AMERICA! AMERICA! GOD SHED HIS GRACE ON THEE!

America's history has been far from perfect, but because of God's grace, her sins have not defined her. She has been defined by great, spiritual awakenings that lifted her to incredible heights of goodness, charitableness, and prosperity. Unfortunately, there is a new way of looking at America that denies God's grace and focuses only on her sins. 

The riots, vandalism, and chaos we are seeing are the fruit of this new way of looking at America. According to this new paradigm, America is not The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, but a land of bigotry, oppression, and tyranny.

According to the NY Times’ “1619 Project,” which is now being promoted by Oprah Winfrey, America was forever defined by slavery and is bigoted, prejudiced, and racist at its very core. According to this new paradigm, white supremacists created America and people of color are still victims of their oppression.

When seen though this paradigm, everything “American” is racist. Even the math and grammar taught in American schools are seen as racist, as pointed out by Dr. Michael Brown in an article posted at Charisma News. 

Marxists in the land are using this false paradigm to stoke anger, resentment, and division. They also use it as the basis for demanding a complete make-over and transformation of America into a socialist utopia like Argentina, Cuba, or the old Soviet Union.

The Truth About What Really Defined America

Slavery, although a terrible blight on America’s history, did not define her. It could have, but in 1726 God poured out His grace and Holy Spirit on the land. A great, spiritual awakening ensued that transformed Colonial America and unleashed the spiritual and moral forces that eventually brought an end to slavery on this continent. 

This “Great Awakening” changed everything! By God's grace, America became defined as a land of godliness, churches, missionaries, and spiritual awakening. When the French sociologist, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited America in 1831, he declared, "The religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States" (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 166).

Succeeding Awakenings spawned charitable organizations, abolition societies, the underground railroad, missionary societies, and tens of thousands of churches. This was noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1892 ruling, “Church of the Holy Trinity vs. the United States.” After reviewing thousands of historical documents, the nation’s highest court declared,

From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation, this is a religious [Christian] people. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning. They affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation . . .. The churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town, and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe. These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 170).

Yes, America's history has been far from perfect, but her sins have not defined her. In God's sovereign grace, He has poured out His Spirit again and again in Great Awakenings that have defined her as a land of godliness, freedom, and Christianity. As the patriotic hymn says, "America! America! God shed His grace on thee!" 

Many years ago, an Indian pastor, now deceased, told me that visiting America was like “praying through” in his home country, for he experienced such inner peace and freedom just by coming here.

It’s Time to Take a Stand!

We are on the brink of losing this America to godless, malevolent forces that deny God's grace in America's history and existence. If we care about America’s future, we must take a stand and reclaim the truth of His grace in our history. We must preserve our nation’s true heritage, for as George Orwell said, “Whoever controls the past, controls the future.”

A good place to start is the book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, available from Amazon and the website www.eddiehyatt.com. This book documents how God's hand was on the founding of America and how she became defined by Spiritual Awakening. Get a copy for yourself and a copy for your pastor, senator, and congressperson.

Last, but not least, pray for God's grace and another Great Awakening to sweep across this land.

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is the author of 1726: The Year that Defined America, availavble from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. He is also the founder of the "1726 Project," with the purpose of educating Americans about the overt Christian roots of of our nation in Spiritual Awakening.