Can God bless America?

I was reminded recently of a time past in the history of sports. The sport of Ice Hockey specifically. It was back in the seventies, when the Philadelphia Flyers were the team to beat to win the Stanley Cup. When the word in the media was "only God saves more than Bernie Parent". For those of you too young to remember, Bernie was the goalie for the Flyers then, and he along with Doug Favell, were the one, two punch that elevated the Flyers to the top of the world of the ice sport. There was another player of a different kind, however, that made a special appearance when the Flyers were playing at home in the Spectrum. This player never put stick to puck, or blade to ice, but was just as much an integral part of the team as any of the other great players on that championship team. I'm talking about Kate Smith. Before every home game, and especially in the playoffs, Kate's singing of the anthem "God Bless America" was not only part of the pre-game routine, it was the victory song. In fact, the Flyers never lost at home when Kate sang this anthem! In effect, she became an unspoken member of this team by the routine singing of this glorious song of praise that never went unnoticed, and was never to be forgotten! When Kate sang, the team won, it was that simple!

During Barack Obama's April 2009 visit to Turkey's Cankaya Palace, he was asked if America was a Christian nation. His reply was most disturbing: "America's a predominantly Christian nation, but I do not consider us a Christian nation."

If polled today, most Americans still believe that the US was founded on Christian principles of godly living. In fact, according to a 2008 head count, approximately 76% of Americans weighed in under the "Christian" by name banner.

Recently I did some research on the religious beliefs of the fifty-five men present at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Fifty-three were members of one of the orthodox established Christian believing churches that were represented in America at that time. In fact, the main reason for the enactment of the first amendment in regards to religion was not to establish a separation of church from state, which is the modern interpretation of this statute, but rather to prevent Congress from passing a law that would favor one Christian denomination over another: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Which was to say, in sum effect, that the Christian religion, in one form or the other, was indeed considered the very foundation of the faiths of the founding fathers upon which the government of this nation was to be established.

Patrick Henry had this to say before the House of Burgesses in May of 1765: "It cannot be emphasized too clearly, and too often that this nation was founded neither by atheists, or religionists, but by Christians; and not on religion, but rather the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of all faiths have been afforded asylum, and freedom of worship here".

Article VII of the US Constitution states: "Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the 17th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth in witness thereof..."

Note that the phrase "the year of our Lord" refers to the year that Jesus Christ was believed to have been born, and the capitalization of the word "Lord" denotes his deity. The reference to the independence of the United States of America refers to July 4, 1776 when the founders signed the Declaration of Independence because that document was the article of incorporation of the Constitution, and thus was the bedrock foundation of the American republic. The Declaration itself refers to God as "Nature's god", "Creator", "Supreme Judge of the Universe", and "Divine Providence".

On September 15, 2010 Obama addressed the Congressional Hispanic Caucas Institute and declared: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Note his omission of the key phrase upon which this statement turns, that being: "endowed by their Creator." This misquote(purposeful?)comes from,of course, the Declaration of Independence, which was the seminal document that was to distinguish the USA from every other country in history.

Inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in in our nation's capital are these words: "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 a gift from God? That they are not to be violated without his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that his justice cannot sleep forever."

While men have fought for liberty since the dawn of civilization, they have in nearly every instant replaced one tyrant with another. The American experiment, however, has been different. The documents coming from the minds, and hearts of the Founding Fathers have provided unparalleled freedom, and prosperity for over 150 years; and only began to be eroded when the Supreme Court started to "lawyer" the law, and the people no longer upheld the belief tha all freedom comes from, and is a natural right bestowed upon them by the Creator.

Prior to that time,(1963) public schools opened each day with prayer, and the Bible was read in the classroom. I remember those days in the early years of my education in which these harmless acts of reverence took place before they were struck down by the courts.

The founders rightly feared from the outset that the Bill of Rights would be compromised, and eventually eclipsed by subsequent acts of Congress, which is why they included the Tenth Amendment which states:"The powers not delegated by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people".

Thomas Jefferson was obsessively paranoid of the centralization of power because he knew that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely everyone. He therefore wrote: "It has long been my opinion that the germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the Constitutional power of the Federal Judiciary; an irresponsible body, working like gravity by night, and by day, gaining a little today, and a little more tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief in the night over the field of jurisdiction, until all power shall be usurped from the states, and the government of all shall be consolidated into one. To this end I am opposed; because when all governments domestic, and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as its center, it will render powerless the checks of one government on another, and will become as venal, and oppressive as the government from which we separated..."

It was in Engel vs. Vitale, 1962, that the "thieves" discovered a previously unrecognized chink in the "wall of separation between church, and state." Despite dozens of previous court decisions establishing the Christianity of the USA, they decreed that there could be no future mention of religion in public places. With that one single decision, the SCOTUS nullified the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation.

Then, they followed with a series of unprecedented decisions outlawing prayer in public schools, and the discussion of religion in schools, references to God in official publications, the acknowlegement of Christmas in public places, and all "language" references to its acknowledgment in signs, and announcements. As a direct result of these decisions, chilren can no longer be taught about our nation's Christian heritage, and, even more importantly, that our laws, including the Constitution, are based on Biblical scriptures.

The removal of God from public schools was replaced by a new philosophy that taught children to no longer base their moral decisions on traditional Biblical teachings of right, and wrong, but rather on their own concept of what they think is fair, and just. Accordingly, our schools adopted the belief system of Aleister Crowley who taught his disciples: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law".

In the years that have followed this train of events there have been instances far too numerous, and with increasing degree of attacks in both scope, and dimension into the public sectors collective religious consciousness. The Supreme Court's initial ruling in 1963 has now become public policy to the degree that the God of the Bible has been barred from our governmental, and public institutions, removed from our schools, forbade to be mentioned in the workplace, marginalized in the pulpits, vilified in the media, and slandered in plays, movies, and television.

William Penn, the founder of the colony of Pennsylvania wisely warned:"Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants."This nation cannot govern itself effectively without a principled Godly foundation. Constitutional government cannot survive without this basis for its existence. It was not founded on any secular premises, and has become irrelevant only to the degree to which it has been subject to the ravages of this so-called "modern" social mindset. Simply put, if we are to maintain the structure, and function of the governments of our States, and federal system, we must "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's."
Perhaps this nation should try to practice a little of the medicine that kept the Flyers of yore healthy eh? Can God bless America? The book of Chronicles tells us that"if my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves in prayer before me, I will hear their prayer, and heal their land."
I can think of no time better than the darkness of this present hour to effect these words.

This is the Revolution