Question 6

WAS AMERICA FOUNDED as a CHRISTIAN NATION?

The question of our Biblical origins has been bandied around in

intellectual circles for many years, especially now that there is a

renewed Christian involvement in the culture of AMerica.

The major hurdle

in answering the question is to define terms properly. The concept of a

Christian nation is often written off because of misconceptions as to

what this means. A Christian nation is not one in which al people in a

society are all Christians, just as in an Islamic country, not all

people are necessarily Moslems. But in a Christian nation, as our

Founders would have defined it, the principles and institutional

foundations are Biblically based and the people in general share a

Biblical world-view.

Nor should we confuse the term "Christian Nation" with a "Christian

state." since the word state refers to a political body or the body

politic of the nation, the term "Christian state" would mean one in

which the government ruled in religious matters through a state church.

This would, of course, preclude religious liberty.

All Laws Are a Codification of a Religious System

Nevertheless, it is imperative to understand that all laws of a nation

are the codification of a presuppositional world-view, i.e., the laws of

the Untied States have presupposed form the beginning that the Bible was

the foundation of our system. Rev. John Wingate Thornton said:

"The highest glory of the American Revolution, said John Quincy

Adams, was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond, the

principles of civil government with the PRINCIPLES OF

CHRISTIANITY."

Rev. Thorton's words condense and paraphrase comments Adams made in a

July 4, 1837 oration, which are even more powerful in their full

statement:

"Is it not that, in the chain of events, the birthday of the nation

is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Saviour? That it

forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation?

Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the

social compact on the foundation of the Redeemers's mission? That

it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts

of Christianity and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge

of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven

at the birth of the Saviour and predicted by the greatest of the

Hebrew prophets 600 years before?"

Such convictions as these concerning the Christian foundations of

our government persisted into comparatively recent times. John W.

Whitehead analyzes the Supreme Court's historic understanding of the

relationship between Christianity and government in the United States:

"In 1892 the United States Supreme Court made an exhaustive study

of the supposed connection between Christianity and the government

of the United States.

After researching hundreds volumes of

historical documents, the Court asserted 'these references add a

volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances

that this is a religious people...a Christian nation.' Likewise in

1931, Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland reversed the 1892

decision in relation to another case and reiterated that Americans

are a 'Christian people' and in 1952 Justice William O. Douglas

affirmed 'we are a religious people and our institutions presuppose

a Supreme Being.'"

Christianity the Dominant Influence in America

America was under the dominant influence of Biblical Christianity from

1620 until well into the nineteenth century. There are many who, in

their desire to lay claim to the great accomplishments of that era, have

tried to minimize the Christian influence and take the credit for

themselves. But only God deserves the glory for what He did in the

founding of this great nation.

People from many denominations came to America in the early years, but

the vast majority of them shared a common faith in the basic tenets of

Christianity. Whitehead's research reveals that

"when the Constitution was adopted and sent to the States for

ratification, the population of America numbered only about 3 1/4

million. The Christian population numbered at least 2 million.

James c. Hefley has commented that about 900,00 were Scotch or

Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, with another million also holding to

basic Calvanistic beliefs."

Christian Nation in Apostasy

It must be admitted that today, although we are still essentially a

Christian nation in form (i.e., the Constitutional, legal structure,

church affiliation), we are not one in conduct. For the first 250 years

of our existence Christian character determined the conduct of

self-government in homes, churches, and civil society. But today we have

forgotten our heritage and only the skeleton remains. Even so, deep

within the American character there lingers a Christian conscience ready

to be revived by the spirit of God through awakened american Christian

patriots.

It should be noted that by stating that America was a Christian nation

we are not saying that we were the "New Israel" or a special race that

God must bless. Quite the contrary, God Blessed America because our

forefathers built their nation with reliance on Him and His Word, and

because God had a Gospel purpose for our nation. If we turn from His

purpose we can expect His judgement, perhaps greater judgement than

other nations because "to whom much is given, much is required."

Every nation can be a nation under God if it chooses to follow Jesus

Christ. Our history is unique in that we were allowed to express the

full flower of Christian civilization and government. This fact should

give us cause to ponder the price we have paid for the maintenance of

our Christian liberty. Will we be the generation that presides over its

death?

*** SEE QUESTION #7 ***


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