God In America

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

John Adams

(This post is the third of a series about Presidents and their religious views.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

Adams was raised a Congregationalist, since his ancestors were Puritans. According to his biographer David McCullough, "as his family and friends knew, Adams was both a devout Christian, and an independent thinker". In a letter to Benjamin Rush, Adams credited religion with the success of his ancestors since their migration to the New World in the 1630s. He believed that regular church service was beneficial to man's moral sense.

http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/god-in-the-white-house/

In contrast to his predecessor, John Adams was a self-professed "church-going animal" who made no secret of his religiosity. Raised in the Congregational Church, the established church in his home state of Massachusetts, John Adams later became a Unitarian. Unitarianism, a liberal strand of Christianity popular in New England, began in the liberal wing of the Congregational Church. Like other men educated during the period of the Enlightenment, Adams professed belief in a simpler, less mysterious form of Christianity. In a letter to his early political rival and late-in-life friend Thomas Jefferson, Adams wrote “without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company -- I mean hell."

In a second letter to Jefferson, written following the death of his beloved wife, Abigail, Adams ponders the question of the afterlife: "I do not know how to prove physically, that we shall meet and know each other in a future state; nor does Revelation, as I can find, give us any positive assurance of such a felicity. My reasons for believing it, as I do most undoubtedly, are that I cannot conceive such a being could make such a species as the human, merely to live and die on this earth. If I did not believe in a future state, I should believe in no God. This Universe, this all would appear, with all of its swelling pomp, a boyish firework. And if there be a future state, why should the Almighty dissolve forever all the tender ties which unite us so delightfully in this world, and forbid us to see each other in the next?"

http://johnadamsinfo.com/was-john-adams-a-christian/92/

There are many famous quotes of John Adams on religion, especially in response to the Atheism of Thomas Paine. For John Adams, Atheist beliefs were a threat to a decent and moral society. He rebuked Thomas Paine's criticism of Christianity by declaring that no other religion had more "wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity." But John Adams was independent of mind to recognize consequences of any established religion. In the view of John Adams, Christianity had been twisted over the centuries by authorities who used superstition and division to control the populace, abuse minorities, and lead large scale wars. In the writing of John Adams on religion, he often criticized the Roman Catholic Church for its corrupted structure of power and deceit. John Adams' religion certainly changed during his life, but he always believed in the virtue of Christianity and attended church regularly throughout his life.

Quotes by John Adams

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

“There is no such thing as human wisdom; all is the providence of God”

“The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount contain my religion.”

“I cannot conceive such a Being could make such a Species as the human, merely to live and die on this earth”

http://christianity.about.com/od/independenceday/a/foundingfathers.htm.

"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be."

--Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.

"The general principles, on which the Fathers achieved independence, were the only Principles in which that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could Unite, and these Principles only could be intended by them in their address, or by me in my answer. And what were these general Principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in which all these Sects were United: And the general Principles of English and American Liberty, in which all those young Men United, and which had United all Parties in America, in Majorities sufficient to assert and maintain her Independence.

"Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God; and that those Principles of Liberty, are as unalterable as human Nature and our terrestrial, mundane System."

--Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, excerpt from a letter to Thomas Jefferson.

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

--Adams wrote this in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776.

Ray R Barmore
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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

George Washington

(This post is the second of a series about Presidents and their religious views.)

Oath of Office

Washington took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, with his hand on the Bible. Immediately following the oath, Washington added, "So help me God," and bent forward and kissed the Bible before him. He then delivered America's first inaugural address, in which he made note of America's indebtedness to our Creator, stating: No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency.

First Inaugural Address April 30, 1789

Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.

General Orders – July 2, 1776

The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army—Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect—We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our own Country’s Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions—The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny meditated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

(Note that Washington was not only asserting that individuals have obligations before God, but that nations do as well. At this point, the United States government was not yet a year old.)

Other Information

During the first meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in September, George Washington prayed alongside the other delegates, including Patrick Henry, John Jay, and Edmund Randolph, as they received the news that war with England had erupted in Boston. Here Anabaptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Unitarians, and Presbyterians all recited Psalm 35 together as patriots.

