America’s Godly Heritage: How it was Lost? Copyright by Norman L. Geisler 2013

America’s Godly Heritage I. How Did We Get It? II. How Did We Lose It? III. How Can We Get It Back?

America’s Godly Heritage I. How Did We Get It?

1620: The Mayflower Compact The Mission of our Forefathers 1620: The Mayflower Compact “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith”

The Mayflower Compact IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King 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 one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and 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 good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the llth 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. Anno Domini 1620.

Our Freedom Has Religious Roots Thanksgiving to God

The first schools were started to teach children to read the Bible! 1647: “Old Deluder Satan Law” The Purpose of the First Schools

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 1776: Declaration of Independence The Founding Document

John Jay: President of Continental Congress “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

George Washington First Inaugural Address 1789 “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. 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.”

Massachusetts Constitution 1780 “Any persons chosen governor, lietenant- govenor, councillor, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall, before he proceeds to execute the duties of his place or office, make and subcribe the following declaration, viz.: I, A.B., do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth.” “Any persons chosen governor, lietenant- govenor, councillor, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall, before he proceeds to execute the duties of his place or office, make and subcribe the following declaration, viz.: I, A.B., do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth.”

The Articles of Confederation (1781) In Articles of Confederation document drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781 all agreed in “cooperation between the States” and sent “delegates of the United States of America” to participate. Indeed, following the spirit of The Declaration of Independence, these Articles spoke of the “Great Governor of the world” who “authorize[d] us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual union.”

Promoting Religion in Schools For example, the Northwest Ordinance (1787 and 1789) declared: "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." Thus, religion was deemed by our Founding Fathers to be “necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind."

1830’s-1930’s McGuffy’s Reader McGuffy Wrote: "John, you must always bear in mind, that it is God who made you, and who gave you all that you have and all that you hope for. He sent his Son to show you his will and to die for your sake. He gave you his word, to let you know what he had done for you and what he bids you to do” (77, 78, 80).

Presidential Prayer Proclamations President Washington (Oct. 3, 1789) declared: "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…. [I recommend] to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer...."

School Sponsored Bible Reading “Why may not the Bible, and especially the New Testament be read and taught as divine revelation [in schools]?” (Vidal, 1844).

James Madison: “Father of the U.S. Constitution” “Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.” (Memorial & Remonstrance, 1785).

America is a Religious Nation (It is not a Secular Nation) Our government was based in God. “We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being” (Zorach, 1952). Later Court decisions affirmed this ruling (see Abington, 1963; Marsh, 1983; Lynch, 1984).

Power of Gov’t Resting on the Ten Commandments

Top and Center: Outside the Court

Agreement with The Declaration: A Condition of Statehood All the original states endorsed The Declaration, and every state since has been required to form a government that is in conformity with the U. S. Constitution “and the principles of the Declaration of Independence.” As late as August 21, 1959, Hawaii was admitted to the United States based on the fact that it concurred with “the principles of the Declaration of Independence” (see Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, 2007).

America’s Godly Heritage I. How Did We Get It? II. How Did We Lose It? d

Charles Darwin Naturalistic Evolution 1859 On the Origin of Species 1871 The Descent of Man No Need for God To believe in the “…continued intervention of creative power is to make ‘my deity Natural Selection’ superfluous.”

No Evidence for a Creator Charles Darwin “Belief in God—Religion.— There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an Omnipotent God…. The Idea of a universal and beneficent Creator does not seem to arise in the mind of man, until he has been elevated by long-continued culture” (Descent of Man, 302, 593).

Karl Marx Atheism “Nowadays in our evolutionary conception of the universe there is absolutely no room for a Creator.”

Adolf Hitler Social Evolution Mein Kampf (1924) “Nature does not wish that…a superior race should intermingle with an inferior one; because in such a case all her efforts…to establish an evolutionary higher stage of being, may thus be rendered futile.”

Dayton Courthouse The text John Scopes used taught that “Caucasians” have evolved as “the highest type of all” races Scopes Trial: Evolution Text Taught Racism

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto

1. No Creator

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator 2. No Creation

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator 2. No Creation 3. No God Given Moral Absolutes

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator 2. No Creation 3. No God Given Moral Absolutes The exact opposite of The Declaration of Independence!

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator “Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.”

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 2. No Creation “Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process.”

1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 3. No God-given Moral Absolutes “Modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantee of human values…. We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience.”

John Dewey Secular Humanist 1934 A Common Faith “Here are all the arguments for a religious faith [of humanism]…. Such a faith has always been implicitly the common faith of mankind. It remains to make it explicit and militant.”

