THE HERITAGE OF A GODLY NATION

On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was drafted and signed on board the Mayflower as the ship approached Cape Cod. It is justly regarded as a key document in American history (Boorstin 19). The first sentence of this document reads "In the name of God Amen." Christopher Columbus continued throughout the document that the mission he was on was for the "grace of God", and whatever God led him to he would do it for God. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, established the purpose and beliefs of the young nation when he wrote "...the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God are entitled to [the American people]" and when he wrote "...[all men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,..."

The Bible played a vital role in forming the laws of the United States. Professor John Eidsmoe has identified over a dozen examples of Biblical teachings incorporated into the Constitution including: the equality of man; God-given rights; government by the consent of the governed; the fallen nature of man; the rights of criminal defendants; property rights; and the sanctity of contracts (Bender 39). The Founding Fathers in the opening days of the Constitutional Convention in 1776 decided that if there was an argument on an issue which could not be resolve, they would do what ever the bible taught. This is shown throughout the Constitution. Deuteronomy 17:18 directs us to "write down a copy of the law." It is easy to see how the framers came up with the three branches of government after researching their Bibles Isaiah 33:22 reads:

For the Lord is our judge (Judicial), The Lord is our lawgiver (Legislative), The Lord is our king (Executive);

Also, in Numbers 11:16 the bible tells us to gather elders of the people to be officers over them, and in Exodus 18:21 the bible commands us to "select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them, as leaders of thousands, of hundred, of fifties and of tens." First Samuel 8:12 describes how a leader shall "appoint for himself commanders...to do his plowing, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war. This describes the need for a cabinet to help the president perform the many duties he has. The right of an accused to speak his side is detailed in John 8:51. Luke 20:25 instructs us to "render unto [the government] the things that are [the governments]", or in layman's terms pay taxes to the government. When Thomas Jefferson thought it desirable to provide tax exemption to benevolent institutions, including churches, he did so because of the Bible (St. John). Ezra 7:24 states that "it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute or toll on any...house of God." (The New Open Bible, NASV)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... These two clauses are the best way the Founding Father's could describe their feelings how the government should interact with religion. The Framers thought that the government was supposed to stay out of religion; ant, lately politicians have turned it around to mean that religion is supposed to stay out of government. A God fearing Christian man, George Washington wrote, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land...every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart" (Ehrenreich 72). The Founding Fathers and the justices of the early Court believed that there was a discoverable order in the universe that governed, or should govern, in the affairs of men as it governed the movement of the planets and the world of nature. The source of this law was Jehovah God (Smith 533). Although the Framers did not want a state church, they had no intention of altogether dissociating the Republic from the Christian religion. Ernest van den Haag, an expert in the early events of the United States, wrote: Indeed, the Establishment Clause was as much meant to protect religion from political interference as it was meant to protect the government from ecclesiastical interference. Churches and the government were to thrive separately, but the mutual independence was not an expression of indifference, let alone hostility. On the contrary, the Framers felt that the republic rested on civic virtue which, they thought, rested largely on the Christian religion.

If the basic purpose of the Establishment Clause was to create a complete and permanent separation of church and state, then why did the first House of Representatives, after voting up the amendment, ask President Washington to issue a proclamation recommending to the people of the United States "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God?" (St. John 12). It offers no support to those who claim that the First Amendment erected a "high and impregnable" wall between church and state (Cord 36). The Constitution was written by men who were either Christians themselves or were influenced by Biblical teachings on law and government. During the 1992 campaign at a breakfast of religious leaders, [former President George Bush] scorched the Democrats for failing to mention God in their platform and declaimed that a president needs to believe in the Almighty. The Establishment Clause in the first amendment of the United States Constitution insures that there would be no national religion, the Founding Fathers did not want to institute one particular sect of Christianity, they wanted every American to practice Christianity in any way that they desire. In order for this country to remain a super power, the United States government must go back to its roots when it passed laws that were moral and augmented through Christian faith.