Washington believed in a God who responded to prayer and human need. Of his experiences in the battlefield, Washington reported, "By the all powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation."

Farewell Address

Of the link between religion and morality, Washington states in his Farewell Address, "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

Ray R Barmore
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The Herbal Guy
San Diego California
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Monday, November 24, 2014

Barack Hussein Obama II

This post starts a very long series about Presidents and their religious views. It seems only appropriate to start with Barack Hussein Obama II. There is a lot of discussion about Obama’s religion based on many things that he says and statements in his books. He seems overly sympathetic to Islam while professing to be a Christian. He often refers to the holy koran. Keeping with the one God belief, the koran can’t be holy unless he believes Allah is the one God, therefore he wouldn’t be a Christian. So, the debate continues.

Most of this article is taken from http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/god-in-the-white-house/ unless otherwise noted.

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II

Raised in a secular household, Obama embraced Christianity after a spiritual awakening during his 20s. The sermons of Pastor Jeremiah Wright combined scriptural lessons with a call to social activism, which appealed to Obama, who was at the time a community organizer. Obama joined Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

Obama later described his decision: "I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn't suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works."

In January 2008, Obama told Christianity Today: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life." On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views saying "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me. (1)

Obama's personal religion became a topic of debate and speculation during the 2008 election campaign, when opponents suggested that Obama was either a Muslim because of his father's heritage or a racist Christian, based on some of the Rev. Wright's controversial sermons. During the campaign, Obama was ultimately forced to separate himself fully from the pastor, and he resigned his 20-year membership at Trinity.

As a candidate, Obama delivered the keynote speech at a conference organized by the liberal evangelical minister Jim Wallis. "Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square," he said. "Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryan, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King -- indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history -- were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their 'personal morality' into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition."

In the same speech, Obama criticized the religious right and their argument of political issues. "I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons," he said, "but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama#Cultural_and_political_image

Ray R Barmore
Health and Wellness Coach
The Herbal Guy
San Diego California
619-876-5273
Skype: barmore4
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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Faith in a Provident God

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the eleventh and the last one based on that book)

The World War II Memorial

“The real fire within the builders of America was faith – faith in a Provident God whose hand supported and guided them: faith in themselves as the children of God … faith in their country and its principles that proclaimed man’s right to freedom and justice.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Thirty-fourth President of the United States

During World War II, the government issued seventeen million Bibles to the soldiers with a message in them from Generals Eisenhower and Marshall. In addition, many of the government printed World War II posters contained religious imagery.

The World War II Memorial was officially dedicated May 32, 2004, Memorial Day. In his proclamation for a day of prayer for permanent peace, President George W. Bush offered these words on behalf of a grateful nation.

“Today, all who wear the uniform of the United States are serving at a crucial hour in history, and each has answered a great call to serve our Nation on the front lines of freedom. As we continue to fight terrorism and promote peace and freedom, let us pray for the safety and strength of our troops, and for God’s blessing on them and their families, and for those that have lost love ones.”

Arlington National Cemetery

The inscription on the Tomb of the Unknowns reads, “Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God.”

John F. Kennedy

“The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”

John F. Kennedy
Thirty-fifth President of the United States

Kennedy’s inaugural address concluded:

“With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help but knowing that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”

For a very insightful conclusion to this book, pick up a copy of "Rediscovering God in America" by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

The White House

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the tenth of many based on that book)

THE DIVINE AUTHOR OF EVERY GOOD GIFT

“And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land.”

  James Madison
  Fourth President of the United States
  Chief Architect of the Constitution

RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN THE WHITE HOUSE

The White House is perhaps the most recognizable Washington, D.C., landmark, but it also plays seasonal host for many religious observances. As you approach the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, look just ahead to the left. In front of the White House and adjacent to the National Mall is the Ellipse, the site of the National Christmas Tree and the National Hanukkah Menorah. Despite a number of legal challenges, the Pageant of Peace takes place each year on the Ellipse. In addition to the National Christmas Tree and Hanukkah Menorah, it features Christmas trees from each of the states, a nativity scene, and nightly musical performances.

