TRACING THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN TOLERANCE

I caught a portion of the Muslim funeral procession for the fallen NYPD officer, Didarul Islam, who was viciously murdered on Monday. Along with feeling sad for his wife and two small children, I was reminded of how this procession was an expression of American tolerance, which is rooted in our nation's Christian roots. For example, try having a public Christian funeral procession with crosses and prayers in the name of Jesus in Iran or Saudi Arabia or any number of Islamic or Marxist nations. It will not be tolerated or will be narrowly confined.

Indeed, no one with knowledge and integrity can deny that America has been a very open and tolerant nation, opening its arms to people of many different races, cultures, and religious beliefs? The Statue of Liberty and the freedom it represents is why people of all races and religions risk their lives and the lives of their family members to come to this country.

But make no mistake! This tolerance is rooted in the radical Christianity of America’s founders who looked to Jesus as their example and the New Testament as their guide. It was Jesus, after all, who taught,

 Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you (Matthew 5:44).

The people who founded this nation were “dissenting Protestants.” They opposed the Constantinian form of Christianity that developed after the 4th century, which relied on political force rather than the power of truth for its success. State churches, supported by the government, persecuted those who did not adhere to the official lines of doctrine and practice put forward by the state church.

However, groups such as the Separatist Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, and Presbyterians, who sought a return to the faith of the New Testament, opposed this intolerant approach to faith that was characteristic of the Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans. They insisted that there should be no compulsion in matters of conscience, and no coercion when it comes to one’s sincerely held religious beliefs (For a thorough discussion, see Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 52-50.)

These “dissenting Protestants” brought these ideals of faith and freedom to America where they were further developed on American soil. These ideals were reinforced by the Great Awakening and burned into the consciousness of the American populace.

Because the teachings of Jesus were central to their faith, an amazing tolerance and friendliness toward other religions was manifest. For example, Benjamin Rush, a devout Christian and signer of the Declaration of Independence, in describing a parade in Philadelphia, said,

The rabbi of the Jews locked in the arms of two ministers of the Gospel was a most delightful sight. There could not have been a more happy emblem (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, Second Edition, 96).

During George Whitfield’s ministry in Philadelphia, city leaders decided to erect a large building to accommodate the massive crowds. According to Benjamin Franklin, the building was available for the use of “any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people of Philadelphia.” Franklin went on to say,

Even if the Mufti of Constantinople (Istanbul) were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, Second Edition, 97).

The founders’ tolerance toward people of other faiths was based, not only on the words of Jesus and the spirit of the New Testament, but on their belief in the inherent power of the Christian Message. They believed that on a level playing field, the truth of Christianity would always prevail.

Thomas Jefferson, for example, held the teachings of Jesus in very high esteem and once said, "The philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered to man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen." He believed in the inherent power of the Christian Message, and wrote,

Truth can stand by itself. If there be but one right religion and Christianity that one, we should wish to see the nine hundred and ninety-nine wandering sects gathered into the fold of truth. But against such a majority we cannot effect this by force. Reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged; and how can we wish others to indulge it while we refuse it ourselves (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, Second Edition, 98).

The First Amendment created a free and open marketplace of religious ideas, because the founders did not fear open debate. Compare this attitude to Marxist and Islamic nations where opposing views are violently suppressed. The same is true of the new Leftwing groups in modern America who seek to cancel anyone who disagrees with them. They fear free and open debate. 

In this critical moment in time, we must stand boldly for Biblical truth and we must pray for another Great Awakening that will turn the hearts of the American populace back to Jesus and the New Testament. This would do more than anything to restore peace and tolerance in modern America for, after all, it was Jesus who said,

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. And just as you want men [people] to do to you, you also do to them likewise. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful (Luke 6:27-36).

This article was derived in part from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's books, America’s Revival Heritage, Second Edition and 1726: The Year that Defined America, both available from Amazon and his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com.

