HILLARY CLINTON VS. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ON GOD, LIBERTY & GOVERNMENT

Hillary's Frightening Vision for America

In a recent speech Hillary Clinton declared that certain “religious beliefs” are a hindrance to her vision for America. Obviously referring to evangelical Christians and their views on life and marriage, she made it clear that she wants to aggressively confront and change this “wrong thinking" in American society, telling her liberal audience, “Deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

What is troublesome is that she would bring this change, not by employing persuasive arguments, but by the brute force of governmental power. In a conversation with activists from the “Black Lives Matter” movement, she said, “I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate.”

Like the old secularist, Soviet empire, Hillary and the DNC would use the strong arm of government to force a change in the religious beliefs that they deem unacceptable and threatening to their vision. This would explain why they were silent just recently when a federal judge blocked a Mississippi high school band from performing at their school’s football game simply because their repertoire included the Christian hymn, “How Great Thou At.” That hymn obviously expresses the sort of “religious beliefs” she and the DNC want to change.

By way of contrast, Benjamin Franklin, one of America's most nonreligious Founders, was an advocate of religious liberty and wanted Christian principles and values taught in every public domain. Contrasting Hillary with Franklin highlights how far she and the DNC have strayed from the vision of America's Founders. Although Franklin questioned certain aspects of Christian doctrine during his life, he believed Christian virtue and morality to be absolute necessities for a stable society and prosperous nation. Franklin would vehemently oppose Hillary Clinton and the DNC because of the following three positions he held concerning God, liberty, and government.

Position #1

Franklin Wanted God in the Government

Whereas Hillary wants God out of government, Franklin wanted God to be a vital part of government. This was made obvious early in his career when war between Spain and Great Britain erupted in 1739.

Concerned that a Spanish warship could visit their coast, Franklin led the way in organizing citizen militias and building fortifications with cannon at the edge of the city of Philadelphia. He then proposed that the Assembly and civic leaders issue a call for a day of prayer and fasting, “to implore the blessing of Heaven on our undertaking.”

The people of Philadelphia had no knowledge of a public day of prayer and fasting, but Franklin was able draw on his Puritan roots in New England where public days of prayer and fasting had been observed since the time the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth in 1620. He wrote;

They embraced the motion; but as it was the first fast ever thought of in the province, the secretary had no precedent from which to draw the proclamation. My education in New England, where a fast is proclaimed every year, was here of some advantage. I drew it in the accustomed style; it was translated into German, printed in both languages, and divulged through the province (Hyatt, The Faith & Vision of Benjamin Franklin, 39).

Franklin and all of Pennsylvania, including government officials, thus participated in a day of prayer and fasting, imploring God’s blessing and protection on their colony. Even at this early stage of his life he obviously saw no conflict between God, prayer and government.

That Franklin wanted trust in God to be a part of governmental affairs was also made clear when he called the Constitutional Convention to prayer in 1787. He began his address by reminding the delegates that during the war when they were sensible to danger, they had daily prayers in that very room where they were hammering out the American Constitution.

Addressing George Washington, the Convention President, he said, "Our prayers, sir, were heard and they were graciously answered." Then reminding the delegates that they needed God in the building of the nation, he went on to say,

I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? (Hyatt, The Faith & Vision of Benjamin Franklin,62-63).

Hillary and the DNC would have opposed these prayer events proposed by Franklin. Based on their twisted understanding of the First Amendment, they support the removal of all Christian expressions and symbols from the institutions of government.

Franklin, by contrast, believed Christian prayers and expressions of faith should, not only be allowed, but encouraged in the public square. He obviously wanted government officials to be free to publicly pray for God’s blessing on the nation and His assistance in their civic duties.

Position #2

Franklin Believed Religious Liberty Should Extend to the Marketplace

Hillary and the DNC have supported lawsuits filed by homosexual activists against small business owners who politely declined to provide services for same-sex weddings because it violated their consciences and religious convictions. Instead of doing the polite and civil thing and going down the street to a business owner who had no scruples with their lifestyle, these activists have sought, by governmental force, to coerce these devout Christians to act against their consciences. This is known as “tyranny.”

