U.S. Presidents and the Bible - Advocating freedom of religion, not
freedom from religion
U.S. Presidents and the Bible
Author unknown
(Advocating
freedom of religion, not freedom from religion)
The reverence for God of many of
our presidents, coupled with the principles of liberty established in the Holy Bible,
has provided the basis upon which the United States has been founded.
It is as true today as it was
centuries ago when the psalmist wrote, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 32:12). The nation that honors and
reverences God will experience His blessings of protection, provision and
peace.
I find it very interesting that
while today they talk about separation of church and state, these men who led
our country knew none of it. "Whereas today we have a separation of church and
state, then there was a union.... Religion, virtue, statehood and citizenship
were very much united." --Herb London
The American people are on the
whole an industrious lot. Lyman Abbot, a preacher in the 1805, said: "A
nation is made great not by its fruitful acres but the men who cultivate them;
not by its great forests but by the men who use them; not by its mines but by
the men who build and run them. America
was a great land when Columbus
discovered it. Americans have made it a great nation."
Now hear what American presidents
have said about God and the Bible.
"It is impossible
to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible" --George Washington
"So great is my
veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more
confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country
and respectable members of society..." --John Quincy Adams
"That book, sir,
is the rock on which our republic rests" --Andrew Jackson
"I believe the
Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of
the world is communicated to us through this book. But for it we could not know
right from wrong" --Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln was also noted
as saying: "It
is the duty of nations as well as men to recognize the truth announced in Holy
Scripture and proven by all of history that those nations only are blessed
whose God is the Lord."
"Hold fast to the
Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties. Write its precepts in your hearts,
and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book are we indebted
for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our
guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a 2 reproach
to any people" --Ulysses S. Grant
"If you take out
of your statutes, your constitution, your family life all that is taken from
the Sacred Book, what would there be left to bind society together?"
--Benjamin Harrison
"Almost every man
who has by his life-work added to the sum of human achievement of which the
race is proud, of which our people are proud, almost every such man has based
his life-work largely upon the teachings of the Bible" --Theodore
Roosevelt
"We have staked
the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government ...
not in the Constitution... (but) upon the capacity of each and every one of us
to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments" --James Madison
"The government
of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country. There is no way by
which we can substitute the authority of the law for the virtues of men"
--Calvin Coolidge
Dare any of us say that the words
of these former presidents were wrong?
Our religious heritage is
extraordinary. Think of the early pilgrims and Puritans, the influence of the
Great Awakening, the urban revival of the late 1800s, and the missionary
movement of the 20th century. All contributed to a strong biblical underpinning
of American values. Yes, America
was built on Christian creed and principles based on the Bible.
It was Daniel Webster who said,
"If we abide by the principles taught by the Bible, our country will go on
prospering."
God is Lord of a nation when its
laws and lawmakers acknowledge the truths and principles of the Bible as
the supreme standard. This was certainly true in the formative year of our
great nation. What a spiritual deterioration in our present day Supreme Court
from the Supreme Court in 1811, when it said, "Whatever strikes
at the root of Christianity tends to destroy civil government." And in
1892, it said: "Our laws and institutions must necessarily be based on
and must include the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind."
I don't wonder why over the years
there has been a steady spiritual deterioration. Our culture has slowly
disengaged itself from its spiritual roots.
Let's commit ourselves to pray
for those in authority on the local, state and national levels. Let's put
ourselves on God's side. Lincoln
was right when he said: "My concern is not whether God is on our side. My great
concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."
-----------
Amen.
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God
is always right. And His Word is truth. Ultimately, God wants salvation for all
people everywhere. That is why He gave this lost world His Son, Jesus Christ.
If you would like to learn more about what God's Word says regarding His plan
of salvation for mankind, click here
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More
Quotes:
"I do believe in
Almighty God! And I believe also in the Bible...Let us look forward to the time
when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the Cross, and there
let it wave as it waved in the olden times, and let us gather around it and inscribed
for our motto: "Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and
forever," and exclaim, Christ first, our country next!"
– Andrew Johnson
"Almighty God
hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it temporal punishments
or burdens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our
religion. No men shall...suffer on account of his religious opinions or
belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their
opinion in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether
acting singly or collectively. Commerce between master and slave is despotism.
Nothing is more certainly written in the Book of Life than that these people
are to be free.
The precepts of philosophy and of the Hebrew code, laid hold of actions only.
Jesus pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man, erected his tribunal in the
regions of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head."
