, now under
  consideration i.e., the First Amendment, the
  general, if not the universal sentiment in
  America was, that Christianity ought to receive
  encouragement from the state.
• -- Commentaries on the Constitution of the
  United States p. 593

Justice Joseph Story
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Elect only Christians for our leaders

• It is apprehended that Jews, Mahometans
  (Muslims), pagans, etc., may be elected to high
  offices under the government of the United
  States. Those who are Mahometans, or any others
  who are not professors of the Christian religion,
  can never be elected to the office of President
  or other high office, unless first the people
  of America lay aside the Christian religion
  altogether, it may happen. Should this
  unfortunately take place, the people will choose
  such men as think as they do themselves.
• Elliots Debates, Vol. IV, pp 198-199, Governor
  Samuel Johnston, July 30, 1788 at the North
  Carolina Ratifying Convention

Samuel Johnston
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Elect only Christians for our leaders

• Let it be impressed on your mind that God
  commands you to choose for rulers just men who
  will rule in the fear of God Exodus 1821. . .
  . If the citizens neglect their duty and place
  unprincipled men in office, the government will
  soon be corrupted . . . If our government fails
  to secure public prosperity and happiness, it
  must be because the citizens neglect the Divine
  commands, and elect bad men to make and
  administer the laws.
• Noah Webster, The History of the United States
  (New Haven Durrie and Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337,
  49

Noah Webster
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Elect only Christians for our leaders

• "Providence has given to our people the choice of
  their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the
  privilege and interest of our Christian nation to
  select and prefer Christians for their rulers." 
• The Correspondence and Public Papers of John
  Jay, 1794-1826, Henry P. Johnston

John Jay
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Elect only Christians for our leaders

• Article 22 of the constitution of Delaware (1776)
  required all officers, besides taking an oath of
  allegiance, to make and subscribe to the
  following declaration
• "I, name, do profess faith in God the Father,
  and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy
  Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore and I do
  acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and
  New Testament to be given by divine inspiration."

?
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for
  public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that
  schools teach "the excellency of the Christian
  religion above all others, ancient or modern."

Benjamin Franklin
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• What students would learn in American schools
  above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.
• speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779

George Washington
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• In my view, the Christian religion is the most
  important and one of the first things in which
  all children, under a free government ought to be
  instructed.
• Preface to the 1828 American Dictionary of the
  English Language

Noah Webster
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• I lament that we waste so much time and money in
  punishing crimes and take so little pains to
  prevent themwe neglect the only means of
  establishing and perpetuating our republican
  forms of government that is, the universal
  education of our youth in the principles of
  Christianity by means of the Bible for this
  Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the
  soul of republicanism.
  Letter written (1790s) in Defense of the Bible
  in all schools in America

Benjamin Rush signer of the Declaration of
Independence Physician, Treasurer of the US
Mint The Father of Public Schools
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• By withholding the knowledge of the Scriptures
  from children, we deprive ourselves of the best
  means of awakening moral sensibility in their
  minds. Letter written
  (1790s) in Defense of the Bible in all schools
  in America

Benjamin Rush signer of the Declaration of
Independence Physician, Treasurer of the US
Mint The Father of Public Schools
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Evangelize the nation, especially the children

• Public utility pleads most forcibly for the
  general distribution of the Holy Scriptures In
  vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws
  and draw entrenchments around our institutions.
  Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they
  abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at
  the same time enjoy quiet conscience.
• --1813. Letter for Maryland Bible Society.

James McHenry Signer of the Constitution Maryland

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Early American Schools
The Bible was Americas basic textbook in all
fields. --Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage
p.5
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Early American Schools
Education is useless without the Bible --Noah
Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5
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Early American Schools

• Used in public and private schools from 1690 to
  1900 second only to the Bible
• Some of its contents
• ?A song of praise to God ?Prayers in Jesus
  name
• ?The famous Bible alphabet
• ?Shorter Catechism of faith

The New England Primer
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School Prayer

• "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon
  Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our
  parents, our teachers and our Country."

