The Foundations of Our Father

    Woodrow Wilson once said, "A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do."

    Who was America yesterday?

    Abraham Lincoln believed that "those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." In 1811, our Supreme Court stated, "Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends to destroy civil government." That same body later concluded, "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based on and include the teachings of the Redeemer."

    We've travelled a long way since then, and our past has been essentially forgotten. But it is no accident that we are where we are. We did not merely drift to this place of moral confusion. We have been led here by indifference and cowardice in the face of evil.

    In truth, until the dawn of the 20th century, America collectively believed that she was founded upon Christian principles. But the 1900s brought an onslaught against our faith that has shaken this country's foundation to the core.

    In 1920 John Dewey, the father of progressive education, declared, "There is no God and no soul. No absolute moral code exists, and therefore man must adjust his ethical standards according to his own judgment." His words eerily echo those written earlier by people living in the darkest ages of Israel's history: "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6).

    In 1947 Justice Hugo Black erroneously interpreted Thomas Jefferson's letter assuring the Danbury Baptist Association that government would not institute a state religion. This erected a "wall of separation" between church and state that has purged Chrisitianity from virtually all civic influence.

    In 1962 the Supreme Court removed prayer and Scripture from schools, stating, "Bible reading in schools could cause psychological damage to students." Next, the Ten Commandments were stripped from the public square. Without evidence to convict us of God's presence, it is easy to ignore His commands.

    Abortion. Pornography. Homosexual marriage. Everywhere you turn today, God is being diminished?without our consent. His very existence is being erased from our midst. America's greatest enemy does not lie outside of our borders; it lies within. Our complacency is destroying our nation.

    It is tempting, when confronted by a formidable and determined foe, to retreat from battle. After all, what difference can one person make? For too long, God's people have not cared about our spiritual legacy. As Christians, we have a responsibility to reclaim our heritage and re-establish the foundations God ordained?to be the salt and light He commands each of us to be.