Franklin, by contrast, believed religious liberty extended to every aspect of American life including the marketplace. This was borne out when the well-known Deist, Thomas Paine, sent him a manuscript copy of a book he had written challenging the idea of a providential God and other aspects of orthodox Christianity.

Franklin, who was a printer, refused to print the book and in very strong language urged Paine to not even allow anyone else to see it. He wrote;

I would advise you, therefore . . . to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of mortification by the enemies it may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so wicked with religion [Christianity], what would they be if without it (Hyatt, The Faith & Vision of Benjamin Franklin, 49).

Can you imagine the lawsuits from liberal groups like the ACLU if Franklin were alive today! It shows to what extent our modern politicians and bureaucrats are out of step with the Founders of this nation, even the most nonreligious ones.

Franklin was a strong advocate for religious liberty for personal reasons. His father and his grandfather on his mother’s side, who were devout Christians, fled religious tyranny in England and came to America to find the liberty to live out their Christian faith.

Franklin believed that this liberty should extend to every area of American life, including the marketplace. For this reason, he would be detested by Hillary Clinton and the DNC and he would vehemently oppose their liberal, socialist policies.

Position #3

Franklin Wanted Christianity Taught in the Public Schools

Hillary and the DNC agree with the purging of Christian prayers, expressions and symbols from the public schools. They did not protest even when a kindergartener in Florida was confronted by a teacher and told prayer was not allowed when she bowed her head to pray over her lunch. Franklin, on the other hand, believed the teaching of Christian values to be an absolute necessity for a stable society and he wanted Christianity taught in every public venue, including public schools.

In the fall of 1749 Franklin founded the “Public Academy of Philadelphia,” which was underwritten with public funds. In a letter to his revivalist friend, George Whitefield, Franklin informed him that that the students would learn “the value of public and private religion” and “the excellency of the Christian religion above all others.”

Franklin arranged for the different Christian churches to be equally represented on the board of trustees, choosing one Anglican, one Presbyterian, one Baptist, one Moravian, one Quaker, etc. to serve in this capacity. Showing his desire for a profound Christian influence in the school, he handpicked the first provost from the clergy, a Reverend William Smith.

To house the school, they were able to acquire a large building that had been built some years previous to accommodate the large crowds that had turned out to hear Whitefield preach in Philadelphia. Franklin negotiated the settlement for the building, which included an agreement that the school would “keep forever open in the building a large hall for occasional preachers, according to the original intention.”

The Academy flourished and today is the University of Pennsylvania.

Franklin wanted Christianity taught in public schools because he believed Christian virtue and morality to be absolutely necessary for a stable society and prosperous nation.

Franklin would be detested by Hillary and the DNC who are in favor of purging Christianity from the public schools because of their twisted perception of the First Amendment. In this regard, Hillary and the DNC are out of touch with even the most nonreligious of America’s Founders.

Conclusion

Franklin would staunchly defend the right of Christians to express their faith in the public arena. He would be appalled to hear that Marine Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling was ordered to remove a Bible verse from her work station and then court-martialed when she declined to do so. He would be shocked at a federal judge ordering a high school band not to perform because one of their songs was a Christian hymn. Franklin would consider the government’s use of force against these people of faith a form of tyranny.

He would have no problem with expressions of faith in the public arena because he knew the truth of the First Amendment. He knew it was passed to keep Congress from ever establishing a national, state-supported church, and nothing more. That the First Amendment had nothing to do with keeping God out of government is obvious from the fact that the day after its passage, Franklin and his fellow Founders proclaimed a national day of prayer for the nation.

The gulf between Hillary Clinton and America’s nonreligious Founder is indeed wide. She and the DNC have bought the liberal lie that the First Amendment was written to secularize America by excluding expressions of faith from public institutions.