–
Thomas Jefferson
"Whereas, the
Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just
Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a
resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for
national prayer and humiliation: And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well
as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess
their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime
truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those
nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord..."
--Abraham Lincoln
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the
liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis,
a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of
God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for
my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep
forever."
--Thomas Jefferson
"A nation which does not remember what it was
yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are
trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we
have been about.....The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the
meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual nature and needs of men. It
is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and
salvation. America
was born a Christian nation. America
was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are
derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture."
--Woodrow Wilson
"The strength of our country is the strength of its
religious convictions. The foundations of our society and our government rest
so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support
them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our
country."
--Calvin Coolidge
"Menaced by collectivist trends, we must seek revival
of our strength in the spiritual foundations which are the bedrock of our
republic. Democracy is the outgrowth of the religious conviction of the
sacredness of every human life. On the religious side, its highest embodiment
is the Bible; on the political side, the Constitution."
--Herbert Hoover
"We cannot read the history of our rise and
development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has
occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic. Where we have been the truest
and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest
measure of contentment and prosperity."
--Franklin Roosevelt
"The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was
given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes
from the teachings we get from Exodus and Saint Matthew, from Isaiah and Saint Paul. I don't think
we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have a proper fundamental
moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which
does not believe in rights for anybody except the State!"
--Harry
Truman
"The spirit of man is more important than mere
physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth. The
Bible is endorsed by the ages. Our civilization is built upon its words. In no
other book is there such a collection of inspired wisdom, reality, and
hope."
--Dwight
Eisenhower
"The first and almost the only book deserving of universal
attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world . . . and I say to you,
'Search the Scriptures.'"
-- John
Quincy Adams
Upon hearing a man defaming God's Word, Jackson rebuked him with
the following well-chosen words:
"Sir,
that Book is the Rock on which our Republic rests!"
"I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take
all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance by faith, and you
will live and die a better man."
--Abraham
Lincoln
"Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your
liberties; write its precepts on your hearts and practice them in your lives.
To the influence of this book we are indebted for the progress made, and to
this we must look as our guide in the future."
--
Ulysses S. Grant
The ultimate goal of the Bible is to impart the
knowledge of salvation through God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. To learn more
about God’s plan of salvation visit here.
“It can not be emphasized too strongly
or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists,
but by Christians, not on religions, but
on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” -
Patrick Henry
“In the name of God. Amen. Having
undertaken for the glory of God and for the advancement of the Christian faith,
do solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God covenant and combine ourselves
together” – Mayflower Compact of 1620
“Whereas we all came into these parts
with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel of purity and peace.” – New England Confederation 1643
“We, therefore, the Representatives of
the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…And for the
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our
sacred Honor.” -- Declaration
of Independence
of the Thirteen Colonies 1776
At the first Constitutional Convention,
the delegates were frustrated due to the burdens of the hour. They were
burdened and harassed by tremendous crisis. They were so fragmented and divided
that they were just about to throw out the whole concept of a constitution
completely. Then Benjamin Franklin rose to his feet and said: "Gentlemen,
if it is true that not one single petal from any flower falls to the ground
without escaping God's attention, will the distress of this nation go unheeded?
Let us therefore determine to seek His face."
"From the time of the Declaration
of Independence,
the American People were bound by the laws of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which
they all acknowledge as the root of their conduct. We all came together to obey
the word of God." - John Quincy Adams
"Do not let anyone claim tribute of
American patriotism if they even attempt to remove religion from
politics." - George Washington
"The 1st amendment has created a wall of
separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall,
it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that
Christian principles will always stay in government." - Thomas Jefferson
EXCERPTS FROM THE PREAMBLES OF ALL 50 UNITED STATES:
Alabama
1901, Preamble. "We the people of the State of Alabama,
invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and
establish the following Constitution ... "
Alaska
1956, Preamble. "We, the people of Alaska,
grateful to God and
To those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land . "
Arizona
1911, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Arizona,
grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this
Constitution... "
Arkansas
1874, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Arkansas,
Grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form
of government... "
California
1879, Preamble. "We, the People of the State of
California,
grateful to Almighty God for our freedom..."
Colorado
1876, Preamble. "We, the people of Colorado,
with profound
Reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe .. "
Connecticut
1818, Preamble. "The People of Connecticut, acknowledging
With gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to
enjoy ... "
Delaware
1897, Preamble. "Through Divine Goodness all men have, by
nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according
to the dictates of their consciences .. "
Florida
1885, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Florida,
grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty ... establish
this Constitution..."
