Anger and lawlessness are raging in
the streets of America. This past Thursday 5 police officers were gunned down in our neighboring city of Dallas and 7 others wounded in a carefully planned attack that shocked the
nation. Commenting on the Dallas massacre, retired NYPD detective, Bo Dietl,
said he has never seen America as divided as it is at this time.
Recalling the social turbulence of
the 1960s, he opined that this is an even more intense and critical moment in
the nation’s history. Dr. Susan Hyatt says that, like 911, this could be
a tipping point in America’s history.
When a Nation Rejects God
But should we be shocked at the moral
chaos invading our land when our highest officials have set themselves in opposition to the Moral Governor
of the universe and made it clear they do not want His influence in this nation? Yes, they
have done this by ordering displays of the Ten Commandments removed from public
schools, court houses, and all public owned property. They have done this by
ordering the removal of crosses and all Christian symbols from all government facilities. They
have done this by banning prayer and Bible reading in public schools. They have
done this by a growing hostility towards anything Christian in the public life
of the nation.
Choices have consequences and we are
now beginning to reap the consequences of this rejection of Christian morality.
The inevitable consequences of these actions were highlighted to me some time
ago when I heard a noted sociologist, who was being interviewed by Charlie
Rose, tell about the power of symbols to effect behavior. For example, in
studies he had directed, they found that a person is less likely to lie if a
Bible is in their presence at the time. They learned that the very presence of a Bible
or the Ten Commandments will have a positive impact on a person’s behavior.
It is thus no wonder that we are
experiencing such moral degeneracy in this nation. We could put off paying the
piper for only so long. If George
Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and the other Founders are looking
down from above, they are shaking their heads and saying, “We told you so.” “We
warned you this could happen.”
The Founders Solution for
America’s Dilemma
The Founders were
unanimous in their belief that the American Republic they formed could only be
sustained by a moral and religious [Christian] people. In his Farewell Address,
after serving two terms as America’s first president, Washington warned the fledgling
nation to cling to morality and religion. Why? Because for Washington, morality
and religion
[Christianity] were the indispensable
supports for national stability and political prosperity (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 169-70).
For Washington, Christianity
was not something to be merely “tolerated” in the new nation, but something indispensable for the nation’s survival
and success. He also warned against entertaining the supposition that morality could be sustained
without Christianity. The morality required to maintain a free republic could
only come from Christianity. He elaborated on this
when he wrote,
“The
propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards
the external rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 174).
James Madison, the chief
architect of the U.S. Constitution, was in complete agreement with Washington
concerning the necessity of Christian morality. This is why he wrote, “The belief in a God All Powerful wise
and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments
which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 131). He also
wrote,
“We have staked the whole
future of the American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from
it. We have staked the future . . . upon the capacity of each and all of us to
govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 173).
This belief in the
necessity of Christian morality in the public life of the nation was so prevalent
that when Thomas Paine sent a manuscript to Benjamin Franklin in which he
attacked historic Christianity, Franklin refused to print it. In very strong
language Franklin suggested to Paine that he burn the manuscript and not allow
anyone else to see it. “If men are this wicked with Christianity,” said Franklin,
“What would they be if without it” (Hyatt, Pilgrims andPatriots, 142).
John Adams, America’s second president, was of the same
mind in this regard as Washington, Franklin, Madison, and all the Founders. This
was made clear in a 1798
address to the officers of the Massachusetts Militia in which he declared,
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions
unbridled by morality and religion . . .
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate
to the government of any other” (Hyatt, Pilgrimsand Patriots, 173).
What Would Washington Do?
In the wake of the
massacre in Dallas, Texas, America is bewildered. The masses are looking for
answers and for leadership. At a time like this, it is appropriate to look to
the Founding Father of this nation and ask, “What would George Washington do
and say at a time such as this?
Washington
would, without doubt, call the nation back to God. He once said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." He would also point us to Jesus as our example and exhort us to treat one another
with love and respect. We know this to be true for this is what he expressed in
a letter to the governors of the various states at the end of the Revolutionary
War.
In what could be called a
“pastoral letter,” Washington expressed his “earnest prayer” for the governors
and the states over which they presided. He wrote,
“I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the State
over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the
hearts of the citizens . . . to entertain a brotherly affection and love for
one another and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific
temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our
blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of His example in these
things, we can never hope to be a happy nation” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 134).
Concluding
Thought
May
the political leaders of this nation come to their senses and realize that the
answer to America’s current dilemma is not more laws and regulations out of
Washington D.C. And may the pastors and religious leaders of this nation
realize that unless they boldly preach the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:26-27), they are
contributing to the problem. And may we all realize that unless we recover the
vision and understanding of America’s Founders, the free republic they created
will not survive.
This
article was derived from Eddie Hyatt’s latest book, Pilgrims and Patriots,
which can be ordered from Amazon or from his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. Pat Robertson calls this book “a
must-read.”
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