America's Foundation

What Founders had to say about the Bible:
o "The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God.... Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts." John Jay (1784)
o "Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God." Gouverneur Morris (1791)
o "[W]here is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths...?" George Washington (1796)
o "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams (1798)
o "[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." Benjamin Rush (1806)

52 of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were orthodox, deeply committed Christians? The other three believed in the Bible as the divine truth, in the God of Scripture, in His personal intervention. Of the fifty-six signers: 17 lost their fortunes, 12 had their homes destroyed, 9 fought and died, 5 were arrested as traitors, and 2 lost sons in the War.

Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of the Scripture for the people of this nation.
Blackstone's Commentaries of Laws of England, Charles Finney's Gospel Revival, & "another gospel"--Liberation Theology Social Justice - ...Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England had a great influence on America's founders. ...Blackstone drew upon a long tradition of earlier documents highlighting Creator-given rights, which eventually crystallized into America's Declaration of Independence.
   ...GOVERNMENT has the shortest command, namely, protect the innocent and punish the guilty. There is no Biblical command for government to help the poor, take care of the sick, dispense healthcare, operate schools, provide jobs, or other entitlements. Many churches have neglected responsibilities only to have government usurp them. Just because something needs to be done does not mean it is the governments job to do it.
   ...[Primary author of the U.S. Constitution] James Madison explained to Congress, 1794: "The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects ...Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government."
   ...Davy Crockett served 3 terms in the U.S. Congress between 1827 and 1835, before dying at the Texas Alamo. When Congress was debating whether to use taxes collected from citizens to redistribute to someone in need, Davy Crockett gave a speech "Not Yours to Give": "Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member on this floor knows it. We have the right as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money, as charity ... The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man ... Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."
   ...President Grover Cleveland opposed Federal welfare, vetoing of the Texas Seed Bill in 1887: "Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character."
   ...Charles Finney warned:
"If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree.
If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it.
If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it.
If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it.
If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it.
If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it.
... If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation."
   ...Charles Finney: "Do not suppose, now, that I am going to preach a political sermon, or that I wish to have you join and get up a Christian party in politics. No, I do not believe in that. But the time has come that Christians must vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics, or the Lord will curse them ..."
Patrick Henry is still remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or give me death." But in current textbooks the context of these words are deleted. Here is what he actually said:

"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, is life so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."

These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. The following year, 1776, Henry wrote this: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded the freedom of worship here."

Consider these words Thomas Jefferson wrote in the front of his well worn Bible: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator." Jefferson was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most important role.

On July 4, 1821, President John Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of government with the principles of Christianity."

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President, reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically in our country."