For these reasons Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s most nonreligious Founders, would be vehemently opposed to Hillary Clinton, the DNC and their vision for America.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, historian and ordained minister. This article was derived from his latest book, The Faith& Vision of Benjamin Franklin, available from Amazon and from his website at www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html

DON'T PANIC! YOU WILL SURVIVE THE CALAMITIES PREDICTED FOR THIS SEPTEMBER

You are probably aware of the various predictions being made concerning cataclysmic events at the end of September. How seriously should we take these predictions? How much should we alter our normal way of life because of them?

The Jupiter Effect - 1982

This situation reminds me of a similar setting and comparable wide-spread concern that occurred in 1982 when, for the first time, the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all aligned on the same side of the sun.

The British astrophysicist, John Gribbin, wrote a book entitled The Jupiter Effect, published in 1972, in which he predicted that the accumulated force of gravity produced by the alignment would cause catastrophes on the earth, including a giant earthquake at the San Andreas fault. This would happen, he predicted, on March 10, 1982 when all the planets came into alignment.

Prophets and prophecy teachers had a heyday with this, writing books and producing audio and video recordings in which they associated the coming eerie planetary alignment with end-time events prophesied in Daniel and Revelation. Many were convinced that world-wide disasters would occur on that day. Many thought the rapture would take place and the tribulation period would begin. 

But all the sensationalized predictions and claims turned out to be false. March 10 came and went with nothing unusual happening.

Rosh Hashanah - 1988

And who can forget 1988 and the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will be in 1988, written by Edgar Whisennant, a NASA engineer and Bible prophecy student. The book sold 4.5 million copies and created a great stir among evangelicals and charismatics.

Using sophisticated sounding arguments, Whisenant predicted that Jesus would return sometime during the Jewish holiday of Rosh-Hashanah in 1988, which was from sunset September 11 to sunset September 13. I recall expressing skepticism about the book's claims to my mother and her reply that, "He sounds very convincing."

Many agreed with my mother for as the predicted date approached the Trinity Broadcasting Network interrupted regular programming to give instructions on how to be prepared for the rapture. Some “Christians” maxed out their credit cards thinking they would leave their debt to the Anti-Christ system. Some had their pets put to sleep so they would not suffer the terrible events of the tribulation. But Rosh-Hashanah 1988 also passed with nothing out of the ordinary occurring.

Remember Y2K - 2000?

We could also talk about Y2K and the predictions of economic and social collapse with the dawn of the new century. It was the talk of Christian radio and TV. More books were written and some got rich from the sale of survival kits and dried foods. One good friend sold her belongings and moved to Australia because of fear produced by those predictions. But like those before it, Y2K also passed with no unusual occurrences.  

Don’t Panic!

What am I saying? Am I suggesting that we discount everything that is being said in this regard? No, but I am saying that we should not panic and alter our normal way of life merely because of these predictions. My friend, Pastor Myles Holmes says, “There is enough darkness, perversion, violence, immorality, evil and economic instability all around us to make any day a disaster. Be ready, the King is coming!”

The worst thing that can happen to us is that we will die. We are going to die anyway, so why not throw off fear and boldly go where no one has gone before. Why not believe God to do great things in the days ahead, right in the midst of any catastrophes that may, or may not, occur.

My Plans for September

What will I be doing the latter part of September? I will be conducting a “Revive America” event at Christian Life Assembly of God in Picayune, Mississippi September 27-28. I will be alert and listen to the Spirit, but I will not alter my schedule because of these predictions. Nor will I alter my faith for another Great Awakening in America and around the world. I am convinced more than ever that such an Awakening is going to happen in the days ahead. What do you think?


Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher. He has written numerous books on Spiritual awakening, church, and church history. You can check out all his books on Amazon at his Author's Page. To read about his vision for another Great Awakening, check out his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. 