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being.” (Atheist, John Dunphy) Humanist Goal: Preach this “new faith” of Humanism in the Public Schools

“These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers. For they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level-- preschool day care or large state university.” (Atheist, John Dunphy) Humanist Goal: Preach this “new faith” of Humanism in the Public Schools

America’s Godly Heritage How We Got It How We Lost It Creator No Creator Creation No Creation God-Given Morals No God-Given Morals

When Did We Lose It? 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1962: Class prayer banned from schools 1963: Class devotional Bible readings banned 1973: Laws protecting the unborn nullified 1980: Ten Commandments banned in schools 1987: Teaching creation banned from schools

McLean (1982) “Indeed, creation of the world ‘out of nothing’ is the ultimate religious statement because God is the only actor.” (Creator in the Courtroom,174) Federal Court Forbids Creation

McLean (1982) “Indeed, creation of the world ‘out of nothing’ is the ultimate religious statement because God is the only actor.” (Creator in the Courtroom,174) “Such a concept is not science because it depends upon supernatural intervention which is not guided by natural law.” (ibid., 176) Federal Court Forbids Creation

Edwards (1987): “The Act impermissibly endorses the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind.” (1. (b)) “Concepts concerning God or a supreme being of some sort are manifestly religious.” (V, A) Supreme Court Forbids Creation

What Would Jefferson Think If He Knew? The Supreme Court ruled that: The Declaration of Independence is unconstitutional!

What is a Country Less God?

It is a God-less Country!

Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Divorce up 200% Teen Suicide up 300% Violent Crime up 500% Abortion up 1,000% Child Abuse rose to an all time high Between

Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves?” God

“Finally, it is irresistible -- we must ask how we can kill the god of Christianity. We need only insure that our schools teach only secular knowledge…. If we could achieve this, God would indeed be shortly due for a funeral service.” (Atheist, Richard Bozarth) How to Kill God!

Fyodor Dostoevski ( ) The Brothers Karamozov If God is dead, anything is permissible!

19 th Century: God Died (Man killed God) 20 th Century: Man Died (Man killed Man)

12 million murdered 18 million murdered 30 million murdered The Death of God Leads to the Death of Man

Meanwhile, back in America......we said it couldn’t happen here.

But We have killed over 50 million unborn! In the womb at 11 weeks

Where Does This Lead? Abortion -> Infanticide->Euthanasia Same Reasons Same Reasons

Where Does This Lead? Abortion -> Infanticide->Euthanasia Same Reasons Same Reasons Same Patients Same Patients

Where Does This Lead? Abortion -> Infanticide->Euthanasia Same Reasons Same Patients Same Results

Today, no unwanted baby. Tomorrow, no unwanted parent!

American Freedom: I. How Did We Get It? II. How Did We Lose It? III. How Can We Get It Back?

1. Get Back On The Boat 1620: The Mayflower Compact “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith”

2. Get Back on Our Knees Our Pilgrim Forefathers

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 1776: Declaration of Independence 3. Get Back to Our Foundation

The first schools were started to teach children to read the Bible! 1647: “Old Deluder Satan Law” 4. Get the Bible Back in Our Schools

5. Get Ethics back into our voting The American Christian is a straight and clean and honest man.... But the moment he comes forwards to exercise a public trust he can be confidently counted upon to betray that trust in nine cases out of ten, if “party loyalty” shall require it.... There are Christian Private Morals, but there are no Christian Public Morals, at the polls, or in the Congress or anywhere else– except here and there and scattered around like lost comets in the solar system ” (Christian Science, ). Mark Twain

What Did Jefferson Say? “God who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation remain secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

1787 No “Religious Test” for Office The US Constitution Reads: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The US Constitution Reads: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Note: “religious test” means a particular religion, not belief in God common to all religions in view at the time since: Note: “religious test” means a particular religion, not belief in God common to all religions in view at the time since: 1. Five Sates had their own State religions at the time. 1. Five Sates had their own State religions at the time. 2. Northwest Ordinance (1789) encouraged “religion” in general. 2. Northwest Ordinance (1789) encouraged “religion” in general. 3. First Amendment (1791) encouraged religion in general by the Free Exercise clause (“…nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof”). 3. First Amendment (1791) encouraged religion in general by the Free Exercise clause (“…nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof”). 4. Many states required belief in God as a condition for public office (see below). 4. Many states required belief in God as a condition for public office (see below). 5. Otherwise, The Declaration of Independence would be unconstitutional since it declares belief in God as basis of our Gov’t. 5. Otherwise, The Declaration of Independence would be unconstitutional since it declares belief in God as basis of our Gov’t. 6. Belief in the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence is still a condition of Statehood (Hawaii, 1959). 6. Belief in the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence is still a condition of Statehood (Hawaii, 1959). 7. Each state recognizes God in its State Constitution Preamble. 7. Each state recognizes God in its State Constitution Preamble.

The Closing of the American Mind What Wrong with American Higher Education? It had departed from: Absolute Truth Absolute Morals The Bible as a Revelation [1987]

Universities Teach Nothing About the Meaning of Life : Age of Piety : Age of Secularism 1960—Present: Age of Nihilism “The rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief.” [2007]