One Nation Under God
Let’s read:
Mark 8:34-38
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."
(NIV)
Were our forefathers ashamed of Christ or did they take up their cross to follow Christ?
Let’s look at the evidence. On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed. These were a group of people who left England, because the state was endorsing a state church. Wanting freedom of religion, they left England to establish the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia. At Cape Cod, they wrote the first statue of government. Let’s see what it says.
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith,
and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid;
As we see from this very first government statue, this country was founded for the advancement of the Christian Faith. Were these first pilgrims ashamed of Christ? No, there were carrying their cross.
On June 15, 1790 the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified. It states:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I can spend hours submitting to you letter after letter written by all of our founding fathers in which they are mentioning and praising the name of Christ. But the above Amendment should be quite clear as to its intended meaning. It states that Congress will not make any laws establishing a religion. This was to ensure that a state church would not be established as it was in England.
Next it says that Congress will not make any laws prohibiting the free exercise of religion. This means that no laws can be established to prevent people from worshipping any time or any place of their choosing.
Next it says that Congress will not make laws preventing the freedom of speech. This gives us the right to witness to people at any time and any place.
Next it says that Congress will not make laws preventing people to peaceably to assemble. This means that we can assemble to worship and also to peacefully assemble to protest.
We hear so much today about separation of Church and State, but those words are not found in the US Constitution. They are found in the Soviet Constitution. The meaning of the words "Separation of Church and State" has been misinterpreted from a personal letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote.
The Danbury Baptist Association, concerned about religious liberty in the new nation wrote to President Thomas Jefferson on Oct. 7, 1801. I quote this paragraph from their letter.
"Out Sentiments are uniformly on the side of Religious Liberty -- That Religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals -- That no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious Opinions - That the legitimate Power of civil government extends no further that to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But Sir our constitution of government is not specific."
The Danbury Baptist Association believed that ones faith and belief was between God and that individual, with no involvement from the government and that no one should have to suffer in any way for their religious beliefs. They wanted clarification from the President on the interpretation of the first amendment. At the time that the first amendment was drafted and voted on, Thomas Jefferson was not even in this country. He was at that time the Ambassador to France.
The following is President Thomas Jefferson’s reply to the Danbury Baptist Association.
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of the government reach action only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ’make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, "thus building a wall of separation between church and State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore man to all of his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem."
Thomas Jefferson
From the above statement from Thomas Jefferson, the phase "Separation of Church and State" has become the most famous statement of today. In the letter from Jefferson, he was trying to assure the Danbury Baptist Association that government would not endorse any particular religious denomination. You see, the reason the Danbury Baptist Association wrote to Jefferson in the first place was because the state of Connecticut was endorsing the Angelica Church and the Baptist didn’t want their tax money going to support the Angelica Church.
If Jefferson wanted a wall of separation between Church and State, why then did he in 1803 sign legislation to pay a priest $100 a year for seven years, $300 to erect a church for the Kaskaskia Indians so that they could be evangelized.
On August 7, 1789, after the final agreement on the wording of the Bill of Rights, the newly formed Congress re-enacted the Northwest Ordinance that stated:
"Religion, morality, and knowledge being essential to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged."
At no time did any of our Founding Fathers intend for religion to be taken out of government but the contrary. They intended for government to be taken out of religion.
God blessed our new Nation, because it was founded on Christian principles. Even our first schools taught religion. The Bible was the main reading book in all state ran schools. Our laws were based on the Ten Commandments. So when did we stop being a Christian Nation? We stopped when Christians became the silent majority. We stopped when Pastors stopped preaching conviction sermons from the pulpit. We stopped when Christians began putting themselves above God. We stopped when we laid down our cross instead of picking it up and carrying it. We stopped when we became ashamed to speak the name of Jesus in public. We stopped when we as Christians stopped being the light and salt of the earth.
We began losing our religious freedom in the 1940’s. Let’s look at a few of the earlier cases.
1. In 1948. It is a violation of the Establishment Clause for Jewish, Catholic or Protestant religious leader to lead optional/voluntary religious instruction in public school buildings.
2. 1962 The daily recitation of prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.
3. Daily school-directed reading of the Bible (without comment), and daily recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, violates the Establishment Clause.
4. 1980 The Court struck down a state law requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments.
5. 1985 A state law requiring a moment of "mediation or voluntary prayer" was struck down as an establishment of religion because the intent was religious.
6. 1992 A minister cannot offer prayer at a public school graduation.
7. 2000 The court struck down a school district’s policy that allowed an elected student to open football games with a public prayer.
We have allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools and any public places. Several years ago a man was arrested for getting on his knees and praying a silent prayer on the steps of the White House, but just a week earlier a woman was allowed to walk up the steps of the White House Topless.
The Byron Union School District in California has instituted a Mandatory three-week course on Islam as part of the seventh-grade history class. Students in the class not only receive handouts on Islam and the life of Mohammed, they also must:
1. Chant praise to “Allah, Lord of Creation.”
2. Pray “in the name of Allah the Compassionate the Merciful.”
3. Stage their own jihad!
4. Dress up as Muslims and choose new Muslim names.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has taken on the case for parents suing the school district. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) didn’t complain about this, but if it had been a simple Christian prayer, they would have fought it to the Supreme Court.
