Congress should:
- recognize that "secular government" is un-American.
- acknowledge God in all its actions
Both before and after the ratification of the Constitution, America as
a nation acknowledged its duty to be a nation "under
God." The modern Supreme Court has repudiated that duty, making
America an officially atheistic nation. Never mind that every single
person who signed the Constitution believed that America was and must
always be a nation under God, and must always acknowledge its duty
to God, the Court frankly admitted in ALLEGHENY COUNTY
v. GREATER PITTSBURGH ACLU, 492 U.S. 573
(1989):
| This
Court, however, squarely has rejected the proposition that the
Establishment Clause is to be interpreted in light of any
favoritism for Christianity that may have existed among the
Founders of the Republic. (http://laws.findlaw.com/us/492/573.html) |
The Court violates the central assumption of American Constitutional
interpretation: that the document is to be interpreted
in light of the original intent of its Framers. The Court now
believes it can make the Constitution "mean" anything
it wants. And what the Court wants is to "be
as god." And that means getting the real God out of the way by
declaring, as the Allegheny Court went on to say, that
This is a lie. The Framers of the
Constitution intended no such mandate, and never observed any such
mandate. Just as all individuals have a duty to worship
God, so do nations. America's Founding Fathers honored that duty.
The Constitution did not repeal that duty. (The duty to "remain
secular," in this particular case, means the duty of the government
not to acknowledge Christmas.)
When Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from the Alabama Supreme
Court for publicly displaying the Ten Commandments, Federal District
Court Judge Myron Thompson said:
| No
Supreme Court decision and, the court
believes, no Supreme Court justice, has
suggested that the First Amendment itself
actually incorporates the notion of a
Judeo-Christian God as the sovereign head of
this nation. The First Amendment does not
elevate one religion above all others, but
rather it places all religions on par with one
another, and even recognizes the equality of
religion and non-religion. See Allegheny,
492 U.S. at 590, 109 S. Ct. at 3099
("Perhaps in the early days of the Republic
these words were understood to protect only the
diversity within Christianity, but today they
are recognized as guaranteeing religious liberty
and equality to 'the infidel, the atheist, or
the adherent of a non-Christian faith such as
Islam or Judaism.'") (quoting Wallace
v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 52, 105 S. Ct.
2479, 2487 (1985)). |
|
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There are more errors in this paragraph than words. The Supreme Court
unanimously declared in 1892 that America
is a Christian nation. There are some things so obvious that nobody
ever thinks of challenging them, and this explains why Judge Thompson
can't find Supreme Court decisions on these issues. The Supreme Court
may never have suggested that there is such a thing as gravity. Should
we now conclude that there is no such thing as gravity? The Court in
1892 noted this problem: "While because of a general recognition of
this truth the question has seldom been presented to the courts . . .
."
The "Judeo-Christian" God is the sovereign head of this
nation. According to the Founding Fathers, He is the "Lord and
Ruler," the "Governor," "the Universal
Sovereign," and "the Supreme Lawgiver" of this and every
nation. The Framers of the Constitution unquestionably elevated
Christianity above all other religions. James Madison, the "Father
of the Constitution," said in one of his most memorable addresses,
the "Memorial
and Remonstrance," that legislators should vote against any
legislation if
| 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. |
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|
See the numerous references by America's Founding Fathers to
Christianity as "the true
religion."
The idea that America's Founding Fathers put "all religions on
par with one another," or worse, equalized religion and
non-religion, is completely
contradicted by the totality of American history. The Allegheny
decision, which Judge Thompson relies on, made public nativity scenes
unconstitutional, a ridiculous decision, and was based on the Supreme
Court's earlier ridiculous decision to not allow school
children to have a "moment of silence" because they might
use that moment to pray. Justice
Rehnquist's dissent in that case should be required reading in every
American history class. It shows that religion and non-religion were not
put on par with one another in this Christian nation.
While our nation recognizes -- publicly and officially -- that
America has a duty -- as a nation and as individuals -- to
acknowledge God and worship Him, there are no criminal penalties for unbelief
or failure to go to a particular church, or worship in a
particular manner, where "worship" is defined in terms of a
particular set of liturgies, ceremonies, or rituals. But "worship"
is more than just "church." It means service and obedience
to God, in private and in the public square. A Christian nation will not
tolerate child molestation, for example. You can believe
that child molestation is good and even necessary for the healthy sexual
development of children, as "sex researcher" Alfred
Kinsey believed. But America's Founding Fathers believed that in a
Christian nation there should be criminal penalties against such
practices, even if there was "freedom of belief." Believe
whatever you want, go to church or don't go to church, but you
will act like a Christian or go to jail.
