Hi to all my Forum Friends,
When our atheist Friend, Robust, posted his discussion titled "The X Commandments" in his futile effort to denigrate God, the Bible, and all Christians, I posted some of the material shown below. Of course, the only sources or web sites which Robust and his atheist cohorts will accept as their sacred texts are the "Liars For Jesus" web site -- with the subtitle: "Help Fight the Scourge of Christian Nationalism" and the extremely liberal Huffington Post.
To counter the comments posted by fellow atheists/secularists in support of Robust's discussion, I posted the discussion titled "Did The Continental Congress Fund 20,000 Bibles?" And, of course, our atheist and other non-believing Friends replied with retorts taken from their sacred texts -- Liars For Jesus and Huffington Post.
Secularist, atheists, liberals, and those vanilla-flavored non-believers who want to deny God -- will fight tooth and nail to either totally deny God -- or to deny the historicity of the book of Genesis. If these folks can convince you that Genesis is not a history book; but, instead, is just a book of myths, allegories, metaphors, and feel good stories to read to children in Sunday School -- they have gained in their attempt to destroyed our Christian faith.
If Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" is not true -- then, how can we trust any of the Bible to be true? If John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" is not true -- then, how can Christianity be true? Do you see how the enemies of God will attack the foundation -- for, if the foundation can be weakened or destroyed -- how can the home stand? And, that, in a nutshell, is the goal of the secular/atheist world.
And, then, we do have Christian Friends who prefer to compromise and be in agreement with non-believers, with the world -- rather than make the effort to defend our faith. If I, or any other Christian, have a misconception regarding our faith, and I know it is a misconception -- I will not attempt to defend it against detractors. However, when I know and/or have very strong reason to believe -- I will defend our faith. I will not compromise our faith, just to be friends with or to ease the conscience of atheists, secularists, non-believers, or liberals.
You and I know that the Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired (man written, from the mind of God), Holy Spirit inerrant (God does not make mistakes), literal (God says what He means, and He means what He says) Written Word of God.
And, as Christian Americans, it is imperative that we stand up and defend our faith in the founding of our Christian nation -- for over 200 years the "beacon on the hill" for a hurting world. Therefore, I present these excerpts shown below from the Library of Congress web site, as well as from the Wheaton College Archives, Koinonia Christian Ministries, and Probe Ministries web sites.
This post may be a wee bit long; but, is your Christian faith worth the effort? Yes, you can sluff it off or delete it -- playing into the hands of those secularists and atheists who do not want you to know the truth of America's Christian heritage. Or, you can read and archive this information so that the next time -- and it will happen unless you lock yourself in a closet -- an atheist, secularist, or just a plain old vanilla-flavored non-believer tells you America is not, and never was, a Christian nation -- you can show them the truth.
Most likely they will ignore it and you -- but, you have done your duty for God and country. If they ignore you or attempt to argue with you -- it is their loss.
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS -- Religion & Philosophy
http://www.loc.gov/topics/content.php?cat=8
VI. RELIGION AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html
In response to widespread sentiment that to survive the United States needed a stronger federal government, a convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 and on September 17 adopted the Constitution of the United States. Aside from Article VI, which stated that "no religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification" for federal office holders, the Constitution said little about religion. Its reserve troubled two groups of Americans -- those who wanted the new instrument of government to give faith a larger role -- and those who feared that it would do so.
This latter group, worried that the Constitution did not prohibit the kind of state supported religion that had flourished in some colonies, exerted pressure on the members of the First Federal Congress. In September 1789 the Congress adopted the First Amendment to the Constitution, which, when ratified by the required number of states in December 1791, forbade Congress to make any law "respecting an establishment of religion."
The first two Presidents of the United States were patrons of religion -- George Washington was an Episcopal vestryman, and John Adams described himself as "a church going animal." Both offered strong rhetorical support for religion. In his Farewell Address of September 1796, Washington called religion, as the source of morality, "a necessary spring of popular government," while Adams claimed that statesmen "may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand."
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the third and fourth Presidents, are generally considered less hospitable to religion than their predecessors, but evidence presented in this section shows that, while in office, both offered religion powerful symbolic support.