Georgia
1777, Preamble. "We, the people of Georgia, relying upon
Protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this
Constitution... "
Hawaii
1959, Preamble. "We, the people of Hawaii,
Grateful for Divine
Guidance .. establish this Constitution "
Idaho
1889, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful
To Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings .. "
Illinois
1870, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Illinois,
Grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious
liberty which He hath So long permitted us to enjoy and looking to
Him for a blessing on our endeavors... "
Indiana
1851, Preamble. "We, the People of the State of Indiana,
grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to chose
our form of government . .."
Iowa
1857, Preamble. "We, the People of the State of Iowa,
grateful
to The Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling
our Dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings ...
establish this Constitution "
Kansas
1859, Preamble. "We, the people of Kansas,
grateful to
Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges ... establish
this Constitution. "
Kentucky
1891, Preamble. "We, the people of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky are grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political and
religious liberties... "
Louisiana
1921, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Louisiana,
Grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious
liberties we enjoy ...."
Maine
1820, Preamble. "We the People of Maine
.. acknowledging with
Grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe
in affording us an opportunity ... and imploring His aid and
direction . ."
Maryland
1776, Preamble. "We, the people of the state of Maryland,
Grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty... "
Massachusetts
1780, Preamble. "We...the people of Massachusetts,
acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great
Legislator of The Universe... in the course of His Providence, an
opportunity ..and Devoutly imploring His direction ... "
Michigan
1908, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Michigan,
Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom ... establish
this Constitution "
Minnesota,
1857, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Minnesota,
grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to
perpetuate its blessings . "
Mississippi
1890, Preamble. "We, the people of Mississippi
in
Convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His
blessing on our work....."
Missouri 1845, Preamble
"We, the people of Missouri, with
profound
Reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His
goodness ...establish this Constitution ..."
Montana
1889, Preamble. "We, the people of Montana,
grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this
Constitution .. "
Nebraska
1875, Preamble. "We, the people, grateful to Almighty God
for Our freedom .. establish this Constitution .. ."
Nevada
1864, Preamble. "We the people of the State of Nevada,
grateful to Almighty God for our freedom ... establish this
Constitution . ."
New Hampshire 1792, Part I.
Art. I. Sec. V. "Every individual has a
Natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the
dictates of his own conscience . "
New Jersey
1844, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of New
Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty
which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a
blessing on our endeavors....."
New Mexico
1911, Preamble. "We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to
Almighty God for the blessings of liberty .. "
New York
1846, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of New York,
Grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its
blessings . "
North Carolina
1868, Preamble. "We the people of the State of North
Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations,
for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging
our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those . ."
North Dakota
1889, Preamble. "We, the people of North
Dakota,
grateful To Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious
liberty, do ordain... "
Ohio
1852, Preamble. "We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote
Our common .. "
Oklahoma
1907, Preamble. "Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in
order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty .....
establish this... "
Oregon 1857, Bill of
Rights, Article I.
Section 2. "All men shall be
Secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the
dictates of their consciences . "
Pennsylvania
1776, Preamble. "We, the people of Pennsylvania,
grateful To Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious
liberty, and Humbly invoking His guidance . ..."
Rhode Island
1842, Preamble. "We the People of the State of Rhode
Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and
religious liberty
which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a
blessing ."
South Carolina
1778, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of South
Carolina . grateful to God for our liberties, do
ordain and establish
This Constitution .. "
South Dakota
1889, Preamble. "We, the people of South
Dakota,
grateful To Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties ...
establish this ...."
Tennessee
1796, Art. XI.III. "That all men have a natural and
Indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates
of their conscience... "
Texas
1845, Preamble. "We the People of the Republic of Texas,
acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God .. "
Utah
1896, Preamble. "Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty,
We establish this Constitution .. "
Vermont
1777, Preamble. "Whereas all government ought to ... enable
The individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and
other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on
man ..... "
Virginia
1776, Bill of Rights, XVI .. "Religion, or the Duty which we
Owe our Creator ... can be directed only by Reason .. and that it is
the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and
Charity towards each other
"
Washington
1889, Preamble. "We the People of the State of Washington,
grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do
ordain this Constitution .. "
West Virginia
1872, Preamble. "Since through Divine Providence we
enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we,
the people of West Virginia
.. reaffirm our faith in and constant
reliance upon God .. "
Wisconsin
1848, Preamble. "We, the people of Wisconsin,
grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility ... "
Wyoming
1890, Preamble. "We, the people of the State of Wyoming,
grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties ...
establish This Constitution .. "
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