THE MODERN MANIPULATION OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT

How the Political Left Has Turned a Constitutional
Guarantee of Freedom into a Frightening Tool for Tyranny

A kindergartner in Florida bows her head to pray over her lunch and is suddenly stopped by a teacher and told prayer is not allowed. A valedictorian is told she cannot mention her faith in God in her address to her graduating class. Displays of the Ten Commandments are ordered removed from public schools, courtrooms, and from the Oklahoma capital grounds. A cross is ordered removed from a veteran’s memorial. A Marine corporal is court-martialed for refusing to remove a Bible verse posted at her desk. And the list goes on as the attempt to purge Christianity from America’s public life continues.

This purge is based on a wrenched and distorted interpretation of the First Amendment. Instead of being a guarantee of religious liberty as the Founders intended, secularists have wrenched it from its historical setting and cunningly shaped it into a tool for the exercise of tyranny over the consciences of God-fearing people.

The Historical Setting

Understood in its historical setting, the Founders were forbidding Congress from ever establishing a national, state-church such as their parents and grandparents had fled when they came to the New World in search of religious liberty. Yes, the First Amendment provides for a certain separation of church and state, but not a separation of God and state. It simply reads, "Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion, or hindering the free exercise thereof."

To understand the original intent of the Founders in formulating the First Amendment, we must understand that they did not view “church” as synonymous with “God.” In their thinking, disallowing Congress from establishing a national church—which is what the First Amendment is about--in no way restricted God’s role in government, public affairs and their own lives.

The modern idea that allowing a student in a public school graduation to mention their faith in Jesus in their valedictory address somehow violates the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment is preposterous. The notion that a cross at a veteran’s memorial constitutes an establishment of religion and violates the First Amendment is equally inane. This sort of thinking would cause the "nonreligious" Benjamin Franklin and every other Founder to roll over in his grave.

God & Church are Not Synonymous

Viewing church and God as intricately linked is a Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree, a Lutheran and Anglican way of thinking. The Founders thinking in this regard had been shaped by the more radical wing of the Protestant reformation that drew a clear line between obeying God and obeying church officials. This is the wing of Protestantism with which Benjamin Franklin identified when he spoke of his forebears as being “dissenting Protestants.”

These “dissenting Protestants” were the separatist Puritans, the Baptists, Quakers and others who, among other things, opposed the idea of church and state being merged, as had been the case since the time of Constantine.

The major reformers such as Luther, Zwingli and Calvin, maintained the Constantinan/Roman Catholic idea of a national church sanctioned and supported by the state. In Germany, for example, Lutheranism was upheld, and imposed on the populace by the German princes. In England, Anglicanism was upheld and imposed by the British monarchs. Those who dissented from the “official” form of worship and doctrine were harassed and persecuted.

The dissenting Protestants did not equate God with church. Many of them left the state churches because of their deep faith in God and commitment to His truth. It was these “dissenting Protestants” who developed ideas of religious liberty and freedom of conscience, which they brought to America and further developed on American soil. This is why historian, Benjamin Hart, has said;

It was Protestants of the most radical stripe, most zealous in their religious convictions (those whom the America Civil Liberties Union would like to see outlawed from the public discourse) who were in fact the greatest proponents of religious liberty as codified in America’s governing charter (Eddie Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 20).

Interestingly, it is the progressive secularists today who seem to have no concept of religious liberty or freedom of conscience and would impose their view of religion and morality on everyone else. It is the political Left that would separate God from state and impose their religion of secularism on the American populace with no regard for a person’s conscience or religious convictions. Franklin and the Founders called this tyranny.

They Fled Persecution from State-Churches of Europe

When the Founders wrote the First Amendment they did so in light of the persecutions inflicted on their godly parents and grandparents by oppressive governments and their state-churches. In his Autobiography, for example, Franklin tells how his Protestant grandparents suffered during the reign of Mary Tudor when Catholicism was the “national church” or “state religion” of England. (Protestants were also abusive when they had the power of the state behind them) 

Because the common people were banned from possessing a Bible in their own language, his grandfather fastened an open Bible to the bottom and underneath the cover of a stool. With one of the children watching at the door for civil or religious authorities, he would turn the stool upside down and read the Bible to his family. In case of danger, he would quickly secure the pages and return the stool upright to its place in the corner of the room. The danger was real for during Mary’s reign 288 Protestants were burned at the stake for their faith.

