Congress should:
- follow the example of Ronald Reagan
- who followed the example of Gov. John Winthrop
- who followed the command of Jesus Christ
- to be a "light to the world" and "a city upon
a hill"
City upon a hill is a
phrase associated with John
Winthrop's sermon,
"A Model of Christian Charity," given in 1630.
The phrase is derived from the metaphor of Salt
and Light in the Sermon
on the Mount of Jesus
given in the Gospel
of Matthew. Winthrop warned the Puritan
colonists of New England who were to found the Massachusetts
Bay Colony that their new community would be a
"city on a hill," watched by the world:
- For we must consider that we shall be as a city
upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So
that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this
work we have undertaken...we shall be made a story
and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open
the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of
God...We shall shame the faces of many of God's
worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be
turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of
the good land whither we are going.
From Wikipedia
(June, 2007) |
"The City on a Hill" in Action
In
one of his most famous speeches, Madison, the "father
of the Constitution," gave his reasons for opposing
proposed legislation:
| Because, the policy
of the bill is adverse to the diffusion of the light
of Christianity. The first wish of those who enjoy
this precious gift, ought
to be that it may be imparted to the whole race of
mankind. Compare the number of those who have as
yet received it with the number still remaining under
the dominion of false Religions;
and how small is the former! Does the policy of the
Bill tend to lessen the disproportion? No; it at once
discourages those who are strangers to the light of
(revelation) from coming into the Region of it; and
countenances, by example the nations
who continue in darkness, in shutting out those
who might convey it to them. Instead of levelling as
far as possible, every obstacle to the victorious
progress of truth, the Bill with an ignoble and
unchristian timidity would circumscribe it, with a
wall of defence, against the encroachments of error. |
Osama bin Laden's forefathers were likely in Madison's mind
when he spoke of "false
religions." "The light of Christianity" is
the answer to terrorism, as we
explained on our Iraq page.
Other Founders had the same kind of globalist
optimism:
Samuel Adams declared:
I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by
humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world . . . that
the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be
overruled by the promoting and speedily bringing in the holy
and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people
willingly bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of
Peace.12
As Governor he also called on the State of Massachusetts to
pray that . . .
- the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may
be known and enjoyed throughout the whole family of mankind.13
- we may with one heart and voice humbly implore His
gracious and free pardon through Jesus Christ, supplicating
His Divine aid . . . [and] above all to cause the religion
of Jesus Christ, in its true spirit, to spread far and wide
till the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.14
Josiah Bartlett Signer of the Declaration of Independence
and Governor of New Hampshire called on the people of New
Hampshire . . .
to confess before God their aggravated transgressions and
to implore His pardon and forgiveness through the merits and
mediation of Jesus Christ . . . [t]hat the knowledge of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ may be made known to all nations, pure
and undefiled religion universally prevail, and the earth be
fill with the glory of the Lord.16
John Hancock, as Governor of the State of Massachusetts,
urged the people to pray . . .
- that all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ and that the whole earth may be filled
with his glory.40
- that the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ may be continually increasing until the whole earth
shall be filled with His glory.41
- to confess their sins and to implore forgiveness of God
through the merits of the Savior of the World.42
- to cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the
inhabitants of the earth.43
- to confess their sins before God and implore His
forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Savior.44
- that He would finally overrule all events to the
advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom and the
establishment of universal peace and good will among men.45
- that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may
be established in peace and righteousness among all the
nations of the earth.46
- that with true contrition of heart we may confess our
sins, resolve to forsake them, and implore the Divine
forgiveness, through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ, our Savior. . . . And finally to overrule all the
commotions in the world to the spreading the true religion
of our Lord Jesus Christ in its purity and power among all
the people of the earth.47
William Samuel Johnson signed the Constitution and became the
President of Columbia College. He told graduates:
You this day. . . . have, by the favor of Providence and
the at¬tention of friends, received a public education, the
purpose whereof hath been to qualify you the better to serve
your Creator and your country. You have this day invited this
au¬dience to witness the progress you have made. . . . Thus
you assume the character of scholars, of men, and of citizens.
