One of the first pronouncements of President Obama as President was “America is not a Christian Nation.” It is certainly true that too many Americans are not living by Christian principles today, and that the Christian foundations are being assaulted by the liberal media, leftist elites, much of the Democratic Party, and extreme groups like the ACLU (Anti-Christ Lawyers’ Union), but if one denies our Christian foundations and our unprecedented advance because of Christian principles, he is either ignorant of our history or plainly dishonest.
I have my BS in history and political science from the great Wake Forest University, my M.A. in history-government, Duke University, and my Doctorate in Church History from New Orleans Seminary, which gives me some right to write this article on the 16 indisputable evidences that America is a Christian nation: (My M. Div. Duke University, where I served as Assistant to Dr. Ray Petry, world authority on medieval history)
- 1492 – America Christian Roots – Columbus saw his voyage as fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that the heathen would turn to the true God: “It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) to sail to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures…Our Lord Jesus Christ desired to perform a very obvious miracle in the voyage to the Indies…”[1]
- 1606 – Pilgrim Spiritual Covenant in England.
- 1620- Mayflower Compact of Pilgrims. “That famous document, also known as the ‘birth certificate of America,’ affirmed that they set out in this great undertaking ‘for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith.”[2]
- 1622- Of Plymouth Plantation by Governor Bradford, who named the Pilgrims, quoting 1 Peter 2:11.
- 1636- First College in American, Harvard, whose charter stated that the purpose of the university was to confront every student with the gospel and see no one left unsaved. Yale, Princeton, William and Mary, Brown, Duke, Wake Forest founded on Christian principles.
- 1643- New England “We all came into these parts of America, with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[3]
- 1726-1742 – The Great Awakening. “During the 1730s and 1740s, a major revival swept through many of the colonies. This Great Awakening helped to bond the disparate colonies and united them in one spirit. It reinforced the vital importance of the Bible in the life of the Americans of that era. Ellis Sandoz, who heads the Eric Voegelin Institute at Louisiana State University, affirms… “Liberty thundered forth from colonial pulpits…and ignited the War for Independence.”[4]
- Devotion of key Christian Patriots:
- John Weatherspoon, distinguished clergyman who signed the Declaration of Independence and exerted great influence for Christian principles in our founding documents.[5]
- Samuel Adams, often called “the Father of the American Revolution.” [6]
- Patrick Henry, the golden tongue-orator of the Revolutionary period, declaring “Give me liberty or give me death.” [7]
- George Washington – perhaps the greatest Christian of all. When inaugurated in 1789 Washington got down on his knees and kicked the Bible, then led the Senate and House of Representatives to worship two hours in the Episcopal Church.[8]
- James Madison, Father of the Constitution. “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, but upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”[9]
- The Federalist Papers Number 51, “But what is government but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external or internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”[10]
- 1787 – Northwest Ordinance – “Religion, morality and knowledge being essential to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. Notice that schools were to be established to teach religion, morality, and knowledge!”[11]
- The Supreme Court. “In the Trinity Decision of 1892, the Supreme Court examined literally thousands of documents that had anything to do with the founding of this country – every state constitution, all of the compacts that led up to 1776, all of the various decisions of the courts. Finally, they said: ‘These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”[12]
More Evidences that America is a Christian Nation:
- The inscription on the Great Seal of America – Annuit Coeptis – He has Favored our undertakings.
- Inscriptions on our coins and bills. “In God we trust.”
- “This nation, under God” in Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, reaffirmed under President Eisenhower, 1954.
- Declaration of Independence contains four references to God: Creator, Lawmaker, Supreme Judge, and Protector.
- Lincoln’s Second Inaugural – 14 references to God and two Bible verses in 732 words.
- White House – I visited the State Dining Room in 1979 and shall never forget reading the prayer on the fireplace mantle by John Adams. “I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it. May none but the honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”[13] Throughout our history there have been many religious observances in the White House.
- The Supreme Court: Moses with the Ten Commandments on the wall where the justices meet.
- Capital Rotunda: 8 historical paintings are on display, such as “The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, The Baptism of Pocahontas, one of the first converts in the new world, and the Apotheosis of Washington (his ascent into heaven).
- Washington Monument – Biblical words carved- “Holiness to the Lord,” “Search the Scripture,” Train up a child in the way he should go,” Two words at the very top of the monument, Laus Deo, “Praise to God.”
- Pledge of Allegiance adopted by Congress in 1954 which speaks of “One nation, under God, indivisible.”
- The First Amendment to the Constitution (1790) – “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Historically, it has always been understood that in America there would be no State Church like the one they had in England, and that there is a separation of the function of the Church from the function of the State. But the first amendment does not mean there is to be a separation of God or Christianity from the State, which we find taking place in our country today. A relatively new interpretation of the Church and State began in 1947 with the Supreme Courts decision in Everson vs. the Board of Education, which erected a High Wall of separation between church and State, which was never intended by our founders or the first Amendment. See David Barton, The Myth of Separation, and John Eidmoe’s, Christianity and the Constitution.
[1] Dr. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcomb, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born, Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1994, p. 76
[2] Ibid. p. 62
[3] Ibid. p. 64
[4] Ibid. pp. 65-66
[5] Ibid. p. 68
[6] Ibid. p. 67
[7] Ibid. 67
[8] Ibid. p. 69
[9] Ibid. p. 71
[10] Ibid. p. 72
[11] Ibid. p. 73
[12] Ibid. p. 73
[13] Newt Gingrich, Rediscovering God in America, Integrity House: Nashville, 2006, p.114.