In Honor of Independence Day
Let us thank God
for his blessings to us
in this nation.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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 ….– The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
*****
First Amendment to the Constitution: 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.
*****
“If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by Him. Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.” – William Penn, 1681
“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” – Samuel Adams, 1749
“I desire to bless and praise the name of God most high for appointing me my birth in a land of Gospel Light where the glorious tidings of a Savior and of pardon and salvation through Him have been continually sounding in mine ears.” – Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1749
“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 (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.” – Charles Carroll, U.S. Senator for Maryland and longest-lived signer of the Declaration of Independence and member of the Continental Congress
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, and active, the brave. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death." – Patrick Henry, 1775
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." – Patrick Henry, 1776
"There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire." – John Witherspoon, 1776, signer of the Declaration of Independence (only clergyman to do so)
“There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish… [T]he most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.” – Gouverneur Morris, signer of the Constitution
“I have been alternately called an aristocrat and a democrat. I am now neither. I am a Christocrat. I believe all power … will always fail of producing order and happiness in the hands of man. He alone Who created and redeemed man is qualified to govern him.” – Dr. Benjamin Rush, “Surgeon General” of the Continental Army, signer of the Declaration of Independence
“… can the LIBERTIES of the nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a CONVICTION in the minds of the people that these liberties are the GIFT OF GOD? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?” – Thomas Jefferson, 1781
"The interposition of Divine Providence in our Favour hath been most abundantly and most graciously manifested, and the Citizens of these United States have every Reason for Praise and Gratitude to the God of their Salvation."– John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1783
"The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man: and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate." – James Madison, 1785
“ … God GOVERNS in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice is it probable that an EMPIRE can rise without His AID?” – Benjamin Franklin, 1787
“We can only depend on the all powerful influence of the Spirit of God, Whose Divine aid and assistance it becomes us as a Christian people most devoutly to implore. Therefore, I move that some minister of the Gospel be requested to attend this Congress every morning ... in order to open the meeting with prayer.” – Elias Boudinot, delegate to the Continental Congress
“It is the DUTY of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to OBEY His will, to be GRATEFUL for His benefits, and humbly to IMPLORE His protection and favor.” – George Washington, October 3, 1789
"Of all the habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would men claim the tributes of patriotism who would work to destroy these great pillars of human happiness.” – George Washington, in his final address to Congress, 1796
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." – George Washington
“… except the BIBLE there is not a TRUE HISTORY in the world.” – John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, February 28, 1797
“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.” – John Jay
"[T]he only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments." – Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1798
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." – Benjamin Franklin
“Our CONSTITUTION was made only for a MORAL and RELIGIOUS people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” – John Adams, October 11, 1798
"It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble acknowledged dependence upon God and his overruling Providence." – John Adams
"It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains." – Patrick Henry
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have .... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." – Thomas Jefferson
“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of the laborer the bread he has earned. This is the sum of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson
“If we wish to make democracy permanent in this country let us abide by the fundamental principles laid down in the Constitution. Let us see that the state is the servant of its people and that the people are not the servants of the state.” – Thomas Jefferson
"Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises." – Thomas Jefferson (letter to Samuel Miller, 1808)
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions ... upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” – James Madison
“I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law …. There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as laying its foundations.” – Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, Harvard Speech, 1829
"Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must nevertheless be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free institutions ... Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.” – Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835
“The atonement of Jesus Christ is the only remedy and rest for my soul.” – Martin Van Buren, 1860
“INTOXICATED with unbroken success, we have become too SELF-SUFFICIENT to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too PROUD to pray to the God that made us!” – Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863
“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 that body 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.” – President James A Garfield (an ordained minister of the Gospel)
“Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian …. This is a Christian nation.” Supreme Court Justice David J. Brewer, Church of the Holy Trinity v. The United States, 1892
“Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our fathers, who has so singularly favored the American people in every national trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments and walk humbly in His footsteps.” – William McKinley, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1897
“We are a Christian people, according to one another the equal right of religious freedom, and acknowledging with reverence the duty of obedience to the will of God." – Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland, U.S. v. Macintosh, 1931
“The fundamental basis of this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from (biblical) teachings …. If we don’t have the proper fundamental moral background, we will finally wind up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the state.” – Harry Truman
"We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being …. When the state encourages religious instruction ... it follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people and accommodates the public service to their spiritual needs …. To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe. We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion.... We cannot read into the Bill of Rights such a philosophy of hostility to religion." – Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, Zorach v. Clauson, 1952
“The purpose of a devout and united people was set forth in the pages of the Bible ... 1. to live in freedom; 2. to work in a prosperous land ...; and 3. to obey the commandments of God .... This Biblical story of the Promised Land inspired the founders of America. It continues to inspire us." – Dwight Eisenhower, 1954
“Without God, there could be no form of government nor American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first – and most basic – expression of Americanism.” – Dwight Eisenhower
“And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ … I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! … I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.’" – Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what is was once like in the United States where men were free." – Ronald Reagan, January 5, 1967
“For the West, for America, the time has come to dare to show the world that our civilized ideas, our traditions, our values, are not – like the ideology of and war machine of totalitarian societies – just a façade of strength. It is time for the world to know that our intellectual and spiritual values are rooted in the source of all strength, a belief in a Supreme Being, and a law higher than our own.” – Ronald Reagan, 1981
“To those who would crush religious freedom, our message is plain; you may jail your believers. You may close their churches, confiscate their Bibles, and harass their rabbis and priests, but you will never destroy the love of God and freedom that burns in their hearts. They will triumph over you.” – Ronald Reagan, 1983
*****
“My kingdom is not of this world.” – Jesus Christ