1. The Bible: The Moral Foundation of American Freedom The Bible: The Moral Foundation of American Freedom Copyright by Norman L. Geisler 2008

2. American Freedom: I. The Rise of Freedom II. The Fall of Freedom III. The Restoration of Freedom

3. American Freedom: I. The Rise of Freedom

4. 1620: The Pilgrim’s Mayflower Compact “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith” “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith”

5. Our Freedom: Its Religious Roots Thanksgiving to God

6. The first schools were started to teach children to read the Bible! 1647: “Old Deluder Satan Law”

7. School sponsored prayers Class prayer was practiced in Schools for over 300 years from 1647 to 1962 when it was outlawed by the Supreme Court (in Engel, 1962).

8. “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

9. “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

10. The Foundations of Freedom Creator---Creation---God Given Morals The Foundations of Freedom Creator---Creation---God Given Morals

11. The United States Constitution 1787 “In order to form a more perfect Union” The United States Constitution 1787 “In order to form a more perfect Union”

12. 1791: The First Amendment’s “Free Exercise” of Religion “Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Note: This Amendment encourages religion. “Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Note: This Amendment encourages religion.

13. New England Primer (c. 1700-1850) The Third Section was a “Shorter Catechism” which taught the Ten Commandments, Bible history, doctrine, and prayer. Note: Some estimated 3 million copies were sold. It was the most widely read school book in America for over a hundred years. The Third Section was a “Shorter Catechism” which taught the Ten Commandments, Bible history, doctrine, and prayer. Note: Some estimated 3 million copies were sold. It was the most widely read school book in America for over a hundred years.

14. A Sample Lesson Q. 53. What is the third commandment? A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Q. 54. What is required in the third commandment? A. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverend use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works. Q. 53. What is the third commandment? A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Q. 54. What is required in the third commandment? A. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverend use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.

15. New England Primer: Ten Commandments in Poetic Form 1. Thou shalt have no more gods but me. 2. Before no idol bend thy knee. 3. Take not the name of God in vain. 4. Dare not the Sabbath day profane, 5. Give both thy parents honor due. 6. Take heed that thou no murder do. 7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean. 8. Steal not, though thou be poor and mean. 9. Make not a willful lie, nor love it. 10. What is thy neighbor's dare not covet.

16. 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."

17. The Bible’s Ten Commandments were used in American Schools for over 300 years with good results. Even Supreme Court decisions referred to America in the moral sense as a "Christian" nation (see Beason, 1890). America Based on "Christian" Morality

18. 1830’s-1930’s McGuffy’s Reader “God is the Creator, and His creation enables us to understand Him. In proportion as we investigate the secrets of the natural world, we are able to understand the nature of God.” McGuffy Wrote:

19. 1830’s-1920’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 [the Bible], to let you know what he had done for you and what he bids you to do” (77, 78, 80). 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 [the Bible], to let you know what he had done for you and what he bids you to do” (77, 78, 80).

20. Lesson 21 of McGuffey’s Reader “The morality taught by Jesus Christ was purer, sounder, sublimer, and more perfect than had ever before entered into the imagination, or proceeded from the lips of man….” “The morality taught by Jesus Christ was purer, sounder, sublimer, and more perfect than had ever before entered into the imagination, or proceeded from the lips of man….”

21. 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...."

22. Congressional prayers At the very first Continental Congress Benjamin Franklin urged that "In the beginning... we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection.-- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered.... And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?... I therefore beg… that henceforth prayers…be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service." Congress has begun with prayer ever since. Presidents are sworn in with their hand on the Bible. At the very first Continental Congress Benjamin Franklin urged that "In the beginning... we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection.-- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered.... And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?... I therefore beg… that henceforth prayers…be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service." Congress has begun with prayer ever since. Presidents are sworn in with their hand on the Bible.

23. Government supported missionaries In 1803 Congress granted money, signed by President Jefferson, for a Church to do missionary work among the Kaskaskian Indians. In 1796, under president Washington, Congress gave land to the United Brethren for the purpose of “propagating the gospel among the heathen.”

24. Bible Based Colleges Established Harvard’s Rules for Students: “...To consider well the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3…” (1636).

25. The vast majority of colleges founded in America were based on the Christian Faith Princeton University

26. Government Based on Belief in God “[The First Amendment] embraces all who believe in the existence of God. This provision does not extend to atheists because they do not believe in God or religion.” (Massachusetts Supreme Court, Kneeland, 1838)

27. North Carolina State Constitution Preamble “We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings…ordain and establish this Constitution.” Preamble “We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings…ordain and establish this Constitution.”

28. North Carolina State Constitution Article IV, Section 8 “Disqualifications for office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.” Article IV, Section 8 “Disqualifications for office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”

29. 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).

30. Supreme Court Upheld Moral Laws Including laws against: Murder, Rape, Theft, Polygamy, Incest, Adultery, Homosexuality, etc. Including laws against: Murder, Rape, Theft, Polygamy, Incest, Adultery, Homosexuality, etc.

31. American Freedom: I. The Rise of Freedom A. We got it from God. B. We got it from God-based Gov’t. c. We got it from recognizing God Word and Laws in public life.