RELIGION AND THE CONSTITUTION
When the Constitution was submitted to the American public, "many pious people" complained that the document had slighted God, for it contained "no recognition of His mercies to us . . . or even of His existence." The Constitution was reticent about religion for two reasons: first, many delegates were committed federalists, who believed that the power to legislate on religion, if it existed at all, lay within the domain of the state, not the national, governments; second, the delegates believed that it would be a tactical mistake to introduce such a politically controversial issue as religion into the Constitution.
The only "religious clause" in the document -- the proscription of religious tests as qualifications for federal office in Article Six -- was intended to defuse controversy by disarming potential critics who might claim religious discrimination in eligibility for public office.
That religion was not otherwise addressed in the Constitution did not make it an "irreligious" document any more than the Articles of Confederation was an "irreligious" document. The Constitution dealt with the church precisely as the Articles had, thereby maintaining, at the national level, the religious status quo. In neither document did the people yield any explicit power to act in the field of religion. But the absence of expressed powers did not prevent either the Continental-Confederation Congress or the Congress under the Constitution from sponsoring a program to support general, nonsectarian religion.
RELIGION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS
Many Americans were disappointed that the Constitution did not contain a bill of rights that would explicitly enumerate the rights of American citizens and enable courts and public opinion to protect these rights from an oppressive government. Supporters of a bill of rights permitted the Constitution to be adopted with the understanding that the first Congress under the new government would attempt to add a bill of rights.
James Madison took the lead in steering such a bill through the First Federal Congress, which convened in the spring of 1789. The Virginia Ratifying Convention and Madison's constituents, among whom were large numbers of Baptists who wanted freedom of religion secured, expected him to push for a bill of rights. On September 28, 1789, both houses of Congress voted to send twelve amendments to the states. In December 1791, those ratified by the requisite three fourths of the states became the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Religion was addressed in the First Amendment in the following familiar words: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In notes for his June 8, 1789, speech introducing the Bill of Rights, Madison indicated his opposition to a "national" religion. Most Americans agreed that the federal government must not pick out one religion and give it exclusive financial and legal support.
THE RHETORICAL SUPPORT OF RELIGION: WASHINGTON AND ADAMS
The country's first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, were firm believers in the importance of religion for republican government. As citizens of Virginia and Massachusetts, both were sympathetic to general religious taxes being paid by the citizens of their respective states to the churches of their choice. However both statesmen would have discouraged such a measure at the national level because of its divisiveness. They confined themselves to promoting religion rhetorically, offering frequent testimonials to its importance in building the moral character of American citizens, that, they believed, undergirded public order and successful popular government.
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THE STATE BECOMES THE CHURCH: JEFFERSON AND MADISON
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html
It is no exaggeration to say that on Sundays in Washington during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and of James Madison (1809-1817) the state became the church. Within a year of his inauguration, Jefferson began attending church services in the House of Representatives. Madison followed Jefferson's example, although unlike Jefferson, who rode on horseback to church in the Capitol, Madison came in a coach and four.
Worship services in the House -- a practice that continued until after the Civil War -- were acceptable to Jefferson because they were nondiscriminatory and voluntary. Preachers of every Protestant denomination appeared. Catholic priests began officiating in 1826. As early as January 1806 a female evangelist, Dorothy Ripley, delivered a camp meeting-style exhortation in the House to Jefferson, Vice President Aaron Burr, and a "crowded audience." Throughout his administration Jefferson permitted church services in executive branch buildings. The Gospel was also preached in the Supreme Court chambers.
Jefferson's actions may seem surprising because his attitude toward the relation between religion and government is usually thought to have been embodied in his recommendation that there exist "a wall of separation between church and state." In that statement, Jefferson was apparently declaring his opposition, as Madison had done in introducing the Bill of Rights, to a "national" religion. In attending church services on public property, Jefferson and Madison consciously and deliberately were offering symbolic support to religion as a prop for republican government.
The Old House of Representatives
Church services were held in what is now called Statuary Hall from 1807 to 1857. The first services in the Capitol, held when the government moved to Washington in the fall of 1800, were conducted in the "hall" of the House in the north wing of the building. In 1801 the House moved to temporary quarters in the south wing, called the "Oven," which it vacated in 1804, returning to the north wing for three years. Services were conducted in the House until after the Civil War. The Speaker's podium was used as the preacher's pulpit.