Right here in Hobbs, NM at two of our public schools, we had a local Islamic woman talk to our children concerning the Islamic faith and what the Koran means. Could a Christian person go to the same school and talk to the students concerning the Christian faith and what the Bible says? I don’t think so! Aren’t they both classified as religions? So what the difference? Only Christianity is not allowed in schools. Another example is witchcraft. Harry Potter books are required reading in some schools, Christianity books can’t be read in class. Witchcraft is a religion recognized by our government and given the same tax exempt status as Christian Churches, but they can be in schools, but Christianity cannot.
The Boy Scouts of America was taken to court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) the first time for not taking the word God out of their motto and the second time for not allowing homosexuals to be scoutmasters. Each time the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts. When the ACLU challenged the Girls Scouts, the Girl Scouts gave in to the ACLU.
In many cities, schools and public facilities have denied religious group access, while allowing other organizations free use of their facilities. Whenever a religious group uses a public or school facility, the ACLU threatens the school with a lawsuit and usually the school will then deny the group access. The Supreme Court has already ruled that equal access has to be given to religious groups also.
The Broken Arrow school district remove the work “God” from the “In God we Trust” sign that they posted in their schools because the ACLU complained about the sign. When the ACLJ contacted the school district explaining the law to them, the school district reversed its decision and put the word “God” back on the signs. This is just one of the many cases that arose over the “In God We Trust” signs.
Another case was filed against Dr. Richard Barlett of Crane Texas for having voluntary pray meetings with religious praise music at his medical clinic. He also had a sign that says that Dr. Bartlerr would pray with his patients upon their request. Some workers complained and file a lawsuit. The U.S. District Court Judge of Midland Texas ruled in favor for the Doctor.
There have been many lawsuits by the ACLU against Nativity scenes on both public and private property. Even in Carlsbad the ACLU threatened to sue the city if they didn’t take their Nativity scene down. Here again the courts have ruled over and over again that Nativity scenes are legal.
The same thing applies to the posting of the Ten Commandments. Some of these cases have been won and others loss depending on how liberal the sitting Judge is. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Ten Commandments can be displayed as a historical document along with other historical documents. Even several years ago the ACLU threaten to sue our City of Hobbs for having the stone display of the Ten Commandments in front of our City Hall. When the ACLU saw the outrage of the people of Hobbs, they backed off.
The ACLU is suing the Town of Gilbert, Arizona for proclaiming the week of November 22-29 as Bible Week. The U. S. District Court in Phoenix has ruled in favor of the town.
In March of 1998 the ACLJ filed a lawsuit for John Hagee Ministries against the Postal Service. The Postal Service was making their own decisions on whether his ministries mailings were considered religious or not. On one occasion, the Postal Service required the ministry to censor an advertisement of John Hagee’s sermon series entitled “The Winning Attitude” from a newsletter in order to obtain the non-profit mailing rate. Without ever reviewing the material, a representative from the Postal Service wrongly determined this series to be a self-help resource having nothing to do with religion.
There have been many other cases where the ACLU has filed suits against kids wearing religious clothing and necklaces with crosses. We need to learn what our rights are and be willing to stand up for them.
The Supreme Court has held that students may express religious belief both in the classroom and during non-instructional times through various modes of communication: speech, clothing, action, and symbols. Furthermore, the Court has emphasized that religious speech is a protected form of expression. Students can take and read Bibles at school. Students can hand out religious tracts at school. Students can witness to other students at school.
Students can pray alone or in groups at school during non-instructional times.
In 1984, Congress passed the Equal Access Act, requiring schools to grant religious student groups the same rights and privileges as nonreligious student groups. If the school allows a chess club, library club or any other type of clubs to meet on school grounds, then they must also allow Bible clubs, Fellowship of Christian Athletes or any other religious club to meet there also.
Pastor Neimoller a doctor in Nazi Germany wrote the following poem prior to World War II. It has a message that we need to consider today.
In Germany they first came for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Trade Unionist,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
And I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me….
And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
When will we speak up?
Will we speak up before there is no one left to speak up?
God is in control and we look forward to the return of Christ. But Christ gave us the Great Commission. Let’s look at it again.
Matt 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""
(NIV)
Mark gives us this account of the Great Commission.
Mark 16:15-18
15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
(NIV)
It is time for us to start fulfilling the Great Commission. Mark tells us that we should not be afraid to witness. He isn’t telling us to go out and test God by drinking poison or picking up snakes because we are told not to test God, but he is telling us to trust God for our safety. We are not to fear anything if we are carrying our cross for Christ for He is with us. If we follow Christ, He will provide for our needs and our safety until He calls us home. He didn’t say that we would not be persecuted, in fact He say that we would be persecuted. He also said that He would never forsake us.
If we don’t turn this nation around, there will be many that we will not be able to reach. We must take the Good News to all the Nations and also to all of our schools and homes.