The tradition of placing a decorated Christmas tree in the White House began in 1889. While it started as a gathering for President Harrison's family and friends, the lighting of the White House Christmas tree has become a national tradition. In 1929, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover started the unbroken custom of first ladies trimming the "official" White House Christmas tree. In 1961 First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for decorations, modeling it after Peter Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite ballet. First Lady Laura Bush selected themes such as "Home for the Holidays" and "All Creatures Great and Small" to adorn the tree.

Since 1878, American presidents and their families have celebrated Easter Monday by hosting an "egg roll" party on the White Houses lawn, one of the oldest events in White House history. The original site for this tradition was the grounds of the U.S. Capitol until Congress passed a legislation forbidding it. In response, President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the south lawn of the White House to local children and families to continue the tradition of egg rolling on Easter. Successive presidents have sustained this custom, canceling it only for occasional poor weather and two world wars.

Through the years, the White House has also been the site of prayer services and other religiously themed gatherings. After the Civil War, First Lady Lucy Hayes and President Rutherford B.Hayes hosted prayer services and hymn singing for members of the Cabinet, the Congress, and their families. They also renewed their vows before a Methodist minister in the Executive Mansion on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

President William McKinley also hosted gatherings in the Blue Room of the Executive Mansion on Sunday evenings in which he and visiting clergy would lead the group in hymn singing. If you get the chance to go on the White House tour, be sure to visit the State Dining Room. The fireplace mantel contains a prayer by President 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.”

Adams wrote these words to his wife, Abigail, after first moving into the residence in November 1800. President Franklin Roosevelt subsequently discovered Adams' words in the later years of World War II and had them carved into the stone fireplace below a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1953, President Dwight David Eisenhower hosted the National Prayer Breakfast out of a desire to meet with the House and Senate prayer groups and unite the nation's leaders under the common bond of faith. Over the years, the annual tradition has grown to include, by personal invitation, friends from all the fifty states and over one hundred countries throughout the world.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

In God I Trust

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the nineth of many based on that book)

Ronald Reagan

“Faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation – and always have – and that the church – and by that I mean all churches, all denominations – have had a strong influence on the state.”

Ronald Reagan
Fortieth President of the Unites States

Ronald Reagan spoke eloquently and often about his faith in God and how He inspired him and the nation. In 1984, he wrote In God I Trust, a memoir of his life and faith. On March 8, 1983, he declared the following in an address to an evangelical convention:

I tell you there are a great many God-fearing, dedicated, noble men and women in public life, present company included. And yes, we need your help to keep us ever mindful of the ideas and the principles that brought us into the public arena in the first place. The basis of those ideals and principles is a commitment to freedom and personal liberty that, itself is grounded in the much deeper realization that freedom prospers only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly accepted. The American experiment in democracy rests on this insight.

THE RONALD REAGAN BUILDING

The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was deticated in 1998, it covers more than seven acres and houses nearly seven thousand federal employees, along with private sector, non-profit, and international trade organizations.

Outside the main entrance to the building is a statue called "Liberty of Worship." The figure is shown as leaning against the Ten Commandments, yet another allusion to the close tie between religion and liberty. The inscription on the statue states: "Our liberty of worship is not a concession nor a privilege but an inherent right."

THE FAITH OF RONALD REAGAN

It is especially appropriate that the "Liberty of Worship" statue is found outside a federal building named after Ronald Reagan. President Reagan saw religious liberty as an irreplaceable underpinning of our democratic freedoms. This theme can be seen in many of his speeches as president.

In a speech at Georgetown University on its bicentennial, Reagan commended the theme of the celebration: learning, faith, and freedom. "Each reinforces the others, each makes the others possible. For what are they without each other?" He asked the audience to pray that all of America be guided by learning, faith, and freedom. "De Tocqueville said it in 1835, and it's as true today as it was then: 'Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is more needed in democratic societies than in any other.”

As president, Reagan frequently invoked the words of George Washington, who said that religion and morality were "indispensable supports" to the prosperity of our political system. During a radio address in December 1983, he described one of his favorite paintings, which shows George Washington praying at Valley Forge. He said the painting "personified a people who knew it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness; they must also seek help from God, their Father and their Preserver."

