Political
supporters of the violent protestors insist that they are exercising their
First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. This is a blatant
distortion of those rights and America's founders warned this would happen with
an amoral and irreligious people.
America’s Founders knew that the
success of the nation they had formed hinged on the moral character of its
citizens and their ability to govern themselves. For example, President John
Adams, in a 1798 speech, warned,
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.”
From the beginning, political liberty
and Christian virtue were linked together in the minds of America’s founding
generation. This is why John Dickinson, Founding Father and chairman
of
the committee that produced the Articles of Confederation,
warned that, “when states lose
their liberty, this calamity is generally owing to a decay of virtue.”
Virtue is defined as "moral excellence" and America’s
Founding Fathers all agreed that only a virtuous people could handle freedom.
They also knew that such a people would be the fruit of a vibrant Christianity.
This was made clear by John Adams in a letter to his cousin, Zabdiel Adams, a
minister of the Gospel, two weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
He wrote,
Statesmen, my dear Sir, may
plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone,
which can establish the principles upon which Freedom can securely
stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure virtue . . . You cannot therefore be more pleasantly or usefully
employed than in the
Way of your Profession, pulling down the strongholds of Satan.
When
the Founders speak of “religion” they are speaking of Christianity, and they saw
Christianity as offering the only moral and philosophical system that would
undergird the nation they had formed.
George Washington made this clear in his Farewell Address of 1796 after
serving two terms as America’s first president. Washington warned the young nation to guard against separating
freedom from faith.
He wrote,
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would
that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these
great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and
citizens.
Far from having a hostility or even indifference toward Christianity, America's Founders counted on a vibrant Christianity to be a rejuvenating moral and ethical force in American society.
They knew that unless the American people were a virtuous people, the freedoms they were implementing would be turned into anarchy and societal chaos. This is exactly what we see happening today with the violent anti-government, antisemitic, pro-Hamas protestors and their supporters claiming a constitutional right to free speech. This is the distorted thinking that is fueling these riots.
It is time for the American church to step up to the plate and be the spiritual rejuvenating force the Founders counted on her to be. Only then will our constitutional freedoms be preserved, for faith and freedom must coexist in America if either are to be preserved.
This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and Pilgrims and Patriots, both available from Amazon and his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com.
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