As Noah Webster said, "The ecclesiastical establishments of
Europe which serve to support tyrannical governments are not the
Christian religion but abuses and corruptions of it." Daniel
Webster similarly explained: "Christianity to which the sword and
the fagot [burning stake or hot branding iron] are unknown -- general
tolerant Christianity is the law of the land!"
Our Duty to Acknowledge and Worship God
It should go without saying that America's original 13 colonies were
Christian Theocracies.
The word "theocracy" means "under
God," an inescapable characteristic of early America. The
Framers of the Constitution had no intention of changing this.
It was Benjamin Franklin who proposed, in January 1748, the first
fast day in Pennsylvania. In connection with this proposal, he drew up
a proclamation declaring that "it
is the duty
of mankind on all suitable occasions to acknowledge their dependence
on the Divine Being" and expressing a prayer "that He
would take this province under His protection, confound the designs
and defeat the attempts of its enemies, and unite our hearts and
strengthen our hands in every undertaking that may be for the public
good, and for our defense and security in this time of danger."
quoted by Van Doren in Benjamin Franklin, NY: Viking, 1938, p.
188
Before the Constitution was ratified, the Continental Congress
acknowledged its duty to be "under
God."
TUESDAY,
MARCH 20, 1781
The United States in Congress assembled,
agreed to the following proclamation:
In times of calamity and impending danger
when a vindictive enemy pursues with
unrelenting fury a war of rapine and
devastation to reduce us by fire and sword,
by the savages of the wilderness and our own
domestics to the most abject and ignominious
bondage; it becomes the
indispensible duty of the
citizens of these United States with true
penitence of heart publicly to acknowledge
the over ruling Providence
of God, to confess our offences against him,
and to supplicate his gracious interposition
for averting the threatened danger and
preparing our efforts in the defence and
preservation of our injured country.
At all times it is our duty
to acknowledge the over-ruling providence
of the great Governor of the universe, and
devoutly to implore his divine favour and
protection. But in the hour of calamity and
impending danger, when by fire and the
sword, by the savages of the wilderness, and
by our own domestics, a vindictive enemy
pursues a war of rapine
Page 285 | Page
image
and devastation, with unrelenting fury,
we are peculiarly excited, with true
penitence of heart, to prostrate ourselves
before our great Creator, and fervently to
supplicate his gracious interposition for
our deliverance.
The United States in Congress assembled,
therefore do earnestly recommend, that
Thursday the third day of May next, may be
observed as a day of humiliation, fasting
and prayer, that we may, with united hearts,
confess and bewail our manifold sins and
transgressions, and by sincere repentance
and amendment of life, appease his righteous
displeasure, and through the merits of our
blessed Saviour, obtain pardon and
forgiveness: that it may please him to
inspire our rulers with wisdom and
uncorruptible integrity, and to direct and
prosper their councils: to inspire all our
citizens with a fervent and disinterested
love of their country, and to preserve and
strengthen their union: to turn the hearts
of the disaffected, or to frustrate their
devices: to regard with divine compassion
our friends in captivity, affliction and
distress, to comfort and relieve them under
their sufferings, and to change their
mourning into grateful songs of triumph:
that it may please him to bless our ally,
and to render the connection formed between
these United States and his kingdoms a
mutual and lasting benefit to both nations:
to animate our officers and forces by sea
and land with invincible fortitude, and to
guard and protect them in the day of battle,
and to crown our joint endeavours for
terminating the calamities of war with
victory and success: that the blessings of
peace and liberty may be established on an
honourable and permanent basis, and
transmitted inviolate to the latest
posterity: that it may please him to prosper
our husbandry and commerce, and to bless us
with health and plenty: that it may please
him to bless all schools and seminaries of
learning, and to grant that truth, justice
and benevolence, and pure
and undefiled religion, may universally
prevail.
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This was before the Constitution was ratified. If the Constitution
had been known to repudiate these beliefs, and change America from a
Christian nation to a secular nation, the Constitution simply would not
have been ratified.