A Millennialist Sermon Preached in Congress
A Sermon on the Second Coming of Christ, and on the Last Judgment. A Millennialist Sermon Preached in Congress. This sermon on the millennium was preached by the Baltimore Swedenborgian minister, John Hargrove (1750-1839) in the House of Representatives. One of the earliest millennialist sermons preached before Congress was offered on July 4, 1801, by the Reverend David Austin (1759-1831), who at the time considered himself "struck in prophesy under the style of the Joshua of the American Temple."
Having proclaimed to his Congressional audience the imminence of the Second Coming of Christ, Austin took up a collection on the floor of the House to support services at "Lady Washington's Chapel" in a nearby hotel where he was teaching that "the seed of the Millennial estate is found in the backbone of the American Revolution."
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The First English Language Bible Published In North America
Library of Congress Bible Collection
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/B...dinNorthAmerica.aspx
The war with Britain cut off the supply of Bibles to the American colonies with the result that Congress instructed its Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from “Scotland, Holland, or elsewhere.”
On January 21, 1781, Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken (1734–1802) petitioned Congress to officially sanction a publication of the Old and New Testament that he was preparing at his own expense. Congress passed a resolution endorsing Aitken’s Bible.
The first Bible printed in the English language in America. Called “The Bible of the Revolution,” Robert Aitken’s little Bible was small enough to fit into the coat pocket of the Revolutionary War soldiers. This Bible measures 7.25" tall by 4.75" wide by 1.5" thick. The only Bible printing ever called for by an act of the United States Congress; this King James Version Bible helped meet the need for scriptures while England refused to allow their Bibles to be imported by the rebellious colonists, during the embargo of the Revolutionary War.
As a curious side note: Robert Aitken’s daughter, Jane Aitken, went on to become the first woman in the history of the world to ever print a Bible. Jane published a translation into English done by the Secretary of the United States Congress, which was itself actually the first non-King James version English language Bible ever printed in America (or the Western Hemisphere for that matter).
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1782 Robert Aitken Bible -- The Bible of the Revolutionary War Patriots
The Bible Commissioned By The United States Congress
http://www.vendio.com/stores/K...le-facsi/lid=6942593
History behind The Aitken Bible and the Commissioning of this volume by the United States Congress:
As long as the United States remained under British rule, the British government forbade the printing of Bibles in America. When the Colonies declared their independence, the importation of Bibles became restricted and by 1777 there was a severe shortage of Bibles in America. On September 11, 1777, this shortage of Bibles was brought to the attention of the Continental Congress by its chaplain, Dr. Patrick Allison.
He said in his report that Bibles were urgently needed because, “the use of the Bible is so universal and its importance so great” and on Dr. Allison’s advice, Congress passed a resolution to make every attempt to import 20,000 Bibles in English “from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different parts of the Union.” The importation of Bibles soon proved to be nearly impossible and the Continental Congress had to search for another alternative to supply the population with their most important book.
On January 21, 1781, the noted colonial printer Robert Aitken petitioned Congress for both sanction and support for the production of a complete Bible for the American people and a committee was immediately formed to determine if Aitken were qualified to produce a book of such significance.
Aitken’s impressive credentials (he had, among other things, been the publisher of the Journals of Congress for the first Congress and published numerous articles by Thomas Paine) convinced the committee and on September 10, 1782, a Congressional Resolution was adopted granting Aitken permission and financial support for the printing of the first edition of the first American Bible.
George Washington, one of the greatest supporters of the Aitken Bible, was so pleased with the result that he regretted that the Revolutionary troops had been disbanded before he could provide them with such an appropriate symbol of his gratitude. Writing to a friend, Washington lamented, "It would have pleased me well, if Congress had been pleased to make such an important present (a copy of the Aitken Bible) to the brave fellows, who have done so much for the security of their Country's rights and establishment."
The printing of the new Bible marked a significant moment in the history of the United States. More American versions of the Bible soon followed and, no longer subject to British editions of the Bible, the United States was, for the first time, able to fully express the freedom of religion held so dearly by the population. The Aitken Bible was championed by the people and symbolized a dramatic release from British, and indeed government control, over their right and ability to worship.
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A Revolutionary Bible…
Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections
By David Malone | February 25, 2011
http://recollections.liblog.wh...revolutionary-bible/
The early history of publishing English bibles in America was not one of success as a monopoly existed in England and that control extended to her colonies. The “crown” would not allow that monopoly to be breached by giving permission for bibles to be printed in the colonies. In the colonial period bibles were shipped from Holland and England. However, when the war for independence began embargoes began and bibles were one commodity that fell into short supply.
