Posted on 06/18/2007 6:30:56 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
In 1607, three ships – the Discovery, the Susan Constant and the Godspeed – arrived. The ships' occupants discovered a small river and named it the James, after their king. They put down roots on its shore, naming their settlement Jamestown. One of their initial acts was to erect a wooden cross on the shore at Cape Henry. At the foot of that cross, Rev. Robert Hunt led the 149 men of the Virginia Company in public prayer, praising God for His hand of safety and pledging that they would follow Him in their venture in this "new world."
When those settlers arrived in 1607, they understood the necessity of expressing gratitude to God for His deliverance.
In the first charter of Virginia, these words are found: "Greatly commending ... their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of His Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God."
The Second Charter of Virginia, in 1609, stated: "The principal Effect which we can expect or desire of this Action is the Conversion and reduction of the people in those parts unto the true worship of God and the Christian Religion."
Virginia's Charter continued: "It shall be necessary for all such our loving Subjects ... to live together, in the Fear and true Worship of Almighty God, Christian Peace, and civil Quietness, with each other."
Thirteen years later, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, in Massachusetts, because they sought the freedom to worship the God of the Scriptures without the dictates of government.
The Pilgrims would soon establish the Mayflower Compact, which stated that their purpose was "advancement of the Christian faith."
Just a few years later, in 1643, the New England Confederation was formed, with this statement: "Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel, in purity, with peace."
These people were not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There was no ACLU to bring lawsuits against them for publicly expressing their faith.
Later, freedom and liberty, under God, were the basic elements of the Declaration of Independence, which reads: "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
In 1787, the U.S. Constitution was drafted, giving Americans the freedoms that were so important to those who traveled those waters. Later, in the first 10 amendments, the drafters wrote that the government could not control or hinder the free worship of almighty God, nor could their beliefs be stifled simply because others may disagree.
Throughout the years to come, our nation boldly worshiped God, commonly holding public days of prayer and thanksgiving. The nation's leaders routinely expressed their dependence on Almighty God. Our schools trained children to love God and read the Bible.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in his recent book, "Rediscovering God in America," recounts many significant monuments, memorials and documents in our nation's capital that clearly illustrate our nation was founded "under God."
George Washington, our military leader and first president, stated, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
Imagine the outcry today if one of our nation's lawmakers made such a statement.
It is obvious that there are those who want to ignore, or rewrite, our nation's Christian heritage. It is further obvious that we, as Christians, must fight this effort. It is our responsibility to do so, for the very future of our nation depends on it.
I am reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14, which reads: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
This is a great promise from a great God – a God who hears us, loves us, deeply desires to forgive us and heal us. But we must seek Him out in prayer. His Son, Jesus Christ, is the source of our hope. And we can only claim His promises, His hope, His deliverance to once again bless America!
Yep the ACLU would have gone nuts over the religious practices of colonial Virginia all right....and that’s just the whites.....what do you think a group lke say Amnesty Iternational would have said about the red man....ehtusiastic practitioners of incessant tribal warfare, human sacrifice, cannibalism, torture & mutilation, slavery, burning at the stake ect.....hows that for some human rights violations?...
We wouldn’t be around to discuss it.
You know, that would make a great skit.
If the ACLU was around 400 years ago they’d have been hanged for treason. If not by the British then a few years later by the states under the articles or the Indians would have scalped them.
Either way it would be a lot better as they’d not be here today.
“What if?”
That would be putting the Socialist before the Marxist.
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