There is no evidence at all that anyone believed that the
Constitution did this. After the Constitution was ratified, "the
Father of his Country," in response to a Congressional request,
proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to God for the new Constitution. How
could the Constitution require our nation to be secular when the men who
framed that Constitution immediately ordered public and official
discharge of the duty to be thankful to God for that very Constitution?
|
Proclamation.
A NATIONAL THANKSGIVING.
[From Sparks's Washington,
Vol. XII, p.119.]
Whereas it
is the duty of all nations to acknowledge
the providence
of Almighty God, to
obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits,
and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and
Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their
joint committee, requested me "to recommend to
the people of the United States a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by
acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal
favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them
an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of
government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday,
the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the
people of these States to the service of that great
and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all
the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we
may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere
and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of
the people of this country previous to their becoming
a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the
favorable interpositions of His providence
in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the
great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which
we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational
manner in which we have been enabled to establish
constitutions of government for our safety and
happiness, and particularly the national one now
lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty
with which we are blessed, and the means we have of
acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in
general, for all the great and various favors which He
has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly
offering our prayers and supplications to the
great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech
Him to pardon our national and other trangressions; to
enable us all, whether in public or private stations,
to perform our several and relative duties properly
and punctually; to render our National Government a
blessing to all the people by constantly being a
Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws,
discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to
protect and guide all sovereigns and nations
(especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to
bless them with good governments, peace, and concord;
to promote the knowledge and practice of true
religion and virtue,
and the increase of science among them and us; and,
generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of
temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the
3d day of October, A. D. 1789.
GO. WASHINGTON.
Messages and Papers of the Presidents, George
Washington, vol. 1, p.56 |
|
Proclamations.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
When we review the calamities which afflict so many other nations.
the present condition of the United States affords much matter of
consolation and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war,
an [p.172] increasing prospect of the continuance of that exemption,
the great degree of internal tranquillity we have enjoyed, the recent
confirmation of that tranquillity by the suppression of an
insurrection which so wantonly threatened it, the happy course of our
public affairs in general, the unexampled prosperity of all classes of
our citizens, are circumstances which peculiarly mark our situation
with indications of the Divine beneficence toward us. In such a state
of things it is in an especial manner our
duty as a people,
with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our
many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to
continue and confirm the blessings we experience.
Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington,
President of the United States, do recommend to all religious
societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the
United States to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of
February next, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, and on that
day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the
Great Ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies
which distinguish our lot as a nation, particularly for the possession
of constitutions of government which unite and by their union
establish liberty with order; for the preservation of our peace,
foreign and domestic; for the seasonable control which has been given
to a spirit of disorder in the suppression of the late insurrection,
and generally, for the prosperous course of our affairs, public and
private; and at the same time humbly and fervently to beseech the kind
Author of these blessings graciously to prolong them to us; to imprint
on our hearts a deep and solemn sense of our obligations to Him for
them; to teach us rightly to estimate their immense value; to preserve
us from the arrogance of prosperity, and from hazarding the advantages
we enjoy by delusive pursuits; to dispose us to merit the continuance
of His favors by not abusing them; by our gratitude for them, and by a
correspondent conduct as citizens and men; to render this country more
and more a safe and propitious asylum for the unfortunate of other
countries; to extend among us true and useful knowledge; to diffuse
and establish habits of sobriety, order, morality, and piety, and
finally, to impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves,
to the whole family of mankind.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of
America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my
hand. Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 1st day of January 1795,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the
nineteenth.[SEAL.]
GO. WASHINGTON.
By the President:
EDM: RANDOLPH.
Messages and Papers of the Presidents, George Washington, vol. 1,
p.172
|
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
A
PROCLAMATION.
As the safety and prosperity of nations
ultimately and essentially depend on the
protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and
the national acknowledgment of this truth is not
only an
indispensable duty which the
people owe to Him, but a duty
whose natural influence is favorable to the
promotion of that morality and piety without
which social happiness can not exist nor the
blessings of a free government be [p.259]
enjoyed; and as this
duty, at all times incumbent, is
so especially in seasons of difficulty or of
danger, when existing or threatening calamities,
the just judgments of God against prevalent
iniquity, are a loud call to repentance and
reformation; and as the United States of America
are at present placed in a hazardous and
afflictive situation by the unfriendly
disposition, conduct, and demands of a foreign
power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive
our messengers of reconciliation and peace, by
depredation on our commerce, and the infliction
of injuries on very many of our fellow-citizens
while engaged in their lawful business on the
seas--under these considerations it has appeared
to me that the
duty of imploring the mercy and
benediction of Heaven on our country demands at
this time a special attention from its
inhabitants.