Check out Eddie's latest book entitled The Book that Made America Great

https://amzn.to/4feGWcu

THE AMERICAN CHURCH AND DONALD TRUMP

Daniel 2:21 says that God “removes kings and raises up kings.” Psalm 75:7 says, “God is the Judge: He puts down one and exalts another.” In Isaiah 45:13, God said of King Cyrus of Persia, “I have raised him up.” Donald J. Trump was raised up as President of the United States for a specific purpose, which the American church needs to understand.

Trump was raised up, not to save America, but to give the American church a window of opportunity to awaken from its spiritual doldrums and be the instrument of God for cultural change. Unlike his predecessors, who targeted Bible-believing Christians for harassment and persecution, Trump has boldly voiced his respect for the Bible and his support for Christians of all denominations.

We must remember, however, that politicians can change policies and laws but only God can change hearts. If hearts are not changed, then culture will not be changed. If culture is not changed, then we could immediately be thrust back into an even worse anti-Christian political climate at the next election.

The church must, therefore, awaken and seize this opportune moment that is presented to us by the Trump administration. It was a sleeping church that allowed our nation to be taken by radical extremists. Only an awakened church can save America now and I believe this is her moment to arise.

In John 9:4, Jesus said, I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. The night is coming when no man can work. Jesus recognized that culturally and politically it was an opportune moment that He must maximize. He realized that changes were coming that would make it difficult or impossible to accomplish what must be done now.

I believe this is the situation for the American church with the Trump administration. A window of opportunity has been given to us, and we must make the most of it. We must seize the moment. We cannot go on with church as usual.

We can no longer be preoccupied with being “liked” by contemporary culture. A church that seeks to be “liked” by the culture can never be the “salt” and “light” that Jesus called us to be in Matthew 5:14. Only an awakened church can bring about the cultural change that will guarantee a free and stable country for the next generation.

I am reminded of the 19^th century visitor to America who sought for her greatness in her great commercial centers, her educational institutions, and her halls of government. Then he visited the churches of America. It was during the Second Great Awakening and everything fell into place for him, and he wrote,  

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. America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good America will cease to be great (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots – Second Edition, 177).

The American church must awaken and seize this opportune moment that has been given to her. Only an Awakened church, ushering in another Great Awakening, will save America from the malevolent spiritual forces that are seeking to destroy her. 

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, Bible teacher and revivalist historian with a passion to see authentic spiritual awakening in the 21st century church. His books, including his just released, The Book that Made America Great, are available from Amazon and his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com. 

HISTORY HAS CLEARLY SPOKEN: MAMDANI'S VISION FOR NYC AND AMERCA WILL DESTROY THE ECONOMY

The election of Zohran Mamdani as the Democrat nominee for mayor of New York City, has set off a firestorm of controversy. Although he calls himself a “Social Democrat,” his statements carry a ring of Marxism.  For example, he has called for eliminating private property ownership, and in its place, implementing government-run housing for everyone. He has also called for a government-run chain of grocery stores. These and other statements have led to many, including Donald Trump, to warn that he is a communist.

Winston Churchill said, “Those who do not learned from history are doomed to repeat it.” If he is to push forward with his proposals, Mamdani and his supporters will have to ignore the long history of socialism’s failures. In fact, everywhere socialism/communism has been tried, it has utterly failed, including right here on American soil.

Before the old Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela, the Pilgrims, who established Plymouth Colony in New England in the fall of 1620, at first attempted a socialist/communist style of living. They disbanded it, however, when it became obvious that their community could not survive with such a system.

Socialism Forced on Them

The Pilgrim’s journey to America was funded by a group of venture capitalists who provided the ship and supplies for their journey to the New World. In return, the Pilgrims agreed to live communally with no private property until the debt was paid. Everyone would receive the same compensation for their work, with everything above their basic necessities going into a common fund to be used to pay their creditors.

In other words, there was no inequality. Income produced by farming, fishing, and fur trading would be spread around and evenly divided among members of the community. There was only one economic class of people in this system.

William Bradford, who served as governor of Plymouth for many years, told of the challenges of this socialist system and how it almost destroyed their community (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 23-26). Drawn from Bradford’s account, here are four important lessons that Mamdani would do well to learn.

