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
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