At an ecumenical prayer breakfast in August 1984 in Dallas, Texas, Reagan said:

I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation—and always have—and that the church—and by that I mean all churches, all denominations—has had a strong influence on the state.

And this has worked to our benefit as a nation. Those who created our country—the Founding Fathers and Mothers—understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion.

Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

One of Reagan's most memorable speeches was delivered before the National Association of Evangelicals in March 1983. In it, he famously called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and promised "one day, with God's help" the world's nuclear arsenals would be totally eliminated.

In the same speech, Reagan attacked the government's "attempts to water down traditional values and even abrogate the original terms of American democracy. Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged."

He then closed the speech with scripture: "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increased strength. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary."

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Rock Upon Which Our Republic Rests

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the eighth of many based on that book)

The Library of Congress

“The highest story of the American Revolution is this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

JOHN ADAMS
Second President of the United States

The Library of Congress was originally established in 1800 as a legislative library. However, it grew into much more.

Today on its website, www.loc.gov, the Library of Congress immodestly describes its mission "to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."

To accomplish this monumental mission, the Library of Congress employs over 5,000 people and houses approximately 130 million items catalogued on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. This includes over 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts, with 10,000 new items added to the collection daily (out of over 22,000 submissions daily).

All this makes the Library of Congress by far the largest library in the world.

THE GREAT HALL

Out of the over one hundred thirty million items in the Library of Congress' collection, only two are on permanent display in the Great Hall. The first is the Giant Bible of Mainz, a handwritten and illustrated version of the Bible considered to be one of the most beautiful ever created.

The second is the Gutenberg Bible, the first mass printed book, which soon made hand-printed books like the Giant Bible of Mainz obsolete. The copy at the Library of Congress is printed on vellum, or animal skin, and is one of only three perfect copies still in existence.

In addition to the two Bibles, the Great Hall displays other evidence of the nation's strong religious underpinnings. The following passages are inscribed on the ceiling and the walls of the Great Hall: "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not" (John 1:5); "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7); and Dante's "Nature is the Art of God."

THE MAIN READING ROOM

Anyone who wishes access to the Library of Congress's books and bound periodicals must first start in the Main Reading Room. Here researchers begin their initial search for knowledge using the electronic resources in the Computer Catalog Center and the Main Card Catalog. Approximately 70,000 volumes are stored in the Main Reading Room reference collection and hundreds of books and bound periodicals are delivered to the Main Reading Room every day for research.

There are several instances of religious imagery and scripture verse found in the Main Reading Room. They include a bronze statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments and a painting on the ceiling called Judea, showing a young Jewish woman praying.

In addition, two scripture passages are inscribed on the walls: What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" (Micah 6:8) and "The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).

"RELIGION AND THE FOUNDING OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC"

In 1998, the Library of Congress held an exhibit called "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic." The exhibit explored the role of religion in the colonies from Jamestown through the post-Revolutionary War era in which many of our governmental and societal institutions were formed. While no longer on display, this exhibit continues to influence thinking about the role of religion in the founding of our great nation.

The exhibit displayed over two hundred artifacts from the founding of the American Republic. This included manuscripts, books, correspondence, and paintings both from the Library's collection and on loan from other institutions. The exhibit was divided into seven sections focusing on the following issues:

   • America as a refuge for those seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe and how their beliefs formed the foundation for our society;
   • The Great Awakening from 1740 to 1745 and how it led to the drive to independence;
   • The role of religion in the lives of our nation's greatest Revolutionary leaders;
   • The way religion affected those who formed the structure of our government;
   • The policies of our early federal government leaders toward religion;
   • The policies of our early state government leaders toward religion; and
   • The "Golden Age" of Evangelicalism in America through the 1830s.

The exhibits demonstrated with conviction that religion and morality were, in Alexis de Tocqueville's words, "indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions."

I hope that those who left the exhibit asked themselves the following question: "Are the religious and moral supports described by George Washington no longer as important to our nation's well-being? Or do we ban the expression of such supports in our public square at the peril of our Republic?"

Newt Gingrich