Lesson #1
Socialism Destroys Initiative and Innovation

Under this socialist system, everyone received the same compensation for their work. No matter how hard or how little they worked, all received the same income. With no reward tied to their labor, initiative was destroyed, and everyone put forth their least effort.

Why work and dream when you are trapped in a socialist system that mandates equality of outcome for everyone? This socialist system destroyed initiative, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and almost destroyed the Pilgrim community.

Lesson #2
Socialism Fosters Irresponsibility

Young men, Bradford said, resented getting paid the same as older men when they did so much more of the work. As a result, they tended to slouch and slack since they knew they would receive the same no matter how hard they worked.

Knowing they would receive the same no matter how hard or how little they worked, the women often refused go to the fields to work, complaining of sickness and headaches. To have compelled them to go, Bradford said, would have been considered tyranny and oppression.

With no individual reward tied to their labor, everyone gave their least effort. Irresponsibility became obvious throughout the community, and many became gripped with a sense of hopelessness.

Lesson #3
Socialism Extinguishes Hope and Generates Strife

This socialist system led to a widespread sense of hopelessness. With everyone locked into a closed economic system, there was nothing individuals or families could do to improve their personal lot. Feeling caught in a trap, bickering and strife began to emerge.

The older men, Bradford said, felt they deserved more honor and recompense because of their age and resented getting paid the same as the youngsters in their midst. The young men, on the other hand, resented getting paid the same as the older men when they often did more of the work.

This sense of hopelessness and the ensuing strife drained energy and discouraged innovative thinking and led to very serious complications for the community.

Lesson #4
Socialism is Incompatible with Human Nature

Bradford believed that socialism did not work because it runs counter to human nature as created by God. In Scripture, God rewards individuals for their labor and good works. Capitalism works because it is compatible with the reality of human nature and the world in which we live.

I will never forget visiting eastern Europe shortly after the fall of the Soviet Empire. I was struck by the grey, drab environment. Even the buildings seemed so plain, flat and lackluster. Communism had obviously extinguished the fires of creativity and innovation.

To Survive, They Had to Change

When it became obvious that lack and perhaps starvation would be their lot, Bradford and the leaders of the colony decided to make a change. After much prayer and discussion, they dispensed with that part of the agreement with their creditors that required them to live communally until their debt was paid. In its place, they implemented a free entrepreneurial system that included private ownership of property (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 23-26).

They Experience the Blessing of Free Enterprise

According to Bradford, they divided the land around them, allotting to each family a certain portion that would be theirs to work and use for their own needs. Bradford said there was an immediate change. The young men began to work much harder because they now knew they would eat the fruit of their own labors.

There were no more complaints from the older men for the same reason. And now the women were seen going into the fields to work, taking the children with them, because they knew they and their family would personally benefit.

Instead of lacking food, each family now grew more food than they needed, and they began to trade with one another for furnishings, clothes and other goods. They also had enough excess to trade with the Natives for furs and other items. In short, the colony began to prosper when they got rid of their socialist form of government and implemented a free, entrepreneurial system. Of their experience with socialism, Bradford wrote,

This community [socialism] was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort . . . and showed the vanity of that conceit of Plato’s, and applauded by some of later times, that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 23-26).  

Compassionate Capitalism

Once they embraced a free entrepreneurial system, the Pilgrims had no poor in their midst because they were both an innovative and a compassionate people.  As Christians of the Reformation, they sought to live out the words of Jesus to “love your neighbor as yourself” and they generously assisted those who suffered loss through sickness or death.

Theirs was a voluntary charity rooted in the teachings of Jesus, not something imposed by a centralized, authoritarian government. Capitalism, undergirded by a vibrant Christianity, is what made America the most powerful and prosperous nation in human history and is the key to her future prosperity.

The lessons from history are clear about socialism. They serve as a flashing red light warning anyone moving in that direction to STOP now! If, therefore, we desire the best for the greatest number of people, then we must reject Mamdani’s vision of a government-mandated socialist system for New York City and America.

