Tuesday
IS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION?
AMONG THE MANY COMMENTS we received
from last week's issue, here is one of the kind we like
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Keep on keeping on." Very frankly, the "favorables"
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IS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION? THAT
WAS THE INTENT OF THE FOUNDING
FATHERS, BUT PRESIDENT OBAMA
SAYS THAT IS NOT TRUE TODAY
For the past 6 years of this weekly commentary, in
just about every issue we have presented quotes from
America's Founding Fathers, establishing beyond any
possible doubt that this nation was founded on Judeo-
Christian principles, and that Christian morality was the
undergirding assumption for every decision they made.
Accepting the risk of repetition, let's look at the facts,
recalling the words of Sgt. Joe Friday, in the "Dragnet"
TV series of the early 1950s; "All we know are the
facts, ma'am."
For a starting "fact," the Mayflower Compact of
1620, used these words to state the reason for their
perilous voyage to this new land: "for the glory of
God, and advancement of the Christian faith."
Then, moving forward 150 years, the men who wrote
and signed the Declaration of Independence and the
United States Constitution declared their faith using
words like these:
Patrick Henry, “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." (1765)
John Adams, the second US president, on July 4,
1776 when Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence: "The general principles upon which
the Fathers achieved independence were the
general principles of Christianity."
Charles Carroll, who signed the Declaration of
Independence: "Without morals a republic cannot
subsist any length of time; they therefore who are
decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is
so sublime and pure...are undermining the solid
foundation of morals, the best security for the
duration of free governments." (1800)
John Jay, first Chief Justice: “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." (1816)
And there could easily be added statements in similar
vein from other Founding Fathers, George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin,
and more.
Then moving forward another couple of hundred years,
through more than 40 different administrations, we find
president after president reaffirming the importance of
God and the Christian faith in the life of our nation.
But against all these facts, President Obama in
an address in Turkey, a Muslim nation, denied those
long established truths in these words: "We do not
consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish
nation, or a Muslim nation." Why he should have
introduced mention of the "Jewish" or "Muslim" faiths
in reference to America is beyond all logical reasoning.
There has never been any claim that America was a
nation holding either of those faiths.
The president's lack of understanding of our
nation's religious history should not come as a surprise.
He was born in a Muslim environment and received
his early education in Muslim schools in Indonesia.
Any "Christian" influence in his life has come from the
Chicago minister who expressed his view of America
with a profane curse.
This non-Christian, or anti-Christian stance of the
Obama administration was brought to public attention
just a week ago, when the National Day of Prayer
(passed by act of Congress and signed into law by
President Truman in 1952) was essentially ignored by
the Obama White House, while millions of Americans
assembled in public places at noon on May 7, to pray
for our nation, our people and our leaders.
Incidentally the National Day of Prayer has long been
a part of American history -- John Hancock, President
of the Continental Congress, on April 15, 1775, issued
a proclamation for A Day of Fasting, Humiliation
and Prayer." That Proclamation included these words:
"Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble
themselves before God ... to confess the sins ... to
implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions ...
and a Blessing on the union of the American
Colonies in Defense of their Rights for which hitherto
we desire to thank Almighty God." The date for the
National Day of Prayer has persisted, and in 1988
President Reagan amended the law to establish the first
Thursday in May as the date for the national observance.
In fairness it must be said that President Obama did
comply with the federal law, and did issue a Day of
Prayer proclamation in the afternoon of Thursday,
May 7, when the day was half over. His wording was
strange, at best -- he only mentioned "God" once.
And, of course, there was no observance of the Day
of Prayer at the White House.
Here are excerpts from the Obama proclamation of
the National Day of Prayer; you have every right to
know exactly what he said: "...as the flames of the
Civil War burned from north to south, President
Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the
American people to pray as the fate of their nation
hung in the balance. It is in that spirit of unity and
reflection that we once again designate the first
Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer.
Let us remember those who came before us, and
let us each give thanks for the courage and
compassion shown by so many in this country and
around the world.
"Let us also use this day to come together in a
moment of peace and goodwill... As we observe
this day of prayer, we remember the one law
that binds all great religions together: the
Golden Rule, and its call to love one another; to
understand one another; and to treat with dignity
and respect those with whom we share a brief
moment on this Earth.
