My thought today is one, not based on a particular personal experience, but rather a continuing cultural one. We have all heard the arguments against God on our money and in our national anthem so much that it has desensitized us to the importance of it. The removal of God from our society under the abuse of federal court privilege is a direct attack not only on Christians of today, but on the foundation of our country and the future of our children. Our forefathers were not just the writers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, but the common men who died fighting for our freedom from a British government who had no true sight of God. In a world that had only known government oppression, outrageous taxes and a number of terrible cultural norms, a group of free-thinkers dared to offer a better way. The United States was in fact the birth of a culture never previously considered. A culture that believed government should be subordinate to God, not the other way around. Ruled by God’s law, not man’s, they would form a great country under the grace of God, which would receive His blessing for generations to come.
Those who would remove God from our government and our schools will always re-write history arguing things like, “These are the same forefathers who condoned slavery.” Here’s what they don’t say or even acknowledge: with slavery being a Global practice, and sadly a major commerce, this handful of people stood no chance of getting all the existing colonies full of people to agree to form a new country if they spelled out the end of slavery. What they did do, beginning with The Declaration of Independence and continuing through the Constitution, was to declare ALL men created equal with equal rights. This laid the inescapable foundation to end not only slavery but every other form of discrimination. Later, based on this foundational law, men – white and black alike – would fight and die in a civil war to abolish this crime. These men were also our forefathers, all of whom would be appalled at what we have allowed a few judges and a lobby full of activists to do to our country. What these men knew was that the true power and hope of our country was not in the flawed men who represent us at any given time, but in our faith and devotion to God. The insertion of God into our governmental structure was not just some symbolic act, but a deliberate attempt to hold even our highest office accountable to a higher power. In all branches of government you can only be sworn into service by a superior officer. So, when our president and all other elected representatives place their hand on the Word of God and swear to “protect and defend” the Constitution, it is to immortalize and affirm these founding principles, not only to the people they serve, but also to their superior: God. Furthermore, what is the point of the Chaplin opening each congressional session? In the beginning of our country, Congress held their Sunday service in the congressional hall. Not only did they not reject God, they welcomed Him into their chamber. Could it be to follow George Washington’s words at the writing of our Constitution: “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.”
So, Just A Thought: have we as Christians dishonored not only our founders but also allowed this country to fall from “One Nation Under God…” to “One Un-godly Nation”? Are we ever going to stand up as the true majority in this country, “Raise a Standard,” reclaim our heritage and restore God’s blessing?
© 9/2003 Scott A Caughel