I have therefore thought fit to recommend,
and I do hereby recommend, that Wednesday, the
9th day of May next, be observed throughout the
United States as a day of solemn humiliation,
fasting, and prayer; that the citizens of these
States, abstaining on that day from their
customary worldly occupations, offer their
devout addresses to the
Father of Mercies agreeably to
those forms or methods which they have severally
adopted as the most suitable and becoming; that
all religious congregations do, with the deepest
humility, acknowledge before God the manifold
sins and transgressions with which we are justly
chargeable as individuals and as a nation,
beseeching Him at the same time, of His infinite
grace, through the
Redeemer of the World, freely to
remit all our offenses, and to incline us by
His Holy Spirit to that sincere
repentance and reformation which may afford us
reason to hope for his inestimable favor and
heavenly benediction; that it be made the
subject of particular and earnest supplication
that our country may be protected from all the
dangers which threaten it; that our civil and
religious privileges may be preserved inviolate
and perpetuated to the latest generations; that
our public councils and magistrates may be
especially enlightened and directed at this
critical period; that the American people may be
united in those bonds of amity and mutual
confidence and inspired with that vigor and
fortitude by which they have in times past been
so highly distinguished and by which they have
obtained such invaluable advantages; that the
health of the inhabitants of our land may be
preserved, and their agriculture, commerce,
fisheries, arts, and manufactures be blessed and
prospered; that the principles of genuine piety
and sound morality may influence the minds and
govern the lives of every description of our
citizens, and that the blessings of peace,
freedom, and pure religion may be speedily
extended to all the nations of the earth.
And finally, I recommend that on the said day
the duties of humiliation and prayer be
accompanied by fervent thanksgiving to the
Bestower of Every Good Gift, not only for His
having hitherto protected and preserved the
people of these United States in the independent
enjoyment of their religious and civil freedom,
but also for having prospered them [p.260] in a
wonderful progress of population, and for
conferring on them many and great favors
conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a
nation.
Given under my hand and the sea1 of the
United States of America, at Philadelphia, this
23d day of March, A. D. 1798, and of the
Independence of the said States the
twenty-second. [SEAL.]
JOHN ADAMS.
- By the President:
-
- TIMOTHY PICKERING,
- Secretary of State.
Messages and Papers of the Presidents, John
Adams, vol. 1, p.259-60 |
|
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of
the two Houses, have signified a request that a day may be recommended
to be observed by the people
of the United States with religious solemnity as a day of public
humiliation and prayer; and
Whereas such a recommendation will enable the several religious
denominations and societies so disposed to offer at one and the same
time their common vows and adorations to Almighty God on the solemn
occasion produced by the war in which He has been pleased to permit
the injustice of a foreign power to involve these United States:
I do therefore recommend the third Thursday in August next as a
convenient day to be set apart for the devout purposes of rendering the
Sovereign of the Universe and the Benefactor of Mankind the public
homage due to His holy attributes; of acknowledging the transgressions
which might justly provoke the manifestations of His divine
displeasure; of seeking His merciful forgiveness and His assistance in
the great duties of repentance and amendment, and especially of
offering fervent supplications that in the present season of calamity
and war He would take the American people under His peculiar care and
protection; that He would
guide their public councils, animate their patriotism, and
bestow His blessing on their arms; that He would inspire all nations
with a love of justice and of concord and with a reverence for the
unerring precept of our holy
religion to do
to others as they would require that others should do to them;
and, finally, that, turning
the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which
sway their councils against us, He would hasten a restoration of the
blessings of peace.
Given at Washington, the 9th day of July, A. D. 1812. [SEAL.]
JAMES MADISON.
By the President:
JAMES MONROE,
Secretary of State.
Messages and Papers of the Presidents, James Madison, vol. 1, p.498
|
First Annual Message.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the
House of Representatives:
At no period of our political existence had
we so much cause to felicitate ourselves at the
prosperous and happy condition of our country.