"The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as
amended, has called on the President to issue
each year a proclamation designating the first
Thursday in May as a 'National Day of Prayer.'
"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA,
President of the United States of America, do
hereby proclaim May 7, 2009, as a National Day
of Prayer. I call upon Americans to pray in
thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and
to ask for God's continued guidance, grace, and
protection for this land that we love."
(Please note that it was in the last sentence that he
did finally bring himself to mention God.)
But all that doesn't mean that all of the nation's
leaders failed to observe the Day of Prayer. This
release from CNS News says it well: "A caucus
room in a House of Representatives office building
was transformed into a place of worship on
Thursday, as people in the nation’s capital joined
with millions of other Americans across the country
to celebrate the National Day of Prayer. Those
gathered on Capitol Hill prayed for the nation
and for those who lead it, including President
Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden –
neither of whom made any public appearance or
speech to mark the occasion." In fact, although the
Legislative and Judicial branches of our government
were represented, for the first time in two decades
that there was no representative from the Executive
branch. You can't ask for stronger evidence of the
administration's anti-religious viewpoint than that.
And recognition of God and the Christian faith
as demonstrated by our nation's Founding Fathers
was also evident in each of the constitutions of the
states which make up the American nation. Most of
the references to God appear in the preambles, with
an expression of gratitude to God for His goodness
and an appeal for His guidance in the affairs of each
state. It is interesting and encouraging to read these
statements. To do so for yourself, go to this link
http://www.americasrevival.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2864
President Obama's immediate plans include much
to concern American Christians. His denial that we are
a Christian nation was made while he was in a Muslim
nation. Now, in fulfillment of one of his many campaign
promises, he has announced a visit to Egypt, from
where he will address the Muslim, or Islamic, world.
June 4 is the proposed date for the speech, with Cairo
as the probable site. In his previous speech before the
Turkish Parliament, Obama said, "The United States
is not and will never be at war with Islam." An
interesting thought, and a prediction difficult to guarantee.
However, there is an element of truth in it. America
has never been at war with Islam. But Islam has long
been waging war with America and all the non-Islamic
"infidels" of the world. What Mr. Obama seems not to
understand -- due, no doubt, to his Islamic upbringing
-- is stated well in these remarks by Syrian-born
Yvonne Yasbeck Haddad, Professor of the History
of Islam at Georgetown University: "Islam is a
revolutionary doctrine and system that overturns
governments. It seeks to overturn the whole
universal social order...Islam seeks the world. It is
not satisfied by a piece of land but demands the
whole universe ... The Islamic party does not hesitate
to utilize the means of war to implement its goal.”
(Washington Center for Contemporary Arab Studies)
And remember Obama's expressed intent to have
high level talks with Iran, without any pre-conditions?
If he should attempt to do so, it will be in a difficult
environment. The Iranian Islamic leader, Ayatollah
Ahmad Khatami, criticized Washington for its call for
talks with Tehran, saying, “The Iranian nation is the
same nation that put all options of Bush under the
table and into history’s dustbin. Obama is now
toeing Bush’s line regarding Iran.”
Khatami also encouraged the Arab world to cut ties
with Israel, and warned certain Arab leaders about
their apparent efforts to maintain close relations with
Israel. In expanding his comments on any US-Iran
relations, Khatami said, said: “Praise to the Imam
[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the
Islamic Revolution in Iran] who said, ‘If America
was a human being, we would talk with it’ - but
you are not human beings, and this is the same
nation it was 30 years ago… and therefore say:
‘Death to America!’”
The point of our concern is this: It has been
clearly established that America was founded as a
nation based on Judeo-Christian principles and beliefs,
and has always been considered a "Christian" nation.
Suddenly this perception is being changed by one
man's destructive beliefs, and with unlimited political
power at his disposal, America is being led into being
not only a non-Christian, but even an anti-Christian
nation. The weakening of the American family through
increased approval of homosexual marriage . . . the
lack of respect for life through the increased support
of abortion . . . the forthcoming regulation of freedom
of expression through new "hate crimes" laws, and
new "employment discrimination" laws. . . the evidence
is all around us.
