Congress should
- Lead the Nation in national repentance for our sins
- particularly for our anti-Christian Foreign Policy
"Thanksgiving Day" is clearly a violation of the
modern myth of "separation of church and state."
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday. Historically, this
meant giving thanks to the God of the Bible. This is ironic,
since today's federal government is
at war with the God of the Bible. The holiday represents an
endorsement of prayer,
since we give thanks to God through prayer, and yet the federal
government says it must never "endorse"
prayer or religion.
From the beginning, Days of Thanksgiving were solemn religious
occasions. No longer. President Obama's
Thanksgiving address in 2009 begian with these words:
For centuries, in peace and in
war, in prosperity and in adversity, Americans have paused at
this time of year to gather with loved ones and give thanks
for life’s blessings. This week, we carry on this distinctly
American tradition. All across our country, folks are coming
together to spend time with family, to catch up with old
friends, to cook and enjoy a big dinner – and maybe to watch
a little football in between.
Not "God's blessings."
"Life's" blessings.
We should give thanks that America was once a Christian
nation. We're still living off the capital built upon Christian
foundations.
At the same time, America has some traditions which are
anti-Christian. I'm talking about militarism. America was
born in blood. Too often, Too often in American history,
Thanksgiving is mingled with militarism.
November 20 was the anniversary of Samuel
Adams' Nov. 20, 1772 letter to the Committees of Correspondence
setting forth the rights of the Colonists as human beings,
Christians, and English subjects, and starting Sam Adams' career
as the "Father
of the American Revolution."
Let's look at a Thanksgiving Proclamation written by Sam
Adams and approved
by the Continental Congress in 1777:
| Forasmuch
as it is the indispensable
duty of all men
to adore the superintending providence
of
Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their
obligation to him for benefits received, and to
implore such farther blessings
as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in
his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the
innumerable bounties of his common providence, |
[so far, so good]
| but
also to smile upon us in the prosecution of a just
and necessary
war,
for the defence and establishment of our unalienable
rights
and liberties; particularly in that he hath been
pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means
used for the support of our troops and to crown our
arms with most signal success: |
[oops!]
| It
is therefore recommended to the legislative or
executive powers of these United States, to set apart
Thursday, the eighteenth day of December next, for
solemn thanksgiving
and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good
people may express the grateful feelings of their
hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of
their divine benefactor; and that together with their
sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join
the penitent confession of their manifold sins,
whereby they had forfeited every favour, and their
humble and earnest supplication that it may please
God, through the merits of Jesus Christ,
mercifully to forgive and blot them out of
remembrance; that it may please him graciously to
afford his blessing on the governments of these states
respectively, and prosper the public council of the
whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea,
and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude
which may render them fit instruments, under the providence
of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the
greatest of all human blessings, independence
and peace;
that it may please him to prosper the trade and
manufactures of the people and the labour of the
husbandman, that our land may yet yield its increase;
to take schools and seminaries of education,
so necessary for cultivating the principles of true
liberty, virtue
and piety,
under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion
for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom
which consisteth "in righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."
And
it is further recommended, that servile labour, and
such recreation as, though at other times innocent,
may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment, be
omitted on so
solemn an occasion.
|
Everything Sam Adams and America's Founding Fathers fought
for and were thankful for has been lost: "independence,"
"peace,"
"virtue,"
and "piety."
The explanation is simple: although America's Founding
Fathers trusted in God and in Jesus Christ, they also trusted in
horses and chariots (Psalm
20:7; Deuteronomy
17:16).
A nation cannot long last as a Christian nation if, in the
pursuit of their "inalienable rights and liberties,"
it is willing to kill IRS agents (with or without Red Coats) and
Afghan
peasants. It only takes a little toxin to poison a lot of
pure water. If we want the American dream of everyone living
safely under his own Vine
& Fig Tree, we must be willing to beat
our swords into plowshares.
Had Sam Adams and America's Founders been consistent in their
trust in Divine Providence, they would have endured the
violation of their rights -- as
Jesus did -- and waited patiently for God to change the
hearts of the British. It was less than honest for John Adams,
Ben Franklin, and John Jay to claim, "In the name of the
most holy and undivided Trinity," that they relied totally
on "Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most
serene and most potent Prince George the Third" and the
United States to reach an
amicable agreement.
