Discovering America’s Christian Heritage
Part 15 – Proof of Religious Foundation (1)
Foundation Scripture:
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
As we begin this part of the series what I want you to think about is just how far from our roots we have gone. Then you have to think about what will happen to America if we forget where we came from and what it was that elevated America to the greatest nation this world has ever seen. That greatness gave the American people freedoms that no nation has ever enjoyed. Prosperity that no nation has ever enjoyed. And all of that was made available to anyone who was willing to work hard enough for it. The character that developed that attitude was grounded in the nations prevailing religion, Christianity.
Many people will dispute the depth of religious faith that I will speak about here, but the evidence is literally carved in stone in every public building in Washington D.C. I have personally seen many of the buildings, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and many others and our religious heritage is engraved in every one of them.
In the Capitol Building you will see religious art, symbolism and statues. On the second floor rotunda there are 8 paintings that are 14’X20’ depicting major events in the history of America. In the paintings about exploration and colonization there is a painting of Columbus in 1492 and the service they held when they first landed. There is a painting of Desoto when he discovered the Mississippi river. A painting of Pocahontas being baptized and a painting of the pilgrims praying before leaving Holland to come to America. In these four paintings there are two prayer meetings and one baptism. Not exactly what atheists would want to display in public buildings. These paintings were commissioned by Congress to accurately depict the heritage of America. As each painting was commissioned and displayed Congress would comment on the importance of each one. The painting of Pocahontas was accompanied by a declaration that it was important to know the Christian heritage of America.
The painting of the pilgrims shows an open Bible, the Geneva Bible (considered the Bible of civil liberty in America), with words big enough to read and it is open to the start of the New Testament and you can easily read the words ‘The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’. This particular Bible was important to them because they were emerging from the Dark Ages when the common person was not allowed to read the Bible. It had been deemed too holy for the common man. It was with this Bible that they learned it was their right to own property, they learned the proper method of taxation, the different branches of government and the powers that each should have and every other foundation stones that our government was built on. It was the basis for the 17 grievances that was listed in the Declaration of Independence. This Bible was not allowed in most of Europe because it was not the ‘authorized’ government version. It had commentaries were anti-autocratic and caused the people to question the full authority of the king or the monarchy. The verse that gave us the notion that we should have elected officials, Exodus 18:21 states “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:”. The footnote to this verse says: “What manner of men ought to be chosen to bear office.” This states, without a doubt, that those that rule over us are to be chosen by us, not forced on us. In the days of the pilgrims no nation allowed the people to choose who their rulers were.
When the pilgrims first arrived they had a communal type living arrangement. They shared any crops that were grown, meat that was attained. It was a form of socialism, albeit a voluntary one. But after a couple of years there were those that realized that they didn’t have to work hard to get food. Some became slackers. Then they read in 2 Thessalonians 3: 10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” The footnote in the Geneva Bible states: “[He] which worketh not with his hands, is like a thief.” Understand this was not directed at those that could not work, the cripple or the aged, but at healthy men and women that were just too lazy to work. Today that would cover about 65+% of those on welfare. Then they discovered 1Timothy 5:8 “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This became so successful for them that within a couple of years they were so productive and there was so much efficiency that Jamestown adopted the same philosophy. So many of the things that made America great were philosophies from the Geneva Bible, free enterprise: Ecclesiastes 3:13 “And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” I the nations where the pilgrims came from all your labor was for the benefit of the king or the monarch. They barely made enough to live on. To enjoy the good of all your labor indicated that all their labor was for their own enterprise, not that of the kings. They found that they were to own the land they lived on. God had given Israel the promise land and each individual family owned their own land and could buy and sell the land. In the nations where the pilgrims came from the king or the monarch owned the land and they had no rights that allowed them to own land unless they were of a royal family. So many of the civil liberties enjoyed by Americans originated in the Bible. A resource no other nation used to establish individual liberties.
In the Supreme Court Building you will see that they are doing all they can to remove any religious heritage from the site. Inside the Court room along the walls you will see friezes carved into the walls. You will see Moses standing there holding the 10 Commandments. The tour guide will tell you if asked that Moses is NOT holding the 10 Commandments, but the Bill of Rights. Even thought the Supreme Court has ruled that no copy of the 10 Commandments can be displayed in any public building, when the Court is in session and the main doors are closed the Justices stare at the 10 Commandments that are carved into the back of the main doors of the Court room.
In the National Archives Building where the Declaration of Independence is displayed, the Constitution and all of our national official documents are kept, when you walk in the front doors embedded in the floor are the 10 Commandments, remember those Commandments that are not allowed in any public building? If you read the copy of the treaty with Great Britain you will notice that it starts out with “In the name of the most holy and undivided trinity. Amen!”
Many of the statues that are in the Capitol Building are of the great men of America. One of the statues is of the 20th President, James A Garfield. In a letter he wrote he describes his involvement in a revival, preaching in that revival 19 times, leading 34 people to Christ and baptizing 31 people. What would our nation be like if our president today was a man of God like that?
If you tour the Washington Monument you will find that the Capstone is engraved with “In God We Trust”. If you take the stairs to the top you will see scriptures and opened Bibles carved into the stones that make up the walls.
There is so much of our Christian heritage that is literally carved into stone within our public buildings. We have forgotten that heritage. Our schools are literally not allowed to teach it anymore because of its religious overtones. If we ignore that history, it will be lost. What will you do to keep that history alive?
© Pastor Roger Anghis