This is no time for American Christians (we're still a
majority in this country) to sit back and do nothing.
We urgently need a leader to bring together America's
God-fearing and morally upright people -- American
Christians.We must do whatever it takes to reclaim
America from the aggressive Liberal agenda, with all
of its socialist aspects, into which we are being forced.
We need prayer for our nation -- not just on one day
in May, but in Bible language: "without ceasing."
From a respected current day commentator:
"America’s greatness is due to our moral heritage.
Both freedom and liberty are endowed by our creator,
(not granted or managed by our politicians), and both
are in jeopardy whenever our moral foundation is attacked...
America has always been the most loved, and the most
hated country on earth, both the most respected and
the most feared, and that’s how it must remain."
-- J.B. Williams, 2009
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Our readers seem to enjoy the "one liners"
we present here, week after week. For example,
we found this classic by William Penn from 1702:
"Those people who will not be governed by God
will be ruled by tyrants."
And from current day Anglican evangelist, Canon
Michael Green: "The first century church succeeded
because every member was a missionary. The twentieth
century church is failing because every member is not."
And from our friend Gary Bauer: "Undermining our
national security is the ACLU's first priority; under -
mining our cultural security, its second."
The unrealized death of "Global Warming." Not
just the administration's efforts to develop a new term
for the Al Gore hoax (as predicted in our last week's
issue) ... but the various national polls, Gallup, Zogby
and Rasmussen all indicate that the American people
no longer accept that 20 year old lie. The brief
warming cycle of the 1930s soon turned around and
by the late 1990s even the most die-hard enthusiasts
were forced to admit that we were in a cooling cycle,
and that Global Cooling rather than Global Warming
was under way. “They have failed,” said Gallup Poll
editor, Frank Newport; “Any measure that we look
at shows Al Gore’s losing at the moment. The public
is just not that concerned.” Now if someone would
just explain that to the White House . . .
Homosexual marriage takes root in New England.
Once the birthplace and home of conservative thought
and stability, the site of the pioneer pilgrim settlements
which grew into the United States is becoming the most
liberal area of our nation. The activist homosexual group,
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, has targeted all six
New England states for passage of a gay marriage law by 2012.
At the moment they seem to be succeeding. Following the
lead of those few Massachusetts judges who made the Bay
State the first to legalize gay marriages, now Connecticut,
Vermont and Maine have followed, with a similar law
passed by the legislature in New Hampshire, and awaiting
the governor's signature.
Only Rhode Island has not yet done the same, although
a similar bill has been introduced but is not expected to
pass this year.
In defense of America's moral values, it must be noted
that every time a state's voters have had opportunity
to consider the issue, they have voted overwhelmingly
to retain marriage as between a man and a woman. It
is the courts or the legislators who have given the
nation's homosexual minority their current victories.
The ACLU is still with us, and according to Anthony
Romero, the organization's new head, it is just a matter
of time before same-sex marriage will be legalized
across America. "Clearly, the momentum is on our side,"
said Anthony Romero, the first openly gay person to head
the 89-year-old ACLU. He added that making same-sex
marriage legal throughout the United States remains a
top ACLU top priority. (Not that this is news to anyone.)
More from Secretary Napolitano: In an interview
with John King on CNN, our head of Homeland
Security commenting on Maricopa County (AZ)
Sheriff Joe Arpaio's intent to arrest and imprison
illegal aliens, made the ridiculous statement that
"crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is
civil." Sorry, Janet . . . you're wrong again. The U.S.
criminal code, 8 USC 1325, says illegal aliens "shall,
for the first commission of any such offense, be
fined under Title 18 or imprisoned not more than
six months, or both, and, for a subsequent
commission of any such offense, be fined under
Title 18, or imprisoned not more than two years,
or both." Sometimes you wonder just how qualified
some of the Obama cabinet appointments really are.
And from America's World War I president:
"Liberty has never come from the government.
Liberty has always come from the subjects of
government. The history of liberty is the history
of resistance. The history of liberty is a history
of the limitation of governmental power, not the
increase of it." -- Woodrow Wilson
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