We don't really trust in Divine Providence if we are willing
to kill
our enemies. And it's hypocritical to give Thanks to God for
His blessings if we pursue those
blessings (such as oil for our industry) with powerful and
indiscriminate armed military intervention and mass destruction
around the globe.
And
Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye
between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if
Baal, then follow him.
1
Kings 18:21
Let's take a look at the President's Thanksgiving Day
proclamation for 2011:
|
THANKSGIVING DAY, 2011
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION |
A "Liberty Under God"
Response |
|
One of our Nation's oldest and most cherished
traditions, Thanksgiving Day brings us closer to our
loved ones and invites us to reflect
on the blessings that enrich our lives. The
observance recalls the celebration of an autumn harvest
centuries ago, when the Wampanoag tribe joined the
Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony to share in the fruits of a
bountiful season. The feast honored the Wampanoag
for generously extending their knowledge of local game
and agriculture to the Pilgrims, and today we renew our
gratitude to all American Indians and Alaska
Natives. We take this time to remember the ways
that the First Americans have enriched our Nation's
heritage, from their generosity centuries ago to the
everyday contributions they make to all facets of
American life. As we come together with friends,
family, and neighbors to celebrate, let us set aside our
daily concerns and give thanks for the providence
bestowed upon us. |
We are not
just to reflect on our blessings, but upon the Bestower
of the blessings.
The Pilgrims were thankful to the
Indians. Why should we be thankful to
Indians 400 years later? This is just a politically
correct mantra. |
|
Though our traditions have evolved, the
spirit of grace and humility at the heart of
Thanksgiving has persisted through every chapter of our
story. When President George Washington proclaimed
our country's first Thanksgiving, he praised a generous
and knowing God for shepherding our young Republic
through its uncertain beginnings. Decades later,
President Abraham Lincoln looked to the divine to
protect those who had known the worst of civil war, and
to restore the Nation "to the full enjoyment of
peace, harmony, tranquility, and union." |
How do
"traditions" evolve? Traditions can only be
ignored and then replaced.
How about the
spirit of thanks, of gratitude?
Here is how the U.S. Senate requested the President
to proclaim a day of prayer in 1863:
Resolved, That devoutly recognizing the supreme
authority and just government of Almighty God in all
the affairs of men and of nations, and sincerely
believing that no people, however great in numbers and
resources, or however strong in the justice of their
cause, can prosper without His favor, and at the same
time deploring the national offenses which have
provoked his righteous judgment, yet encouraged in
this day of trouble by the assurances of His Word, to
seek Him for succor according to His appointed way,
through Jesus Christ, the Senate of the United States
do hereby request the President of the United States,
by his proclamation, to designate and set apart a day
for national prayer and humiliation, requesting all
the people of the land to suspend their secular
pursuits, and unite in keeping the day in solemn
communion with the Lord of Hosts, supplicating Him to
enlighten the councils and direct the policy of the
rulers of the nation, and to support all our soldiers,
sailors, and marines, and the whole people, in the
firm discharge of duty, until the existing rebellion
shall be overthrown and the blessings of peace
restored to our bleeding country.
In short, our Thanksgiving traditions were religious.
Specifically, Christian. |
|
In times of adversity and times of plenty, we have
lifted our hearts by giving humble thanks for the
blessings we have received and for those who bring
meaning to our lives. Today, let us offer gratitude
to our men and women in uniform for their many
sacrifices, and keep in our thoughts the families who
save an empty seat at the table for a loved one
stationed in harm's way. And as members of our
American family make do with less, let us rededicate
ourselves to our friends and fellow citizens in need of
a helping hand. |
In our day,
instead of giving thanks to God, we give thanks to the
State and its military.
Granted, in the Senate's request above, there was an
inconsistent request in the name of Jesus Christ to
commit genocide against Christians in the South. But at
least they weren't laboring under the myth of
"separation of Jesus and State."
|
|
As we gather in our communities and in our homes, around
the table or near the hearth, we give thanks to each
other and to God for the many kindnesses and comforts
that grace our lives. Let us pause to recount the
simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them
forward in the year to come. |
|
|
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 24, 2011,
as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the
people of the United States to come together—whether
in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or
any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors—to
give thanks for all we have received in the past year,
to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our
own, and to share our bounty with others. |
|
|
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and thirty-sixth. |
Two
thousand eleven years after the birth of Jesus Christ. |
next: Campaign Finance, Corruption and
the Oath of Office
|