Well….it depends on what you mean by a #Christian nation. If you mean are we a theocracy like ancient Israel was, then NO, America is not a theocracy. But we are not a #democracy either (where everything is voted on and the majority rules). In fact, our founding fathers spoke very disparagingly about democracies. Read faithofourfathers.net.  Ben Franklin said that, “A democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” According to our founders, America is a constitutional republic, which is a representative government ruled by law.

Interesting point….law has to be based on some moral system. Laws can be moral or immoral but not amoral. Even speeding laws are moral as they determine what a safe speed is to preserve life.  In the USA, our laws are based on:

-the Bible and

-the English system, which is mainly based on the Bible

What do you think of this John Adams quote? John Adams was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the 2^nd President of the USA. “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.”

What do you think of this George Washington quote? “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”

Did you know that while the phrase “No taxation without representation” was a popular battle cry of the American revolutionaries another popular cry was “No King but King Jesus”?

The #Declaration of Independence, our country’s 1^st founding document, has God written into it in several places.  Over 50 of the 56 signers of the Declaration were active members of their churches.  And I mean ACTIVE. Many of them were founders or members of their state’s bible societies. For example, Elias Boudinot was President of the Continental Congress, Founder and first President of the American Bible Society, President of the New Jersey Bible Society, member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and member of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The evidence is clear that not only can NONE of them be called an atheist, only the smallest handful could be called deists or agnostics. Even a deist back then is much different than a deist today.  Ben Franklin called himself a deist but he totally rejected the ‘clockmaker’ concept of God, believed that prayer was worthwhile and that God did intervene in our daily affairs. The Constitution doesn’t have God in it because it’s much like an instruction manual.  It tells us the structure of our new nation only….i.e., how to run our new nation. For a great but long article on the Christian foundations of the rule of law in the West, read www.creation.com/the-christian-foundations-of-the-rule-of-law-in-the-west-a-legacy-of-liberty-and-resistance-against-tyranny.  Another good article showing how all 50 state constitutions were dedicated to Jesus Christ is at www.christunlimited.com/answers/aamerica.html. Scroll down and click onto “Preambles to State Constitutions based on the Bibles influence”. You may have to copy and paste this site into your internet browser as clicking on it here may not work. Also read the excellent book, “America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations” by William J. Federer. I cannot recommend this reference book highly enough. It is simply the best out there.

So no, we are not a Christian nation but our country’s foundation is built on biblical and Christian values. This was taught in public schools in the early 20^th century. Then, over years, it was weeded out until my generation, schooled in the 1950’s, didn’t learn this at all. Does this surprise you?  What do you think?

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard