What is it that makes America great and unique among the nations of the earth?
“They cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way towards it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remotes part of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.” (William Bradford, The Plymouth Settlement, Mantle Ministries, San Antonio, 1988, 21).
The Founding Fathers of the United States firmly believed God had called them to establish a colony in the Americas to be a light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; a new Israel, as it were.
Upon preparing to disembark from the Mayflower onto the shores at Plymouth Rock these hearty souls entered into a covenant with Almighty God.
“In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, Kingdom James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King Defender of the Faith, etc., having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation an d the furtherance of the ends aforesaid and by virtue, hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws ordinances acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general use of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have here underscribed our names at Cape Cod, 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. A.D. 1620” (Bradford, The Plymouth Settlement, 75-76).
Notice they were establishing a body politic and government structure “In the Name of God” and with the express purpose “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith.”
It could not be clearer.
Patrick Henry, leader in the American Revolution, Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia Militia, member of the Continental Congress, and a member of the Virginia General Assembly and House of Burgesses; offered the positions of Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by George Washington, but he declined, knew very well the heart of our nation’s Founding Fathers. He boldly stated,
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here.”
This covenant with God was affirmed further in the Declaration of Independence, “We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America in general congress assembled, appealing to the supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions… and for the support of this declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
The United States of America is unique in the nations of history because it was formed in covenant with Almighty God and His Word, the Holy Bible, was the guidebook and the foundation for the laws of the land and the constitution of its government.
Only one other nation in the history of mankind was so formed, Israel.
What does that mean for the USA, now that she has become post-Christian and rapidly moving toward anti-Christian?
Is it possible for a nation to throw off its god or exchange its god for another god without serious consequence?
Does it even matter?
There is only one example to which America can look and discover the answer. The prophet Isaiah answered that question.
“Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. So man will be brought low and mankind humbled — do not forgive them” (Isaiah 2:5-9 NIV).
Read part two The Danger of Tolerance and Political Correctness