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School Prayer

• "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon
  Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our
  parents, our teachers and our Country."
• On June 25, 1962, as unconstitutional

BANNED
30
Supreme Court rulings

• 1799 Runkel v. Winemiller
• By our form of government, the Christian
  religion is the established religion, and all
  sects and denominations of Christians are placed
  on the same equal footing.
• Justice Samuel Chase

31
Supreme Court rulings

• 1811 People v. Ruggles (New York)
• The morality of the country is deeply engrafted
  upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or
  worship of other religions.
• In people whose manners are refined, and whose
  morals have been elevated and inspired with a
  more enlarged benevolence, it is by means of the
  Christian religion.
• This First Amendment declaration never meant to
  withdraw religion. And with it the sanctions of
  moral and social obligation from all
  consideration and notice of the law.
• Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity
  tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil
  government, because it tends to corrupt the
  morals of the people, and to destroy good order

32
Supreme Court rulings

• 1844 Vidal v. Girard
• In 1844, a school in Philadelphia decided it
  would teach morality without the Bible
• Why may not the Bible, and especially the New
  Testament be read and taught as a divine
  revelation in the schools --Its general precepts
  expounded and its glorious principles of morality
  inculcated? Where can the purest principles of
  morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as
  from the New Testament?
• The Court ruled that the Bible WOULD be taught in
  American Schools

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Separation of Church and State
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A letter written to President Jefferson

• Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of
  religious liberty that religion is at all times
  and places a matter between God and individuals,
  that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or
  effects on account of his religious opinions,
  and that the legitimate power of civil
  government extends no further than to punish the
  man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our
  constitution of government is not specific. . . .
  Therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as
  a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors
  granted, and not as inalienable rights.
• Letter of October 7, 1801, from Danbury Baptist
  Association to Thomas Jefferson

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Jeffersons response

• Gentlemen,-The affectionate sentiments of esteem
  and approbation which you are so good as to
  express towards me on behalf of the Danbury
  Baptist Association give me the highest
  satisfaction. . . . 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
  legislative 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. Adhering to
  this expression of the supreme will of the nation
  in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall
  see with sincere satisfaction the progress of
  those sentiments which tend to restore to man all
  his natural rights, convinced he has no natural
  right in opposition to his social duties. I
  reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection
  and blessing of the common Father and Creator of
  man, and tender you for yourselves and your
  religious association assurances of my high
  respect and esteem.

36
Jeffersons letter to Benjamin Rush

• Thomas Jefferson made it clear that the First
  Amendment had been enacted only to prevent the
  federal establishment of a national denomination.

Jefferson
Rush
The First Amendment to the Constitution Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof
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Jeffersons letter to Benjamin Rush

• This wall was the will of the American people
  that their new government would not meddle in
  their religious freedoms by enacting a state
  denomination, as the King of England had done.
• Jefferson had committed himself as President to
  pursuing the purpose of the First Amendment
  preventing the establishment of a particular
  form of Christianity by the Episcopalians,
  Congregationalists, or any other denomination.
• Jefferson, Writings, Vol. III, p. 441, to
  Benjamin Rush on September 23, 1800

38
Supreme Court rulings

• 1878 Reynolds v. United States
• The intent of Jeffersons remarks was that The
  rightful purposes of civil government are for its
  officers to interfere when principles break out
  into overt acts against peace and good order. In
  this . . . is found the true distinction between
  what properly belongs to the church and what to
  the State.

39
Supreme Court rulings

• CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY v. U.S.
• Feb. 29, 1892
• "These and many other matters which might be
  noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations
  to the mass of organic utterances that this is a
  Christian nation."
• Quoted 87 precedents in a 16 page document

40
Supreme Court rulings

• 1947 Everson v. Board of Education
• The issue was whether public money should be used
  to pay for buses to transport children to
  parochial schools. In a decision of 5-4, the
  Court agreed to allow this, but the majority also
  expressed the need for the State i.e. schools
  to have absolutely no involvement in religion.
• The First Amendment has erected a wall between
  church and state. That wall must be kept high and
  impregnable. We could not approve the slightest
  breach.

41
The First Amendment

• Congress shall make no law respecting an
  establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof
• Thomas Jefferson was not one of those ninety men
  who framed the First Amendment, and during those
  debates not one of those ninety Framers ever
  mentioned the phrase separation of church and
  state. It seems logical that if this had been
  the intent for the First Amendment-as is so
  frequently asserted-then at least one of those
  ninety who framed the First Amendment would have
  mentioned that phrase, but none did
• Congressional Records from June 7 to September
  25, 1789

42
One mans private letter, taken out of context

• The earlier courts had always viewed Jeffersons
  letter to the Danbury Baptist Association for
  just what it was a personal, private letter to a
  specific group. There is probably no other
  instance in Americas history where words spoken
  by a single individual in a private letter-words
  clearly taken out of context-have become the sole
  authorization for a national policy.

43
Did Jefferson not want religion in the schools?

• An Ordinance for the government ofthe Territory
  of the United States northwest of the River Ohio
  
• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson

The Northwest Ordinance
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Did Jefferson not want religion in the schools?

