Monday, March 8, 2010

ONE NATION UNDER GOD




Are we one nation under God? Our nation in its evolvement is divided on this fraise and weather it is true for all who call themselves American. The debates surrounding these few words and their implication have been hot topics reaching as far as the supreme court. On one side there is the belief that as a nation we have our roots stemming from biblical foundations, and this is the God that the country is under subjection to. The opposing argument is that our founding fathers intended for the state to remain separate from religion, allowing all types of gods and worship to coexist.
The question at hand is, what was the intent of the founding fathers of this great nation. Was it the ideology of the early Americans to form a new country based upon biblical frame work, or did our separation from England lead men to institute a government that is completely separate from religion.
After attending a speaking engagement with David Gibbs III I had the opportunity to sit and talk with him about the foundation of our great nation. David explained that common law was now dead and we now live in an era of statutory law (laws based on Christian principles vs. the opinion of mortal scholars’). With Mr. Gibbs history in constitutional law, and as president of the Christian Law Association, he gained national spotlight representing the family of Terri Schiavo in her right to live.
Prior to the Constitution of the United States, and the Declaration of Independence Samuel Adams wrote The Rights of the Colonists The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting. In this document Adams states “every man living in or out of a state of civil society has a right peaceably and quietly to worship God…These may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.” . These words clearly Identifies the sentiment of a founding statesman who help to create the frame work of our nation. Patrick Henry was a deeply religious man that history testifies to in recording his life. One of the most famous of Henry’s quits would be “Give me liberty or give me death” . How often secular society will remember this statement, and not study the entire context of the speech given on March 23, 1775 to the Virginia Provincial Convention. The debate at hand was our ability to fight the British army as large and strong as they were, Patrick Henry stated in his speech “There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us”. In these words we can see that in the preparation for war a statesman leads the way relying on the Hand of God.
The Declaration of Independence renounced our allegiance to Britain declaring our independence. In the first paragraph we find “assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God” This statement alone acknowledge God as the Supreme Being over nature. In the second paragraph of the Declaration we find “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”, affirming that our rights come from our creator. The last paragraph of the Declaration caries a strong message seeking God’s guidance “appealing to the supreme judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions”. By these words with in the text denotes intent to include God in the roll of leading our nation agreed upon by all thirteen states.
I would have to say that every day brings about change in our nation. At the current time our nation is torn from where we came from to where we are going. What was the intent of our founding fathers, are we to be one nation under God? I truly believe that early Americans intended for the generations to come to live in a Christian nation seeking Gods grace upon their families, and that our leaders should seek God’s wisdom, to lead us in a morally correct path. Let us not disgrace what so many a valiant men fought and died for.