The abundant fruits of the earth have filled it
with plenty. An extensive and profitable
commerce has greatly augmented our revenue. The [p.581]
public credit has attained an extraordinary
elevation. Our preparations for defense in case
of future wars, from which, by the experience of
all nations, we ought not to expect to be
exempted, are advancing under a well-digested
system with all the dispatch which so important
a work will admit. Our free Government, rounded
on the interest and affections of the people,
has gained and is daily gaining strength. Local
jealousies are rapidly yielding to more
generous, enlarged, and enlightened views of
national policy. For advantages so numerous and
highly important it
is our duty
to unite in grateful acknowledgments to that
Omnipotent Being from whom they are derived, and
in unceasing prayer that He will endow us with virtue
and strength to maintain and hand them down in
their utmost purity to our latest posterity.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 2, 1817.
Messages and Papers of the Presidents, James
Monroe, vol. 1, p.588 - p.589 |
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The Duty to Worship
- [I]t is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence
of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits,
and humbly to implore His protection and favor. 64
PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON,
1789
- [W]e ought to be led by religious feelings of gratitude; and to
walk before Him in all humility, according to His most Holy Law . .
.[and] humbly supplicate our Heavenly Father to grant us the aids of
His grace . . . and vouchsafe His smiles upon our temporal concerns.
65
GOVERNOR SAMUEL ADAMS,
1795
- The goodness of the Supreme Being to all His rational creatures demands
their acknowledgments of gratitude and love; His absolute government
of the world dictates that it is the interest of every nation
and people ardently to supplicate His favor and implore His
protection. 66
GOVERNOR JOHN HANCOCK,
1782
- To a people who believe the superintending Providence
of the Divine Being over all human affairs, that even a sparrow
cannot fall to the ground without His permission, it will not be
unexpected that their civil rulers should call upon them . . . to
seek the Divine protection and assistance. 67
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNING
COUNCIL, 1780
- It being our incumbent duty to acknowledge God in all our
ways and to commit all our affairs, both public and private, to all
His all wise direction and guidance. 68
[GOVERNOR] JAMES BOWDOIN,
1776
- [I]t is our indispensable duty to implore the blessing of
Heaven upon all occasions. 69
GOVERNOR JOHN WENTWORTH,
1775
64. George Washington, The Writings of George
Washington, Jared Sparks, editor (Boston: Ferdinand Andrews, 1838),
Vol. XII, p. 119, October 3, 1789. (Return)
65. Samuel Adams, A Proclamation for a Day of
Public Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer (Printed at the State Press:
Adams and Larkin, 1795). (Return)
66. John Hancock, A Proclamation For a Day of
Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer (Boston, 1782). (Return)
67. Massachusetts Council, A Proclamation For a Day
of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer (Boston: 1780). (Return)
68. Massachusetts Council, A Proclamation For a Day
of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer (Watertown, Massachusetts,
1776). (Return)
69. John Wentworth, By the Governor, A Proclamation
For a General Fast (Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1775). (Return)
See also:
Proclamations
of President James Madison
The change in America from a Christian nation that acknowledged its
duty to worship God to a secular nation that spurned God did not come
about in 1789 with the ratification of the Constitution, but 150 years
later, with the invention of the modern myth of "separation of
church and state."
It doesn't really matter what the Framers intended. Christianity has
in fact been judicially repudiated as the foundation of our law; it has
been purged from the State's schools, and the courts are unanimous that
this is now a secular nation. Whatever a Christian might think about
America's "organic
law" and the
work of the Founding Fathers, in 1907 "the modern age"
may be said to have dawned when Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles
Evans Hughes remarked that "the Constitution is what the judges
say it is." (The Autobiographical Notes of Charles Evans
Hughes 143 (D. Danelski and J. Tulchin, eds., 1973). See also
Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1, 17-19 (1958) ("Article VI of
the Constitution makes the Constitution the 'supreme Law of the Land.' .
. . [But i]t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial
department to say what the law is. . . . It follows that the
interpretation of the [Constitution] enunciated by the Court . . . is
the supreme law of the land . . . .") and J. Whitehead, The
Second American Revolution 20-21 (1982) (citing same). S. Levinson,
"'The Constitution' in American Civil Religion," 1979 Sup.
Ct. Rev. 123, 137n.54 adds Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486,
521 (1969), and U.S. v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 704 (1974) in this
connection.)
http://vftonline.org/EndTheWall/duty.htm
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