• The Northwest Ordinance
• The draft was prepared by Thomas Jefferson. It
  was originally approved by Congress July 13, 1787
  and re-passed by the Founding Fathers following
  the U.S. Constitutions ratification. On August
  7, 1789, President George Washington signed it
  into law-during the same time Congress was laying
  down the First Amendment.
• Art. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being
  necessary to good government and the happiness of
  mankind, schools and the means of education shall
  forever be encouraged.
• On April 30, 1802, just 6 months after he wrote
  separation of church and state President
  Jefferson signed the enabling act for Ohio to
  join the union which said this newest state must
  agree with the Northwest Ordinance.

45
Supreme Court rulings

• 1958 Baer v. Kolmorgen
• A dissenting judge said, If this court doesnt
  stop talking about Separation of Church and
  State, then the people will think it is a part
  of the Constitution!

46
Supreme Court rulings Remove student prayer

• June 25, 1962 Engel v. Vitale
• Prayer in its public school system breaches the
  constitutional wall of separation between Church
  and State.
• This was the very first US Supreme court case in
  which no precedents were quoted. The Court said
  a year later in Abington v. Schempp, that no
  previous cases were cited because these
  principles were so universally recognized

47
No prayer?

• In the beginning of the contest with Britain,
  when we were sensible of danger, we had daily
  prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our
  prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were
  graciously answered do we imagine we no longer
  need His assistance?
• Constitutional Convention
• Thursday June 28, 1787

Benjamin Franklin
48
Supreme Court rulingsRemove the Bible from
schools

• Abington v. Schempp 1963
• No state law or school board may require that
  passages from the Bible be read, or that the
  Lords Prayer be recited in the public schools of
  a State at the beginning of each school day.

49
No Bible in schools?

• 1844 Vidal v. Girard
• Why may not the Bible, and especially the New
  Testament be read and taught as a divine
  revelation in the schools --Its general precepts
  expounded and its glorious principles of morality
  inculcated? Where can the purest principles of
  morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as
  from the New Testament?

50
No Bible in schools?

• "Let the children who are sent to those schools
  be taught to read and write and above all, let
  both sexes be carefully instructed in the
  principles and obligations of the Christian
  religion. This is the most essential part of
  education
• Letters of Benjamin Rush, "To the citizens of
  Philadelphia A Plan for Free Schools", March 28,
  1787

Benjamin Rush signer of the Declaration of
Independence Physician, Treasurer of the US
Mint The Father of Public Schools
51
Supreme Court RulingsRemove the Ten Commandments

• STONE v. GRAHAM, 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are
  to have any effect at all, it will be to induce
  the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon,
  perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments.
  However desirable this might be as a matter of
  private devotion, it is not a permissible state
  objective under the Establishment Clause.

52
The Ten Commandments A matter of private
devotion, or State objective?

• We have staked the whole future of American
  civilization, not upon the power of government,
  far from it. Weve staked the future of all our
  political institutions upon our capacityto
  sustain ourselves according to the Ten
  Commandments of God.
• 1778 to the General Assembly of the State of
  Virginia

James Madison The Father of the
Constitution
53
The Ten Commandments A matter of private
devotion, or State objective?

• The Law given from Sinai The Ten Commandments
  was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and
  religious code.
• John Quincy Adams. Letters to his son. p. 61

John Quincy Adams
54
The Ten Commandments A matter of private
devotion, or State objective?

• All the miseries and evils which men suffer from
  vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression,
  slavery and war, proceed from their despising or
  neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.
• Noah Webster. History. p. 339

Noah Webster
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President Garfield (20th President)

• Now more than ever before, the people are
  responsible for the character of their congress.
  If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt,
  it is because the people tolerate ignorance,
  recklessness, and corruption. If it be
  intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the
  people demand these high qualities to represent
  them in the national legislature If the next
  centennial does not find us a great nation it
  will be because those who represent the
  enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the
  nation do not aid in controlling the political
  forces

56
Charles Finney, 19th century revivalist

• The church must take right ground in regard to
  politicsThe time has come that Christians must
  vote for honest men and take consistent ground in
  politicsChristians have been exceedingly guilty
  in this matter. But the time has come when they
  must act differently God cannot sustain this
  free and blessed country which we love and pray
  for unless the Church will take right groundIt
  seems sometimes as if the foundations of the
  nation are becoming rotten, and Christians seem
  to act as if they think God does not see what
  they do in politics. But I tell you He does see
  it, and He will bless or curse this nation
  according to the course Christians take in
  politics.

57
Psalm 3312

• Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the
  people whom He has chosen for His own
  inheritance.

58
2 Chronicles 714

• If My people who are called by My name humble
  themselves and pray and seek My face and turn
  from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
  heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal
  their land.