St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Rev. Richard W. Gray
“Renewal in Our Land”
Psalm 33:12
July 3, 2005
Appearing before a Senate panel recently, leading educators and historians stated that American students may lag behind their peers abroad in math and science, but their knowledge of their own country's past is plain pathetic. They stated that most of America's schoolchildren lack sufficient knowledge to become informed voters and don't understand why they enjoy rights like free speech and freedom of religion.
Attending a National Education Association conference, a North Dakota history teacher stated, “If our kids walk out of our school systems without an understanding of democracy, democracy will cease. That's a scary thing.”
The Supreme Court made a very confusing decision last week concerning where the Ten Commandments may be displayed. One must adhere to the “separation of church and state.”
Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention the separation of church and state. That term was coined by Thomas Jefferson, who had nothing to do with the writing of the Constitution. He was out of the country at the time it was drafted.
The term separation of church and state came out of a letter Jefferson wrote. In 1801, while Jefferson was President, he received a letter from the Association of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut. The Baptists were concerned about the threat of the newly formed government interfering with the practice of the Christian faith in America.
Jefferson wrote back to the Baptists asking them to pray for him and telling them he was praying for them. He stated in that letter that the First Amendment had erected a “wall of separation between the church and state.” The Baptists did not need to fear that the government would interfere with their religious beliefs and practices was Jefferson's intent in the letter.
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
This wall was a wall of protection to protect the rights of the church. Today it has been interpreted as a wall to keep religion contained and out of government.
The First Amendment was written to prevent the government from establishing a state sponsored church, a national religion, like the one the early American settlers fled England to get away from. It was to protect churches, not fence them in.
The intent of the separation statement made by Jefferson has been distorted and turned into a lie. This is so much easier to do when Americans do not know their American history.
D. James Kennedy tells us a number of things about Jefferson. He was not anti-Christian. He financially supported at least ten different churches.
While President, Jefferson attended the largest church in America at that time. Worship services were held every week in the chambers of the House of Representatives in Washington. So much for his belief in the separation of church and state as being propagated today.
While sitting in the front row during those worship services, Jefferson did not always like the music. So he ordered the Marine band to come
come to services and play. They were paid out of the federal treasury.
Services were also held in the Treasury Department and in the War Department while Jefferson was President.
John Marshall, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, ordered that all facilities of the Supreme Court be turned over every Sunday to a church for worship services.
In one of the towns in which I pastored, the custom was for a pastor who had a child graduating from high school to open the graduation ceremony with prayer. I was able to do this for my first child, but by the time our other two children graduated I was not allowed to do this…separation of church and state.
Jefferson had no problem with religious activities in public buildings.
While President, Jefferson approved the spending of government money for building churches for several Indian tribes and the support of missionaries to them. So much for today's separation of church and state.
Mark Beliles writes in Thomas Jefferson's Abridgement of the Words of Jesus of Nazareth of the many actions of Jefferson as President.
office
We allow a lot things to happen in our nation and we believe untruths when we do not know history. Our nation was founded on biblical principles and a lot of people do not know this or to what extent today.
In the April 1994 edition of Reader's Digest, former Secretary of Education, William Bennett, wrote, “Today, much of society ridicules and mocks those who are serious about their faith. America's only acceptable form of bigotry is bigotry against religious people. And the only reason for hatred of religion is that it forces us to confront matters many would prefer to ignore.”
To a great extent our society has gotten what it wanted, a society without God. Bennett went on to say what a society without God has gotten us. Since 1960 violent crime has increased 560 percent. The United States leads the industrialized world in murder and violent crime. A major crime occurs every three seconds. The percentage of children in single parent homes has tripled. Approximately 40% of babies born today are out of wedlock.
In 1940, teachers identified the top problems in America's schools as talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise, and running in the hall. Today's problems are drugs, alcohol, suicide, and assault.
It is time to reclaim America. It is time for Christians to get involved. Become people of prayer. Pray for America. Pray for our leaders. Get involved in the political process. Vote. Many Christians do not even vote. Do not be silent. Speak up. Write and make calls to those people
people who represent us. We are losing the cultural war because of what we do not say and do, and because of what those on the other side are saying and doing.
Douglas MacArthur said, “History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.”
Abraham Lincoln said, “It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overriding power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with the assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”
Live the Christian life the way it is meant to be lived. Evangelize. Bring more people to a knowledge of Christ as Savior and Lord and disciple them to live Christian lives.
It is time to rediscover our rich Judeo-Christian heritage. It is time to begin a spiritual renewal in our land. May it begin here with us!
335 Smyth Road
Manchester, NH 03104
Sunday Worship: 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
603-647-7322
www.stpaulsumc.homestead.com