No Separation of God & State

These “dissenting Protestants” were the ones whose ideas of freedom of conscience and religious liberty ultimately triumphed in America, even with Catholics in Maryland and Anglicans in Virginia. Franklin and all of America’s Founders held a clear distinction in their thinking between a separation of “church and state” and a separation of “God and state.” They wanted the former, but were totally against the latter.

That the Founders did not want a separation of God and state will be obvious to anyone who studies America’s origins with an open, unbiased mind. For example, beginning in 1774 the Continental Congress issued no less than fifteen calls for prayer, humiliation and fasting. The proclamation of 1779 urged the American people “humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God” to ask “that He would establish the independence of these United States upon the basis of religion [Christianity] and virtue.”

At the first meeting of the Continental Congress in 1774 there was an extended time of prayer and the reading of the entire 35^th Psalm. There was great concern for British troops had occupied Boston and shut down its harbor. The delegates were looking for Divine guidance and it came in the words of that Psalm. John Adams, one of the delegates, wrote to his wife Abigail,

Who can realize the emotions with which they turned imploringly to heaven for divine interposition and aid. It was enough to melt a heart of stone. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Eddie Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 69).

When the 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin called the delegates of the Constitutional Convention to prayer in 1787, he reminded them that during the war, “when we were sensible to danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection.” Addressing the convention president, George Washington, he went to say, “Our prayers, sir, were heard and they were graciously answered.”

Franklin admonished them to remember that they still needed God’s assistance in the forming of the nation. In making his point he quoted Psalm 127:1, which reads, Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Then alluding to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:29, he said, “And if a sparrow cannot call to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can arise without His aid?”

A few years prior to this, at the close of the Revolutionary War in 1783, and realizing that the work of forming a nation now lay before them, George Washington issued a circular letter addressed to the different states. In it he prayed that God would bind the nation together and grant its citizens the social and personal virtues necessary for its survival. He also stated, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

It’s Time to Stand for Truth

America’s Founders obviously had no thought of excluding God from the public life of the nation. In fact, without exception, they believed Christian morality and values to be absolutely necessary for a stable and prosperous nation. That is why, in his Farewell Address of 1797, George Washington warned the young nation to guard against the loss of religion [Christianity] and morality, which he called “indispensable supports” for human happiness and political prosperity.

Yes, the Founders intention in writing the First Amendment was to prevent Congress from ever establishing a state-empowered church, which they knew from history would inevitably become tyrannical. But as far as removing God from the public life of the nation; that is something they would vehemently oppose.

It is time to take a stand for truth. As Jesus said in John 8:32, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, The Faith & Vision of Benjamin Franklin, available from Amazon and from his online bookstore at www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html. To read about Dr. Hyatt's vision for another Great Awakening for America and the world, check out his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AMERICA'S PULPITS WERE TO ONCE AGAIN "FLAME WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS"?

"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." (A quote often attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville)

It was 1800. The Revolutionary War was over. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, George Whitefield and others who had been prominent in the founding of America were dead.

God Has No Grandchildren

A generation had arisen that knew little or nothing of the Great Awakening that had impacted the Founders and given birth to the nation. Spiritual indifference was rampant with less than 10% of the population being connected to a local congregation. On the western frontier many areas were completely devoid of Christian influence.

Profanity, lewdness, gambling and drunkenness were on the rise. Negative influences from the French Revolution were reverberating throughout the country. The most popular book was The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine, in which he attacked historic Christianity.

Colleges that had been formed to train Christian ministers had become hotbeds of agnosticism and infidelity. A popular fad on campuses involved students adopting the names of well-known atheists such Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume and others.

The Presbyterian Church distributed a letter in which church leaders stated that they were “filled with concern and awful dread” at conditions they beheld on every hand. They expressed the solemn conviction “that the eternal God has a controversy with this nation.”