In 1777 the chaplain of the Continental Congress, Patrick Allison, asked its leadership to address this great shortage. In response Congress passed a resolution to import bibles from wherever they could be obtained, “from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere,” however nothing was ever done.
This failure of action spurred on the work Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken. This Quaker native of Scotland had only been in the colonies since 1769. He was the publisher of the Philadelphia Magazine along with Benjamin Franklin’s son-in-law Richard Bache. It was Aitken that the newly formed Congress engaged to publish its journals and proceedings.
During the war resources were scarce, but Aitken took it upon himself to gather the resources necessary to produce a small “duodecimo” New Testament. Due to the great demand the 1777 volume was reprinted in 1778, 1779 and 1781. Seeing the desire the people had for copies of the bible Aitken sought the support of Congress to produce a complete bible.
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THE DECLARATION AND CONSTITUTION: THEIR CHRISTIAN ROOTS
By Kerby Anderson, Probe Ministries
http://www.probe.org/site/c.fd..._Christian_Roots.htm
The Declaration of Independence:
Many are unaware of the writings and documents that preceded these great works and the influence of biblical ideas in their formation. In the first two sections of this article, I would like to examine the Declaration of Independence. Following this, we'll look at the Constitution.
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution to the Continental Congress calling for a formal declaration of independence. However, even at that late date, there was significant opposition to the resolution. So, Congress recessed for three weeks to allow delegates to return home and discuss the proposition with their constituents while a committee was appointed to xpress the Congressional sentiments. The task of composing the Declaration fell to Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson's initial draft left God out of the manuscript entirely except for a vague reference to "the laws of nature and of nature's God." Yet, even this phrase makes an implicit reference to the laws of God.
The phrase "laws of nature" had a fixed meaning in 18th century England and America. It was a direct reference to the laws of God in a created order as described in John Locke's "Second Treatise on Civil Government" and William Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England."
Locke explained that the "law of nature" is God's general revelation of law in creation -- which God also supernaturally writes on the hearts of men. Locke drew the idea from the New Testament in Romans 1 and 2. In contrast, he spoke of the "law of God" or the "positive law of God" as God's eternal moral law specially revealed and published in Scripture. (Gary Amos, Defending the Declaration)
What Jefferson was content to leave implicit, however, was made more explicit by the other members of the committee. They changed the language to read that all men are "endowed by their Creator" with these rights.
The Constitution:
The influence of the Bible on the Constitution was profound but often not appreciated by secular historians and political theorists. Two decades ago, Constitutional scholars and political historians (including one of my professors at Georgetown University) assembled 15,000 writings from the Founding Era (1760-1805). They counted 3154 citations in these writings, and found that the book most frequently cited in that literature was the Bible. The writers from the Foundering Era quoted from the Bible 34 percent of the time. Even more interesting was that about three-fourths of all references to the Bible came from reprinted sermons from that era. (Gary Amos, Defending the Declaration)
Professor M.E. Bradford shows in his book, "A Worthy Company," that fifty of the fifty-five men who signed the Constitution were church members who endorsed the Christian faith. (M.E. Bradford, A Worthy Company: Brief Lives of the Framers of the United States Constitution)
The Bible and biblical principles were important in the framing of the Constitution. In particular, the framers started with a biblical view of human nature. James Madison argued in Federalist #51 that government must be based upon a realistic view of human nature.
James Madison's solution to governmental tyranny includes both federalism as well as the separation of powers. Federalism can be found at the very heart of the United States Constitution. In fact, without federalism, there was no practical reason for the framers to abandon the Articles of Confederation and draft the Constitution.
Federalism comes from foedus, Latin for covenant. "The tribes of Israel shared a covenant that made them a nation. American federalism originated at least in part in the dissenting Protestants' familiarity with the Bible." (Donald S. Lutz, The Origins of American Constitutionalism)
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These excerpts, and their associated web sites, should lay to rest any question regarding the Christian origin of America, our founding fathers, and our founding documents. America was founded as a Christian nation -- the "Beacon Light On The Hill" for all the world. And, in spite of all the efforts of secularist, atheists, liberals, and all others who are determined to remove God and the Bible from America and our heritage -- America was formed as a Christian nation -- and America is still a Christian nation.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill