Pastor’s E-Pistle

Psalm 33:12    Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. This July 4^th marks 231 years since our Founding Fathers gave us the Declaration of Independence. We continue to be the longest on-going

Constitutional

Republic in the history of the world and we need to understand that blessings such as these are not by chance or accidental. They are blessings of God.

To see the turmoil in other nations, their struggles and multiple revolutions, and yet to see the stability and blessings that we have here in America, we may ask, “How has this been achieved? What was the basis of American Independence?”

John Adams said, “The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity”.

Adams went on to say that in observing the 4th of July, “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”

Preserving American liberty depends first upon our understanding the foundations on which this great country was built and then preserving the principles on which it was founded.  

Woodrow Wilson once declared, “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, or what it is trying to do.”

 

Psalm 44:1

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

And the trouble with America today, is that we stopped listening to our fathers, listening to what they told us God did in their lives long ago.

It was on July 30th (1789) that President George Washington gave his inaugural address, 1/3 of which was dedicated to the direct supplication to God for guidance and strength for our nation. And with that start, God has blessed our nation. But have we forgotten who has blessed us?

Does our country today even resemble what was intended by our Founding Father’s? I believe that it is clear that the Founders intended that these United States would be “One Nation Under God.”

What has happened in our generation? We have told God that we don’t need the Bible, we don’t need the church, we don’t need God in the running of our nation, our schools and sadly even our homes.

We have said that to Him in many ways, however, officially we told God we didn’t need him in 1962 and we have paid the price since then. Let me explain.

In 1962 a simple prayer was the center of a great deal of turmoil.  That prayer said, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.” 

What is significant about that prayer, which only acknowledges God once, and does not even contain the word Jesus, is the fact that on June 25, 1962 in the case, Engel vs. Vitale, the courts declared it to be unconstitutional. Unconstitutional due to the fact that it mentioned God in a public place, this despite the fact that our own Declaration of Independence acknowledges God four separate times. Based on that decision the courts removed prayer from our schools.  

Prayer was removed on the basis of separation between church and state. And to illustrate the atrocity of that decision we must do a little history to see what view our founding fathers had on that subject and how that decision came about. You see our founding fathers did not believe in a separation between the government and Christianity. Let me show you that.

In 1853 a movement was started in which a group petitioned congress for the separation of Christian principles from government, a separation of church and state. For nearly one year the Senate and House Judiciary committees reviewed and studied the petition to see if it would be possible to separate Christian principles from our civil government. Both returned almost identical reports.

This is from the House Judiciary Committee report on March 27, 1854, It said, “Had the (founding fathers), during the revolution, a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle….At the time of the adoption of the constitution and its amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect (denomination).”  

It also said, “In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity…That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”  

Two months later, the House Judiciary Committee added this declaration, “The great vital and conservative element in our system (the thing that holds our system together) is the belief of our people in the pure doctrine and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  

The committees explained that they could not separate these principles of Christianity from the government because it was these principles which made us so successful.

But what about the first amendment someone might ask. Good question. The emphasis of the first amendment which says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” was never to separate Christianity from government, but to keep one single denomination within Christianity from controlling the government.

We all hear the statement of separation of church and state. We need to understand that God never intended it, and our founding fathers didn’t intend it either.

There are many today who believe that separation of Church and state is contained in our constitution, or is an axiom of the Bill of Rights.  In actuality, it came from Thomas Jefferson and its intent was exactly opposite of what it is held to mean today.

In 1801 the Danbury Baptist Association heard a rumor that the Congregationalist denomination was to become the official denomination of the United States. They were alarmed and sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson. He responded with a letter of his own.

It was January 2nd, 1802, and in his letter he told them they didn’t have to worry about one denomination within Christianity taking over the government because, “the First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state.” Here is the origin of the phrase.

His intention is crystal clear. It has nothing to do with a separation of state and Christianity, but state and one official denomination within Christianity.  

