Learning from Our Founders

At our Bible study on Tuesday evenings we will begin studying a book entitled America's Godly Heritage by author David Barton. If you are interested in learning more about our founders and the nation's founding check out the website wallbuilders.com. They have lots of resources and materials. One of the narratives that has gotten lost in the contemporary world is the faith of our founders. Typically we hear about how the founders were mostly deitists and agnostics. But in truth many of the founders were true believers and clearly demonstrate faith in Jesus Christ. The revisionist history nearly cuts out the Christian principles underlying the American Revolution and the founding of the nation.

The Declaration of Independence is one such document that lately has been misquoted. When President Obama refers to our unalianable rights he fails to include the phrase "endowed by our Creator." Why is that? Does he not know the document? Or is a matter of systematic removal from God concerning the founding of nation that occurred? I believe our president has been influenced by what he has learned and now believes regarding our founding. The faith of our founders is no longer emphasized in our institutions of public learning. But that reality does not represent reality. The truth is the founders were extremely religious and spiritually minded men. Several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were ministers. Prayer was very much apart of their meetings before, during and after the Revolution.

I am reading a book entitled Sacred Fire. The authors dispell the myth that George Washington was deist. Their case is based upon 15 years of scholarly research. It reads like an encyclopedia with a narrative twist. Their quotes originate from Washington's writings, what his contemporaries wrote about him along with numerous footnotes relevant to the point that detail that our first president was "a Christian in the traditon of the 18th century Anglican Church." But many Americans have been taught to believe otherwise. Their seminal work is a must read for anyone serious about learning the facts and therefore the truth of George Washington's faith.

Why is this important? One reason is that this secluar whitewash of our founding has led to the many of the problems, societal ills and moral decay we witness in our great nation. We simply must restore the principles, values and moral framework that enabled our founders to form a nation that has reached greatness due to divine Providence. The general principles of the Christian Faith were etched into the foundation of this great nation. The more we restore the intentions of our founders and practice those general principles the sooner our nation will heal. "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34)