Opinions vary on the topic, between those of religion and those without. They vary between the politically motivated - those who believe in morality based self-governance versus those who seek mans dominion over men through man-made, man-interpreted and man-enforced laws. They even vary among believers, some of whom believe in an unwritten separation of church and state versus others who believe only in that which was actually written into our Constitution by the founders.
If you are looking for a debate, few topics will so readily attract opposition. Is it a question of faith or historical fact? It’s hard to get folks to even agree on that. Then you will have to somehow separate fact from fiction, as the reporting of these facts is often more hysterical than historical.
Those who wish America a godless society have developed a plethora of arguments to support their agenda. But arguments are not facts… We watch as lawyers make arguments every day, seldom concerned with any facts or even any sense of real justice. But they can make an argument, sometimes a very successful argument. If their argument is not true, has justice been served? Is the argument right if it was made on a premise that was all wrong, even though the argument is effective?
America is and has always been One Nation Under God. Though the founders used generic terms like Creator to describe that God, the God they meant was their God, of the Christian faith. Atheists and agnostics have long argued that many of the founders were deists, using Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, Hamilton, and Madison as proof. However, in each of these cases, a study of their personal writings will debunk the myth.
How did America become One Nation Under God? In dictionaries, the terms "deist," "agnostic," and "atheist" appear as synonyms. On this basis, the term deists would include those who believe there is no God, those who believe in a distant, impersonal creator of the universe and those who believe there is no way to know if God exists.
A brief study of the founders own writings prove beyond any reasonable doubt that none of the notable founders fit this description. Thomas Paine talked about "the error of schools" to teach sciences without "reference to the Being who is author of them: for all the principles of science are of Divine origin." He stated that "the evil that has resulted from the error of the schools in teaching [science without God] has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism."
Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania insisted that schools teach "the necessity of a public religion . . . and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern." Franklin proposed a Biblical inscription for the Seal of the United States; he chose a New Testament verse for the motto of the Philadelphia Hospital; he was one of the chief proponents of a paid chaplain in Congress; and when Franklin helped found the college which bore his name in 1787, it was dedicated as "a nursery of religion and learning" built "on Christ, the Corner-Stone."
On May 2, 1778,
George Washington charged his soldiers at Valley Forge that "To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian." In a speech on May 12, 1779, he claimed that what children needed to learn "above all" was the "religion of Jesus Christ," and that to learn this would make them "greater and happier than they already are." On June 8, 1783, he reminded the nation that "without a humble imitation" of "the Divine Author of our blessed religion" we "can never hope to be a happy nation", as he resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief. Washington's own adopted daughter declared of Washington that you might as well question his patriotism as to question his Christianity.
Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton said made America great: (1) Christianity and (2) a Constitution formed under Christianity. Only Hamilton's death two months later thwarted his plan of starting a missionary society to promote Christian government.
Thomas Jefferson himself declared, "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus." As President of the United States, Jefferson signed a treaty with the Kaskaskia tribe wherein he provided—at the government's expense—Christian missionaries.
James Madison trained for ministry with the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, and Madison's writings are replete with declarations of his faith in God and in Christ. In his letter to Attorney General Bradford, Madison laments that public officials are not bold enough about their Christian faith in public and that public officials should be "fervent advocates in the cause of Christ." Madison did allude to a "wall of separation," but contemporary writers frequently omit Madison’s own definition of that "wall", which according to Madison, was only to prevent Congress from passing a national law to establish a national religion.
There you have it… Do any of these men sound like deists to you? It is not hard to demonstrate that America was indeed born One Nation under God or that the God or Creator they were referring to was in fact, Jesus Christ. This alone should lay to rest any honest debate over how America became a nation built upon Judeo-Christian principles and values. We can go on and on, founder after founder if you want, but these are the men named by most who argue that the founders were at best, deists.
Why was America formed as One Nation Under God? The answer is simple, yet of vital importance to every American, regardless of their religious beliefs. The answer begins with these two words, “self-governance”.
Patrick Henry put it this way, "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".
John Adams said it this way, “We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus! [April 18, 1775] and he later explained, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798
The point is this - it is historically indisputable that America was born One Nation under God. It does not require faith, but instead common logic to understand why. Men without a moral compass are incapable of long-term self-governance. The founders knew it because they had seen it. Few modern Americans have experienced what life would be like in a godless society, void of morality, so they question it. Many Americans place their trust in man over God, so they pursue it.
But there is no question what America was, is, should be or must be in order to retain its position of strength as the freest nation of self-governed individuals on earth. We will either be free as One Nation under God, or we will be a nation of fools unaware of our common heritage and on the road to ruin under men in search of power. One does not have to be a Christian to understand this. One must only understand man and his insatiable hunger for power.
Those in search of that power must remove God from society in order to gain access to that power. Those who allow them, do so at their own peril. You are of course free to not like this simple truth. But this truth will never change. It is as it has always been…and shall always be.
* Special thanks to David Barton at WallBuilders for some of the reference material used herein.