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and The Pilgrims, both available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. His latest book, just released, is entitled The Book that Made America Great.

HERE'S THE ONLY WAY AMERICA WILL EVER BE TRULY GREAT AGAIN

Lawlessness and moral confusion are pervading America. Local police and federal law enforcement officials are being publicly attacked, egged on by Leftist politicians and members of Congress. A Supreme Court justice, members of Congress, and college professors have publicly confessed they cannot define a woman. Children are being taught they can choose their gender. If that is not enough, there is talk of AOC and Hunter Biden running for president. 

How did we ever get here? The answer is simple. As a nation we have rejected God’s blueprint for individuals and nations, which is found in the Bible. In his first Inaugural Address, George Washington warned what would be the results if this ever happened. He said,

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, The Book that Made America Great, 78).

Where are those “external rules of order and right” to be found? In the Bible, of course. Washington’s audience understood that this was a call for America to adhere to biblical truth.

Virtually every Founding Father believed that only by adhering to biblical truth could America ever hope to flourish. John Adams, America’s second president, expressed this in a letter to Benjamin Rush, another Founding Father, saying,

The Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality, and the most refined policy that was ever conceived on earth. It is the most republican book in the world (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 80).

This is why no one was surprised when George Washington took the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. It was the American thing to do. This act showed his great respect for the Bible, for when someone swears an oath, they swear by something greater than themselves. For Washington, the Bible was the highest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Samuel Adams was one of the most influential members of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence who also served as governor of Massachusetts. He was a follower of Christ and based the right for political freedom on the Bible. He wrote,

The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, the rights of the Colonists as Christians may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutions of the Great Lawgiver and the Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 15).

With this sort of esteem and reverence for the Bible, it is not surprising that the first English Bible printed in America in 1782 included an official endorsement from the U.S. Congress, recommending it “to the inhabitants of the United States.” Andrew Jackson, America’s seventh president, gestured toward a Bible during a conversation and said, “That Book, sir, is the Rock on which our Republic rests.”

All these facts and many more led the authors of an article in Newsweek to declare,

For centuries, the Bible has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics, and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 17).

Yes, the Bible had a profound impact on America for her first 150 years. But for the past 100 years, and intensifying in the past 60, there has been a all-out attack on the Bible. The American church has been powerless in the face of these attacks, which have led to the Bible’s removal from all public education and denigrated in the secular media.

America can be great again, but the American church must awaken to the priority and power of God’s word. Martin Luther found this to be the key in the Reformation for when asked how he, a lowly monk and professor in the small insignificant town of Wittenberg, had been able to have such an impact on the church and empire, he replied,

I only urged, preached, and declared God’s word, nothing else. And yet while I was asleep the Word inflicted greater injury on popery than prince or emperor ever did. I did nothing, the Word did everything (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 160).

A visitor to America whom many, including myself, believe was the French sociolo gist, Alexis de Tocqueville, gave his informed view on what it was that had made America great. After visiting her great commercial centers, educational institutions, and governmental centers trying to discover how such a young nation had attained such prominence so quickly, he wrote,

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, America is great because America is good and if America ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, Second Edition, 177),

America can be great again, but she must return to the Book that made her great in the first place. She must have a “Bible Awakening.”

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book entitled The Book that Made America Great and Pilgrims and Patriots, Second Edition, both available from Amazon and his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com.

DEPORTED!

How Sue's Deportation Affected Our Views
About the Current Immigration Crisis 

 

Shortly after our marriage in Dallas, TX in 1976, we were surprised when American immigration officials informed my wife, Susan, who is Canadian, that she would have to return to her home country. She was deported.

Being naïve about immigration laws, I had assumed that being married to an American citizen would make it an easy and simple matter for her to obtain permanent resident status. We were both surprised when she was told she would have to return to Canada and apply for permanent residence through the American consulate in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

This totally disrupted our plans to live in Texas, but we did not complain or protest. We adjusted our plans and decided we would go to Canada for the summer and while Sue was getting her green card processed, I would work.  But as Gomer Pyle would say, “Surprise! Surprise!” We drove to Canada only to discover that Canada also had immigration laws.