It Only Takes a Spark to Get a Fire Going

A few concerned, devout believers began to pray and fast for revival in the land. Some congregations signed "covenants" in which the members agreed to fast and pray for revival. James McGready, pastor of three Presbyterian churches in Logan County, Kentucky, led his congregations in signing a covenant to pray every Saturday and Sunday morning for revival and to devote the third Saturday of each month to prayer and fasting. Out of these churches came the great Cane Ridge Revival.

As churches and individuals prayed, a Second Great Awakening swept across the nation. However, it did not happen until pastors, evangelists and college presidents took a stand for truth and righteousness and began to boldly proclaim God's word.

The president of Yale, Timothy Dwight, the grandson of Jonathan Edwards, decided to confront the situation at Yale head-on. In 1802, taking the Bible as his guide, he preached a series of messages in chapel on the unreasonableness of atheism, or infidelity as it was then called. God confirmed the word preached and revival broke forth. One-third of the 225 students came to new-found faith in Christ and others were renewed in their faith. The campus was transformed.

The revival quickly spread to other college campuses and students became the agents carrying the revival into the towns and villages. Historian, Mark Noll, says, "Together with the promoters of local revivals, they spread concern for renewal up and down the East Coast. Soon there was hardly a locale in which Christians were not praying for revival or thanking God for having received one."

On the western frontier pastors and circuit riding preachers like James McGready and Peter Cartwright boldly preached God's love but also hell-fire and brimstone messages in which they warned the populace to flee to Christ in order to escape the wrath to come. Revival erupted and spread. At Cane Ridge, KY it was estimated that as many as 20,000 may have gathered for this campmeeting where the attendees shouted, ran and "fell under the power."

Cartwright, a circuit riding Methodist evangelist, said the revival gained momentum like a great tidal wave “until it seemed all our country was coming to God.” Noll calls it "the most influential revival of Christianity in the history of the United States."

America was transformed. Negative influences from the French Revolution were broken. Desim and infidelity faded into the shadows. People lived to do good and the Christian character of America was guaranteed for generations to come.

He Discovered the Key

A key to understanding this revival came from an unlikely source--a French sociologist by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville. When Tocqueville visited America in 1831 on the heels of this Awakening, he exclaimed, “The religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States.”

A quote historically attributed to Tocqueville but not found in his writings has him attributing America’s rapid ascent to greatness to her vibrant Christian faith, which was a result of the Second Great Awakening. He reportedly said, “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.”

Tocqueville was right! The churches, not the politicians, were the key to America’s greatness. The same is true today. The answer does not lie in Washington D.C. or with the next election. Only when the pulpits of America’s churches once again “flame with righteousness” will we see America saved and changed for the good.

5 Necessary Ingredients

Here are 5 necessary characteristics or attitudes that must be present in those who preach the Word if our pulpits are to again "flame with righteousness."

1.       We must love God more than we fear people: We must be more concerned with what God thinks of us than with what people think of us.

2.       We must remember that we represent God and His truth to the world. Take a lesson from Charles Finney, who as a converted lawyer, always saw himself as representing God and arguing His case before an unbelieving world and church.

3.       Let’s remember that God has promised to confirm His word--not feel-good sermons--with signs following.

4.       We must preach in the light of eternity. Determine to have no regrets when standing before Christ and giving an account for how you have carried out His call and commission. (II Corinthians 5:10)

5.      We must cover our preaching with prayer. Our success in talking to people about God will be determined by our success in talking to God about people. It was both prayer and the preaching of God’s word that sparked The Second Great Awakening.

It happened before and it can happen again. Pray for the pastors and Spiritual leaders of America, Canada and your nation. Ask God to give them the boldness to proclaim His truth to this generation. Pray that the pulpits of the nation will once again "flame with righteousness."

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher with a vision for another great Spiritual Awakening in America, Canada and around the world. His books on Spiritual awakening, including his most recent, The Faith& Vision of Benjamin Franklin, are available from Amazon and from his website at www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html