Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American
Revolution, is still remembered for his words, 'Give me liberty
or give me death.' But in current textbooks the context of these
words is deleted. Here is what he said: 'An appeal to arms and
the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight
our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the
destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone.
Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price
of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what
course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give
me death.'
These sentences have been erased from our textbooks.
Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this:
'It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.'
Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote on the front of his well-worn Bible: 'I am a Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus, also.
Consider these words from George Washington, the Father of our Nation, in his farewell speech September 19, 1796:
'It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.'
Was George Washington a Christian? Consider these words from his
personal prayer book: 'Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct
my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate
blood of the lamb and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit. Daily,
frame me more and more in the likeness of thy son, Jesus Christ,
that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy
appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto
eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let
the world be filled with the knowledge of thy son, Jesus Christ.'
Consider these words by John Adams, our second President, who also served as chairman of the American Bible Society.
In an address to military leaders he said, 'We have no government
armed with the power capable of contending with human passions,
unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was
made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly
inadequate to the government of any other.'
How about our first Court Justice, John Jay? He stated that
when we select our national leaders, if we are to preserve our
Nation, we must select Christians. ' Providence has given to
our people the choice of their rulers and it is the duty as well
as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation to select
and prefer Christians for their rulers.'
John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, was the sixth U.S.
President.
He was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he
considered his highest and most important role. On July 4, 1821,
President Adams said, 'The highest glory of the American
Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the
principles of civil government with the principles of
Christianity.'
Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States
reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, 'The foundations of our
society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the
Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in
these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our
country.'
In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: 'The
congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy
Bible for use in all schools.'
William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader,
which was used for over 100 years in our public schools with over
125 million copies sold until it was stopped in 1963. President
Lincoln called him the 'Schoolmaster of the Nation.'
Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey: 'The Christian religion
is the religion of our country. From it are derived our notions
on character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe.
On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free
institutions. From no source has the author drawn more
conspicuously than from the s acred Scriptures. From all these
extracts from the Bible I make no apology.'
Of the first 108 universities founded in America , 106 were
distinctly Christian, including the first.
Harvard University , chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard
Student Handbook rule number 1 was that students seeking entrance
must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the scriptures:
'Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed
to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to
know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and
therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation of all sound
knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom,
let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to see k
it of him (Proverbs 2:3).'
For over 100 years, more than 50% of all Harvard graduates were
pastors!
It is clear from history that the Bible and the Christian faith,
were foundational in our educational and judicial system. However
in 1947, there was a radical change of direction in the Supreme
Court.
Here is the prayer that was banished:
'Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee. We beg Thy
blessings upon us and our parents and our teachers and our
country.
Amen.'
In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that Bible reading was outlawed
as unconstitutional in the public school system. The court
offered this justification: 'If portions of the New
Testament were read without explanation, they could and have been
psychologically harmful to children.'
Bible reading was now unconstitutional, though the Bible was
quoted 94 percent of the time by those who wrote our Constitution
and shaped our Nation and its system of education and justice and
government.
In 1965, the Courts denied as unconstitutional the rights
of a student in the public school cafeteria to bow his head and
pray audibly for his food.
In 1980, Stone vs. Graham outlawed the Ten Commandments in
our public schools.
The Supreme Court said this: 'If the posted copies of the
Ten Commandments were to have any effect at all, it would be to
induce school children to read them. And if they read them,
meditated upon them, and perhaps venerated and observed them,
this is not a permissible objective.'
Is it not a permissible objective to allow our children to follow
the moral principles of the Ten Commandments? Why??
James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the
United States, said this: 'We have staked the whole future of
our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We
have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon
the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according
to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.'
Today we are asking God to bless America. But how can He bless a
Nation that has departed so far from Him?
Most of what you read in this article has been erased from our
textbooks. Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the
truth about our country's Christian roots. I, Mary Jones, the
designer of this web page, encourage all who read and agree with
the words herein, to share it with others, so that the truth of
our nation's history may be told.