The American tragedy

Hal Lindsey

The American tragedy

Posted: August 28, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

The controversy in Alabama over the display of the Ten Commandments in one of its courthouses has brought to light a deep schism in the very moral fabric of the American people.

The schism has been growing for some time. But this incident served to bring out into the open the rapidly accelerating departure from the morals and convictions of our founding fathers.

Little is known among our current generations of the conditions that drove our country's founders to take such terrible risks in order to flee the tyrannical governments of Europe. Nor do we understand the passions that drove them to sacrifice all to establish a new kind of nation – a nation founded on the proposition that only God can grant life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not government.

Above all, most of the original founders of this nation were not fleeing from religion. They were almost all Christian. And even those who were not were God-fearing people with a respect for the Bible as God's Word.

What they were fleeing was a state mandated denomination of Christianity. This was at the core of why the First Amendment was written, which says, "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."

When they wrote, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," they meant that the Congress should not establish the Catholics, the Baptists, the Presbyterians or the Episcopalians, etc., as the official State religion. Under no circumstances did they have in mind barring public expression of these various Christian religions. They most assuredly did not mean that quotes from the Bible should be excluded from all government buildings.

They had all seen the tyranny of state-mandated religion, and wanted to worship God as their consciences dictated. But they never meant to exclude public expressions of faith in God. That was a completely abnormal thought to them.

Now, lest you think I am pulling all of this out of the air, just read some of the quotes of our founders:

It is rightly impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible … Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.

– First U.S. president, George Washington

If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.

– William Penn, a contributor to the Constitution

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.

– John Adams, 1798

These statements clearly reveal the convictions of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, which begins:

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.

Men who participated in the founding of this country made the following observations:

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.

– Benjamin Franklin

Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis – a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? … My views are the result of a lifetime of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others ...

– Thomas Jefferson

(It is most important to note that these are the words of the man today's liberals claim established "the wall of separation" between church and state. These words put the lie to such assertions.)

One of the greatest patriots among the U.S. founders was Patrick Henry. He made it clear which religion the U.S. founders believed: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians ... Our country was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

They all warned future Americans of the danger of forsaking the precepts on which our great nation was founded:

While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.

– Samuel Adams

You can't have national morality apart from religious principle.

– George Washington

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.

– John Adams

(This is being proven in our day. We can't build prisons fast enough to contain the lawless.)

God intends you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God ... If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupt.

– Daniel Webster

(Do I hear Bill Clinton's name?)

In view of these statements, did the framers of our Constitution intend to grant the government the right to bar public expressions of the Judeo-Christian faith from public places and government buildings? Let one of the main authors of the Constitution, James Madison, answer that: "No power over the freedom of religion is delegated to the United States by the Constitution."

One of the main reasons for the progressive moral disintegration of our country is because the citizens have not carefully watched over what is taught in our public schools. Our history has been completely revised and rewritten. Abraham Lincoln warned of the consequences of this: "The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government of the next."

So did Benjamin Rush: "Let the children ... be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education. The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating [removing] Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools.

The Bible records the tragedy that befell Israel when she forsook her God. I strongly believe that America is on the same road to destruction unless there is a major repentance among our people. Wake up Church, it is your cue to do what Jesus Christ called you to do.

Hal Lindsey is the best-selling non-fiction writer alive today. Among his 20 books are "Late Great Planet Earth," his follow-up on that explosive best seller, Planet Earth: The Final Chapter," and "Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad." He writes this weekly column exclusively for WorldNetDaily. Be sure to visit his website, where he provides up-to-the-minute analysis of today's world events in the light of ancient prophecies.

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