They would not allow me to work without applying for permanent residence. So, I applied for permanent residence in Canada. This was challenging to my faith for I had never felt a call to Canada nor ever experienced any desire to live there.

The situation was exacerbated when Canadian officials informed me that because of custom regulations and tariffs, I could only keep my car in Canada for three weeks. So, I drove across the border and sold my Dodge R/T for much less than it was worth and asked my new mother-in-law to drive across the border and pick me up. These immigration laws were really disrupting our lives.

Did we complain? Did we protest? No! It did not even cross our minds to complain or protest. We had both been raised that a part of our Christian testimony is to be law-abiding citizens. Peter wrote of this to first-century believers and exhorted them,

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good (I Peter 2:13-14).

 Of course, when human laws contradict God’s laws, we are not to submit to such laws, as we clearly see in passages such as Acts 5:29. We, however, had no biblical or common sense reason for not believing that the immigration laws we were encountering had been put in place for the good of  both American and Canadian citizens .

Although our lives were disrupted, our faith in God told us that God was at work behind the scenes and this proved to true. Our time in Canada proved to be a very significant time for us and many others.

We were in Canada for eight years and during this time we planted a new congregation, a Christian academy, and a Bible school. We also began our overseas travels with ministry outreaches to India and Africa. Sue’s father, two brothers, and many others came to Christ during this time.

Sue received her green card and we returned to the U.S. in 1984 and have been busy for the past 40 years teaching, writing books, creating teaching materials, and travelling to many nations with the Good News of His plan for all mankind (Psalm 67:1-2).. We live in Grapevine, TX and believe that our best and most fruitful years are still ahead.

Out of our experience with deportation and after traveling to many nations, I am now convinced that America's immigration laws are neither oppressive or unfair. It is for this reason that I have no empathy for people who are openly flouting immigration laws whether in América, Canada, Mexico, or any country.

Nations need secure borders for the same reason our homes need secure locks on our windows and doors. We live in a world that is filled with evil and if your home is not secure, someone will take advantage of your neglect and cause you harm. The same is true of nations and their borders.

Yes, I have compassion for those vulnerable people, many of them children, who have been exploited by drug cartels and coyotes. But the open defiance of immigration laws should not be tolerated. The Bible exhorts us to have compassion on the poor and needy, but also strongly condemns lawlessness.

This is why a blanket amnesty must never be issued to illegals. This would only affirm them in their lawlessness and be a slap in the face to the many thousands who are patiently waiting in line to come in legally, but now those who came in illegally are moved to the front of the line. 

In Revelation 21 John saw a vision of the heavenly city--the New Jerusalem. It had wall and gates and in vs. 27 he says, But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those written in the Lamb's Book of Life. If this heavenly city has walls to regulate who can and cannot enter, how much more our earthly cities and nations.

Drs. Eddie and Sue Hyatt live in Grapevine, TX where they carry on a ministry of writing, teaching, and preaching. Their many books are available from Amazon and their websites at http://www.eddiehyatt.com and http://www.godsordtowomen.org.

THE PILGRIMS COULD TEACH ZOHRAN MANDAMI A FEW THINGS ABOUT SOCIALISM

Winston Churchill once quipped, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Sadly, New York City may be on the verge of electing a mayor and adopting a form of government that has a long history of having miserably failed, and damaging lives, everywhere it has been tried.

Zohran Mamdani, the leading mayoral candidate for New York City, calls himself a “Social Democrat.” His words, however, are those of a communist/Marxist. For example, he has called for eliminating private property ownership and, in its place, implementing government-run housing for everyone. He has also called for a government-run chain of grocery stores. These and other statements have led to many, including Donald Trump, to warn that he is a communist.

One of the places socialism has miserably failed was right here on America soil. The Pilgrims, who established Plymouth Colony in New England in the fall of 1620, at first attempted a socialist/communist style of living. They disbanded it, however, when it became obvious that their community could not survive with such a system.