32. American Freedom: I. The Rise of Freedom A. We got it from God. B. We got it from God-based Gov’t. c. We got it from recognizing God Word and Laws in public life. II. The Fall of Freedom

33. Charles Darwin To believe in the “continued intervention of creative power is to make my deity ‘Natural Selection’ superfluous...” (Letter to Lyell, Oct 20, 1859). “There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an omnipotent God” (Descent of Man, Part I, Chap. 3). “I for one must be content to remain an agnostic” (Autobiography, 84). To believe in the “continued intervention of creative power is to make my deity ‘Natural Selection’ superfluous...” (Letter to Lyell, Oct 20, 1859). “There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an omnipotent God” (Descent of Man, Part I, Chap. 3). “I for one must be content to remain an agnostic” (Autobiography, 84). Darwin’s Evolution: No Need for God

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

35. Adolf Hitler Social Evolution Mein Kampf (1924) “Nature does not wish that…a superior race should inter- mingle 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.” Mein Kampf (1924) “Nature does not wish that…a superior race should inter- mingle 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.”

36. Text in Scope’s Trial was racist: Scopes Trial (1925) “At the present time there exists upon the earth five races of man… [Negro, Malay, American Indian, Mongolian]; and finally, the highest type of all, the Caucasians, represented by the civilized white inhabitants of Europe and America.” ( Hunter, A Civic Biology) “At the present time there exists upon the earth five races of man… [Negro, Malay, American Indian, Mongolian]; and finally, the highest type of all, the Caucasians, represented by the civilized white inhabitants of Europe and America.” ( Hunter, A Civic Biology)

37. Dayton Courthouse 1925 Scopes Law Defended Bible “Be it enacted…that it shall be unlawful for any teacher…to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals” (House Bill No. 185).

38. William Jennings Bryan: Evolution Opposes the Bible “Our first indictment against evolution is that it disputes the truth of the Bible account of man’s creation and shakes faith in the Bible as the Word of God.” “Our second indictment is that the evolutionary hypothesis, carried to its logical conclusion, disputes every vital truth of the Bible. Its tendency…is to lead those who really accept it, first to agnosticism and then to atheism” (World’s Most Famous Trial, 326). “Our first indictment against evolution is that it disputes the truth of the Bible account of man’s creation and shakes faith in the Bible as the Word of God.” “Our second indictment is that the evolutionary hypothesis, carried to its logical conclusion, disputes every vital truth of the Bible. Its tendency…is to lead those who really accept it, first to agnosticism and then to atheism” (World’s Most Famous Trial, 326).

39. 1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator 2. No Creation 3. No God Given Moral Absolutes which is the exact opposite of-- The Declaration of Independence! 1. No Creator 2. No Creation 3. No God Given Moral Absolutes which is the exact opposite of-- The Declaration of Independence!

40. 1933: Secular Humanist Manifesto 1. No Creator “Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.” 1. No Creator “Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.”

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

42. 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.”

43. John Dewey Secular Humanist 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.” 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.”

44. “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…. 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…” (Atheist, John Dunphy). Humanist Goal: Preach this “new faith” of Humanism in the Public Schools

45. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1961: Atheistic religions protected

46. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1962: Class prayer banned from schools

47. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1961: Atheistic religions protected 1962: Class prayer banned from schools 1963: Class devotional Bible readings banned

48. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 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

49. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 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

50. When Did We Lose Our Freedom? 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

51. 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) 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 Courts Forbids Creation

52. 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) Edwards (1987): “The Act impermissibly endorses the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind.” (1. (b)) 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) Edwards (1987): “The Act impermissibly endorses the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind.” (1. (b)) Federal Courts Forbids Creation

53. What is a Country Less God?

54. It is a God-less Country!

55. Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Between 1960-1990

56. Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Divorce up 200% Between 1960-1990

57. Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Divorce up 200% Teen Suicide up 300% Between 1960-1990

58. Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Divorce up 200% Teen Suicide up 300% Violent Crime up 500% Between 1960-1990

59. Teen Age Pregnancy up 200% Divorce up 200% Teen Suicide up 300% Violent Crime up 500% Abortion up 1,000% Between 1960-1990

60. 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 1960-1990

61. What Would Our Founders Say If they discovered the basis of our freedom could not be taught as true in public schools?

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

63. American Freedom: I. The Rise of Freedom II. The Fall of Freedom III. The Restoration of Freedom Is It Possible?

64. Yes, If We Get Back on the Boat Where We Got Off The Mayflower Compact “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith” “For the advancement of the Christian Faith” In the name of King James the “Defender of the Faith”

65. Pray as Our Founders Did

66. “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.” Get Back to Our Foundation

67. Get the Bible Back in Schools “The contents of the classic books have become difficult to defend in modern times, and the professors who now teach them do not care to defend them, are not interested in their truth. One can most clearly see the latter in the case of the Bible. To include it in the humanities is already a blasphemy, a denial of its own claims…. A teacher who treated the Bible naively, taking it at its word, or Word, would be accused of scientific incompetence and lack of sophistication…. Here one sees the traces of the Enlightenment’s political project, which wanted precisely to render the Bible, and other old books, undangerous” (374).

68. James Madison: “Father of US 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) “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)

69. “There is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness…. [So] the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained [e.g., in the Bible]. God’s Blessing is Based on Virtue

70. What Can I Do? Read Vote Give Read Vote Give Pray

71. Mark Twain Said: 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, 359-361). 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, 359-361).

72. “The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” “The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” (died 1797) (died 1797) “The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” “The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” (died 1797) (died 1797) Edmund Burke

73. Edward Everett Hale “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do every thing, But still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” (US author, clergyman, 1822- 1909)

74. On the Jefferson Memorial “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

75. These Books Tell the Story

76. www.InternationalLegacy.org

78. The Battle Hymn of the Republic In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free; While God is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.