America is at a Crossroad

ALL IS NOT WELL IN AMERICA. The enemy is targeting Christianity, and is doing so through attacking political and religious liberty. Pastors and chaplains are threatened, even chaplains at prison systems where they are so badly needed. Crosses are removed as "offensive." Such a thing would have been unthinkable when I was a child. Public schools have not only removed the teaching of the Bible as absolute moral Truth, but are redefining gender, if you can comprehend such a thing. Some are even removing the name of "girl" "boy" on bathroom doors.

And many of those arriving on our shores come to destroy our country. Since January, 2015, over 50 U.S. citizens have been arrested for terror plots, according to Todd Starnes of Fox News. The ISIS strategy includes the use of the internet for propaganda to recruit young people to join their efforts. They are recruiting individuals to engage in "lone wolf" tactics, to act out terror in an American or European city. We have seen this in American cities in multiple states.

There have been 5,000 Westerners go to Syria to aid ISIS. Most of these have had high tech skills according to Todd Starnes, acclaimed reporter and author of the recently released, God Less America. These have gone to support radical Islam. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area alone, there have been brought in 100,000 Somali Muslims. Very few people are aware that in America, city after city has been targeted as a Refugee resettlement location. Jim Simpson, author of the book, The Red-Green Axis, is alerting the nation to this mass immigration, which the mainline Media seems to be ignoring. The subtitle of his book is: Refugees, Immigration and The Agenda to Erase America, published by the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C.

Terrorism is driven by the faulty faith of Islam and by an end time reward for Jihad.

Christ followers are driven by their faith in the person of Jesus Christ, the authority of his word, salvation by his grace through faith for all who believe, and by the promise of eternal life.

So America is at a Crossroad today. The faith that made our country what she has been in the past and can be again tomorrow, has been compromised in government, in law, in the political system, and in personal choices. The weakening of the pulpits has weakened the churches and families of our nation. We all have a choice today as we stand at the crossroad.

In the Founding of our nation, the vast majority of citizens were Patriots in the most loyal manner. And as Christian Patriots, the vast majority practiced virtue in their private and public lives. When you read the writings of the Founding Fathers, you are reading the political philosophy that stemmed from the Orthodox Christian Protestant Reformation. This is what inspired their ideals and high standards, and compelled their strong admonitions to their fellow citizens.

Their Western civilized culture was new to the world stage. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale were founded as Bible Colleges. All were committed to educate pastors and a citizenry to oversee a just republican government. From the colleges and universities to the smallest common schools, this Christian world view was taught, and Patriotism was cherished. All education could truly be called Christian Education at that time.

So cherished was Scripture that principles from the Bible were embedded in every document: The Magna Charta, The Articles of Confederation, The Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution. For these to be maintained, citizens had to be taught diligently: history, duty, honor, virtue, citizenship, obligations, and willing obedience to the law.

As a History teacher for many decades, I love true History. Yes, I weep over our failings and try to learn from them. I love the South. The Southern States of the American Union provided 9 of our first 12 presidents. They provided 80% of the federal budget during that period. They birthed Statesmen that blessed the entire Union. They did not welcome "radicals."

When the French Revolution came and its influence reached our shores, many were influenced in ways contrary to God's Word. What we refer to as Secular Humanism today, advanced in the marketplace, and then into education. It became rampant in the Northern States before we were aware of its creeping into the Southern culture as well. Expediency took the place of Duty, and Pragmatism replaced Virtue. The "Enlightenment" was really a rebellion against God. Not in every family, of course. The Sovereign God of the Universe has His remnant always.

We live in a Postmodern age which is anti-Biblical and therefore, non Christian. I trust that those reading this article are professing Christians, and recognize that we are the remnant whose goal must be to restore our culture to that of true Christianity, and our government to its Christian foundation. What would this mean? What would the government look like, if restored?

Let us say right here, because it is crucial: Colonial education supported the Biblical view of the culture, the law, and political affairs. This was true of colleges and academies, for almost all were founded as Christian schools and colleges. This continued long after the signing of the Constitution. It was the same for law and legal education. Every Colonial Charter was a Christian document.

The Bible was the single most cited reference, as the most respected authoritative source to which political writers appealed. Modern pastors would do well to read the sermons from the pulpits of America from the colonial period well into the early nineteenth century. The political sermons were addressed to the military, to governors, legislators, government officials, and many in the Halls of Congress. Reprinted and distributed, some even today, are inspiring messages badly needed in our time.

Our documents leave no doubt about the identity of our God. In The Articles of Confederation, He is called the "Great Governor of the World." The understanding of the sin nature of man inspired the Framers to put checks and balances against the centralization of political power, and the rule of law against the arbitrary rule of man. The separation of powers, checks and balances, and representative government, all stemmed from the teaching of Scripture concerning the Fall of Man, and the resulting sin nature in every man.

What do we mean when we say "a Christian view of the world?" Very simply, it means a Biblical view of God, man, life, politics, culture, and eternity. Therefore, the Framers gave us Law which incorporates that view of law and politics. That was a natural consensus in those days which has been lost in our time.

John Jay, writing in The Federalist reminds us of those days, "Providence has been pleased to give us this one connected country to one connected people... a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government...."

James Madison, writing in The Federalist 51 wrote: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."

The Framers had seen the danger of one man rule, and saw the need of protecting the minority, as well as a majority. And the mixed form of our government protects everyone. The role of one man is in the executive department. Some components of majority rule are in the House of Representatives. More separation of powers are in the Senate and Courts.

The political principles in the Preamble to the Constitution came from the Bible. They affirmed God's created system of what we call Natural Law. Almost all of the Framers had studied and internalized Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. They affirmed that "God is the Supreme Judge of all of His Creation." "Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of your throne..." (Psalms 89:14)

So much of the Constitution is framed to insure Justice in the culture. This should not surprise any of us since the Ten Commandments are a summary definition of Justice. I challenge the reader to read the Commandments to verify this definition. As wonderful as our Constitution is, it cannot change the hearts of the American people. It cannot restore a broken family or restore domestic tranquility in this broken culture. So how do we secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity? God has told us that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." (2 Cor. 3:17)

It comes down to the remnant, doesn't it? If America will be born again, restored, and well again, the remnant is essential. Where are we today, when we are needed so badly? The citizens in our state and nation are diverse. Millions did not come from the Protestant Reformation tradition, and have never understood its background, or heard the Gospel. Millions are not even comfortable with the English language. They have come to these shores for multiple reasons, but many with hope for a better life. It is up to us as Christians, to identify what a better life is----- Eternal life, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And with a growing Christian testimony, comes an understanding of justice, equality, opportunity, and domestic tranquility.

Our obligation to our fellow man is clearly set before us as true Christian Americans, to bear witness to the liberating power of the Gospel, through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only as men and women are won to Christ, will they embrace His love for themselves. Only then can America become a beacon of light in a very dark world. We have the Message: He is a Person, Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, the only hope for America.

Recommended reading of America's Christian History at www.face.net.

Available locally Christianity and the Constitution by Dr. John Eidsmoe of Montgomery, Alabama.

The Plymouth Foundation, Plymouth, MA. http://www.plymrock.org.

The Red-Green Axis - THE CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY.

1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 201, Washington, DC 20006.

Email: info@securefreedom.org.

For more information, please see securefreedom.org.