Socialism Forced on Them

The Pilgrim’s journey to America was funded by a group of venture capitalists who provided the ship and supplies for their journey to the New World. In return, the Pilgrims agreed to live communally with everyone receiving the same compensation for their work, and with everything above their necessities going into a common fund to be used to pay their creditors.

In other words, there was no inequality. Income produced by farming, fishing, and fur trading would be spread around and evenly divided among members of the community. There would be only one economic class of people in this system.

William Bradford, who served as governor of Plymouth for many years, told of the challenges of this socialist system and how it almost destroyed their community (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 23-26). Drawn from Bradford’s account, here are four important lessons that Mamdani would do well to learn.

Lesson #1
Socialism Destroys Initiative

Under this socialist system, everyone received the same compensation for their work. No matter how hard or how little they worked, all received the same income. With no reward tied to their labor, initiative was destroyed, and everyone put forth their least effort.

Why work and dream when you are trapped in a socialist system that mandates equality of outcome for everyone? This socialist system destroyed initiative and almost destroyed the Pilgrim community.

Lesson #2
Socialism Fosters Irresponsibility

Young men, Bradford said, resented getting paid the same as older men when they did so much more of the work. As a result, they tended to slouch and slack since they knew they would receive the same no matter how hard they worked.

Knowing they would receive the same no matter how hard or how little they worked, the women often refused go to the fields to work, complaining of sickness and headaches. To have compelled them to go, Bradford said, would have been considered tyranny and oppression.

With no individual reward tied to their innovation and labor, everyone gave their least effort. Irresponsibility became obvious throughout the community, and many became gripped with a sense of hopelessness.

Lesson #3
Socialism Extinguishes Hope and Generates Strife

This socialist system led to a widespread sense of hopelessness. With everyone locked into a closed economic system, there was nothing individuals or families could do to improve their personal lot. Feeling caught in a trap, bickering and strife began to emerge.

The older men, Bradford said, felt they deserved more honor and recompense because of their age and resented getting paid the same as the youngsters in their midst. The young men, on the other hand, resented getting paid the same as the older men when they often did more of the work.

This sense of hopelessness and the ensuing strife drained energy and discouraged innovative thinking and led to very serious complications for the community.

Lesson #4
Socialism is Incompatible with Human Nature

Bradford believed that socialism did not work because it runs counter to human nature as created by God. In Scripture, God rewards individuals for their labor and good works. Capitalism works because it is compatible with the reality of human nature and the world in which we live.

I will never forget visiting eastern Europe shortly after the fall of the Soviet Empire. I was struck by the grey, drab environment. Even the buildings seemed so plain, flat and lackluster.

To Survive, They Had to Change

When it became obvious that lack and perhaps starvation would be their lot, Bradford and the leaders of the colony decided to make a change. After much prayer and discussion, they dispensed with that part of the agreement with their creditors that required them to live communally until their debt was paid. In its place, they implemented a free entrepreneurial system that included private ownership of property (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 23-26).

They Experience the Blessing of Free Enterprise

According to Bradford, they divided the land around them, allotting to each family a certain portion that would be theirs to work and use for their own needs. Bradford said there was an immediate change. The young men began to work much harder because they now knew they would eat the fruit of their own labors.

There were no more complaints from the older men for the same reason. And now the women were seen going into the fields to work, taking the children with them, because they knew they and their family would personally benefit.

Instead of lacking food, each family now grew more food than they needed, and they began to trade with one another for furnishings, clothes and other goods. They also had enough excess to trade with the Indians for furs and other items. In short, the colony began to prosper when they got rid of their socialist form of government and implemented a free, entrepreneurial system. Of their experience with socialism, Bradford wrote,

This community [socialism] was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort . . . and showed the vanity of that conceit of Plato’s, and applauded by some of later times, that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 23-26).  

Christianity & Capitalism

As Christians, our responsibility is to call people to Christ and help them live out their Christianity in the real world. Living out our Christianity means a life of responsibility, not looking for government hand-outs but working and prospering in a way that we can give a hand-up to those in need.