. . . Go, then, . . . and exercise them with diligence,
fidelity, and zeal. . . . Your first great duties, you are
sensible, are those you owe to Heaven, to your Creator and
Redeemer. Let these be ever present to your minds, and
exemplified in your lives and conduct. Imprint deep upon your
minds the principles of piety towards God, and a reverence and
fear of His holy name. The
fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and its [practice]
is everlasting [happiness] . . . . Reflect deeply and often
upon [your] relations [with God]. Remember that it
is in God you live and move and have your being, – that,
in the
language of David, He is about your bed and about your
path and spieth out all your ways – that there is not a
thought in your hearts, nor a word upon your tongues, but lo!
He knoweth them al¬together, and that He will one day call
you to a strict account for all your conduct in this mortal
life. Remember, too, that you
are the redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought
with a price, even the inestimable
price of the precious
blood of the Son of God. Adore Jehovah, therefore, as your
God and your Judge. Love, fear, and serve Him as your Creator,
Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Acquaint yourselves with Him in His
word and holy ordinances. . . . [G]o forth into the world
firmly resolved neither to be allured by its vanities nor
contaminated by its vices, but to run with patience and
perseverance, with firmness and [cheerfulness], the glorious
career of religion, honor, and virtue. . . . Finally, . . . in
the elegant and expressive language are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”
– and do them, and the
God of peace shall be with you, to whose most gracious
protection I now commend you, humbly imploring Almighty
Goodness that He will be your guardian and your guide, your
protector and the rock
of your defense, your Savior and your God.69
You don't hear Graduation addresses like that anymore!
John Quincy Adams said:
The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith.
Whoever believes in the Divine inspiration of the Holy
Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail
throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world
have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that
hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the
associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till
the Lord shall have made “bare His holy arm in the eyes of
all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the
salvation of our God” [Isaiah 52:10].8
From Wikipedia
(as of June, 2007):
City upon a hill is a phrase associated with John
Winthrop's sermon,
"A Model of Christian Charity," given in 1630. The
phrase is derived from the metaphor of Salt
and Light in the Sermon
on the Mount of Jesus
given in the Gospel
of Matthew. Winthrop warned the Puritan
colonists of New
England who were to found the Massachusetts
Bay Colony that their new community would be a "city on
a hill," watched by the world:
- For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a
hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we
shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have
undertaken...we shall be made a story and a by-word
throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to
speak evil of the ways of God...We shall shame the faces of
many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be
turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the
good land whither we are going.
It was long believed that the speech was given aboard the Arbella
not long before landing; recent research[citation
needed] has shown, however, that it was
almost certainly given in England prior to departure. In any
case, it inspired the Puritans with a sense of holy duty that
would be crucial if they wanted to increase their chances of
survival in the New World.
Winthrop believed that all nations had a covenant
with God, and that because England had violated its religious
covenant, the Puritans must leave the country. This was an
expression of the Puritan belief that the Church
of England had fallen from grace by accepting Catholic
rituals. John Winthrop claimed that the Puritans forge a new,
special agreement with God, like that between God and the people
of Israel. However, unlike the Separatists (such as the Pilgrims),
the Puritans remained nominally a part of the Anglican church in
hopes that it could be purified from within. Winthrop believed
that by purifying Christianity in the New World, his followers
would serve as an example to the Old World for building a model Protestant
community.
The idea that their community was specially ordained by God
had a powerful effect on the Puritan society of New England. Of
course, breaking a covenant with God has dire results (as Noah's
fellow men learned the hard way). In order to avoid incurring
God's wrath by breaking their promise, the Puritans sought to
maintain perfect order in their society. Even the smallest sins
were punished harshly by the courts; no one was allowed to live
alone for fear that they would succumb to the temptation to sin;
parents were to instruct their children and servants diligently
in the Word of God; church attendance was mandatory; marriage
was required. These conventions and institutions molded an
extremely stable and well-structured society in New England, a
stark contrast with the unstable and loosely-bound society of
the early British colonies in the Chesapeake
Bay region, such as Jamestown.
Notable uses of the quote
- John
F. Kennedy quoted Winthrop in his famous "city upon
a hill" speech at the Massachusetts
State House in Boston
just 11 days before his inauguration. [1]
In the speech Kennedy laid out the four essential qualities
that he hoped would characterize his government: courage,
judgment, integrity and dedication.
- Winthrop's speech was famously quoted in the 1989 Farewell
Address of Ronald
Reagan, although he emphasized his own interpretation of
the phrase. [2]
External link
Retrieved from "http://web.archive.org/web/20070629211711/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_upon_a_Hill"
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American Dream
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How Sermons Changed the Course of American History