His letter explained that they need not fear the establishment of an official denomination, and while the wall of separation protected the church from government control, there would always be complete freedom of worship for all orthodox religious practices, for true religious practice would never threaten the purpose of government.  The government would only interfere with religious activity when it was a direct menace to the government or to the overall peace and good order of society.

For nearly a century and a half the clear understanding of the first amendment was the prohibited establishing of a single national denomination, it had nothing to do with a separation of Christianity from government.

As a matter of fact in 1878 in a case called Reynolds vs. the United States, a group tried to take this statement by Jefferson to prove a separation of Christianity and government. In it’s response, the court quoted a lengthy section of the Jefferson letter and used it as a basis to prove that it was permissible to retain Christian values, practices and principles as official policies of the government.

For the next fifteen years Jefferson’s letter was used to prove the inclusion of Christian practice and religion in government. When these debates had been settled the letter went basically unused for the next 75 years until 1947.

In the case of Everson vs. the Board of Education the court, for the first time, did not sight Jefferson’s letter in its entirety but instead they selected eight words from the Jefferson letter, “a wall of separation between church and state” and then declared that wall must be kept high and impregnable, and used it, for the first time, against Christianity.  

It became a precedent that would continue and gain momentum. It would soon become common thought that “separation of Church and State” applied to any religious activity.

Following this 1947 decision, the courts began to often use that phrase, separation of church and state, and applying it totally out of context.  It got so bad that in 1958 in a case called Baer vs. Kolmorgen a dissenting judge warned that continuing to talk about the “Separation of church and state” would make people think it was part of the constitution.   Despite the warning, the courts continued to use the phrase until June 25, 1962 in the case, Engel vs. Vitale when based on the misrepresentation of that phrase, the court for the first time separated Christian principles from education when it struck down prayer in schools.  

In that one case in 1962 the courts redefined the definition of the word “Church.” For 170 years before, the word “church” as used in “Separation of Church and State” had been clearly defined by

Jefferson and by all following courts to be a federally established denomination, and no more.  In this case in 1962 they redefined church to include any religious activity performed in public. This was the turning point in the interpretation of the first amendment. And I believe, with all my heart, the turning point in our nation. It was on that day that we as a nation, for the first time, officially told God, we do not want you in our schools, in our nation, in our government, in our lives. It was on that day that we decided to become “one Nation out from under God.”   

School prayer was the first casualty of this new definition and decision. Within twelve months, this same court removed Bible reading and any religious classes or instructions. The Ten Commandments and beatitudes soon came down. And we’re paying the price today. 

The question is this, what does a nation look like after it has been out from under God for 45 years?  To answer that question, I want us to consider the little prayer that was at the center of the controversy. It says, “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”  It asked for God’s blessing upon: Youth,Families,Educationand our Nation. 

And what has happened in those four areas since the removal of prayer in 1962.

1                    The evidence in the lives of our Youth.  

For decades prior to 1962 teenage pregnancy had remained relatively stable, yet in every year following the courts decisions in 1962-63 unwed teenage pregnancy has gone up. In girls under 14 it has gone up 553%. This graphic display is repeated in every single morally measurable statistic.

Sexually transmitted diseases were extremely uncommon and rare. Following 1962 they have shot up over 220%.

Pre-marital sex had even been declining before the removal of religious teachings, yet following 1962 they have risen 271%. For 15 year olds, since that time it has risen over 1000%.

In every measurable moral area, the level of participation in sin has increased dramatically since 1962.

You say well, aren’t there other influences and factors. Certainly there are – television, cultural changes, the transient nature of our families. But where do they find their roots? Why did these other factors present themselves in 1962 instead of 52 or 42 or 32. Dt. 5:29 says,  “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”

Have our children suffered since prayer was removed? The answer is yes they have, in every single measurable moral issue. I believe we see in our youth today the evidence of what a nation looks like when it is out from under God.

2          The Evidence in our families.  

What has been the result in our families since that prayer was removed?

Divorce had been declining every year since 1948, but when we told God, we don’t want you here, beginning in 1963, for the first time the divorce rate began to climb again until it has risen over 120%.

The U.S. is now #1 in the world in the area of divorce.

Single parent families, which I myself am a product of have risen over 140%. 1/3 of all babies (33%) are now born out of wedlock. Prior to 1962 that number was around 4%.

And the amazing thing is that each of these statistics was stable or declining prior to the courts removal of religious teaching from our systems. Since that time, every single moral sin has risen.

1 Samuel 12:15 ”But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you.”

3          The evidence in our schools.  

What has happened since that prayer was removed. In deciding that, let’s consider what education was like when our nation was founded.  The New England Primer was the first textbook ever printed in

America. It was introduced in

Boston in 1690, and for the next 210 years it was THE textbook in our schools. If you went to school in

America, you learned to read from the New England Primer.

Now it was a very simple book that taught alphabet, and after the alphabet was learned it went back and attached sentences to those letters to be memorized. Listen to the phrases that were memorized in our schools for over 200 years.

A - A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

B - Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith

C - Come unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden and He will give you rest.

D - Do not the abominable thing which I hate saith the Lord.

And on it goes verse after verse. And note that every one of these phrases is a bible verse: This was the alphabet of American schools for over 200 years. How far have we regressed? Without the blessing of God, with an increase of disobedience and a lack of respect, comes a lack of learning.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT, was initiated in 1926, and in 1941 it was placed on the same scale as is used today.

Prior to 1963, the SAT had never risen or dropped more than one year in a row. Beginning with the removal of moral teaching in 1963, SAT scores dropped for 18 consecutive years.

They have continued to drop. Is it any wonder that many parents are flocking to Christian schools where their kids can receive both education and biblical teaching. Prior to 1962 there were only 1000 Christian schools in

America. By 1984 that number had reached 32,000 and today, nearly 8.5 million students attend private religious schools.

By the way, SAT scores for private religious school students are nearly 80 points higher on average.

So what is the difference between the two, it is not in the core curriculum, they’re the sameI believe the difference is that one school utilizes religious principles and teaching and the other does not.

4          The evidence in our nation. 

What happened in our nation when we separated religious principles from the public arenas?

Violent crime after remaining stable prior to 1962 has risen over 800% since the courts decisions. It is rising faster than our population growth.

Since 1962

America has become number one in the world in Violent Crime, divorce, voluntary abortion, illegal drug use, and in the western world, teenage pregnancy and illiteracy.

And we can call all we want for more jails, more juvenile centers, but the reality is that this is a spiritual battle and until we reach our youth and nation with Jesus Christ, until God is invited back, we’ll be fighting a losing battle.

Christianity stops crime because it controls the heart, and crime comes out of the heart. If you don’t purify the heart, you won’t stop the crime. That is why Christian teachings and principles are so important to government.  

CONCLUSION:        So what do we do?  

We need to remember that the “Separation of Church and State” as we know it is not the teaching of our founding fathers. It is not an historical teaching in our country. It is not in the constitution or Bill of Rights. It is not a teaching of any law until recently.

And we must also understand that the current view of a separation of Church and state is not a biblical teaching. Separation of Church and state says, “Okay Christian, you can be salt and you can be light, but you can only do it within the walls of the church or in the confines of your own home. You can’t do it in the world. That is not a biblical teaching.

Prov. 18:1 says    “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.”  

   

We cannot isolate ourselves. We must take a stand. It is absolutely hypocritical of us, to get mad, and yell and scream about the government forcibly removing God and prayer from our schools, when we have voluntarily removed God and prayer from our homes.

The right answer for us is that we must pray.  We must pray as we ought.  We must continue in prayer.  Pray without ceasing.  Always pray and not faint.  We must be sure that we take God back to our nation by being ambassador’s for Christ.  It is time for us to no longer allow God to be separated from our state.  We must determine that we will not be one nation out from under God by being a part of this nation and making sure that we live under the authority of the Creator who has endowed us with our unalienable rights.  Will you pray, will you preach, will you practice truth so that

America can remain “One Nation Under God.”