We desire the best for the greatest number of people which is why we must reject the Mamdani’s vision of a government-mandated socialist system in America.

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and The Pilgrims, both available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. His latest book, just released, is entitled The book that Made America Great.

Mike Johnson: America Patriot or Danger to Democracy?

When Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, described himself as a “Bible-believing Christian,” the mainstream media and Johnson’s Democrat colleagues in Congress, who pride themselves on being tolerant, had a total meltdown.

MSNBC host, Jen Psaki, called Johnson a "religious fundamentalist" and mocked his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the "Taliban and the mullahs in Iran." Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing idealogue.” Others referred to him as "dangerous" and a "threat to democracy."

Their unhinged reaction demonstrates how far we, as a nation, have fallen from our origins as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. For example, I am sure they do not realize that the first English Bible printed in America included a recommendation from Congress.

The publisher, Robert Aitken, had written a letter to Congress in which he asked for that government body’s sanction of his work. In the letter, Aitken called this Bible, “a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools.”

Congress enthusiastically responded to his request by commending his work and declaring that they “recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.”

Indeed, in early America, the Bible was cherished and quoted far more than any other book. America’s founding generation found in the pages of the Bible its moral compass, its guide for ethics, and the lens through which it viewed and interpreted all of life.

A 10-year study to determine where America’s founders derived their ideas for America’s founding documents, found that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source. In a letter from John Adams, America’s 2nd president, to Benjamin Rush, another Founding Father, Adams said,

The Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality, and the most refined policy that was ever conceived on earth. It is the most republican book in the world (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 80).

With this sort of pervasive esteem for the Bible in early America, no one was surprised when George Washington took the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. It was the American thing to do. This act showed his great respect for the Bible, for when someone swears an oath, they swear by something greater than themselves. For Washington, the Bible was the highest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Andrew Jackson, America’s seventh president, understood this prominent role of the Bible in the founding of America. In a conversation with a colleague, he gestured toward a Bible and declared, “That book, sir, is the rock on which our Republic rests.”

Ronald Reagan declared 1983 to be the “Year of the Bible” and to coincide with his proclamation, Newsweek carried an article entitled, “How the Bible Made America.” In this article, the authors correctly stated,

For centuries, the Bible has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics, and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document (Hyatt, The Book that Made America Great, 17).

Yes, it was the Bible that made America great, and it is obvious that Mike Johnson is an American patriot. His values and vision are amazingly compatible with those of Washington, Adams, Madison, and Jefferson. It is the likes of Jen Psaki, Hakeem Jeffries and the entire Democrat Party that strayed from the vision of America's founding generation, not Johnson. 

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, The Book that Made America Great, which is available from Amazon and his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com.

HOW I KNOW THAT GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH AMERICA

A Surprising Encounter with the Holy Spirit Changed Everything

By 2010 I had come to the place where I thought God was finished with America. I had given up hope that America would ever see another great national spiritual awakening such as I had written about in my book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. The revivals of the 1990s, it seemed, had turned inward, becoming self-serving, and were powerless to stem the cultural and moral decline of the nation.

Although I believed there could still be individual and local revivals, I had reluctantly succumbed to the popular eschatological idea that there would not be another great revival and that America’s time in the sun was over and done. But then, I was surprised by the Holy Spirit.

Surprised by the Holy Spirit

Without any expectation of such a thing happening, in September of 2010 I experienced a seven-hour visitation of God that completely upended my thinking in this regard. It began on a hot summer day in Tulsa, OK when I began a two-hour drive to Kingfisher, OK where I would be preaching the following day in a Sunday morning service.

Without any warning or anticipation of such a thing happening, the Holy Spirit seemed to fill my car and I suddenly felt enveloped in God’s presence. At the same time my mind and heart began to be flooded with thoughts of hope and faith that America “could” see another great, national spiritual awakening that would impact the culture and alter the course of the nation.

As I drove along the highway, I was hardly aware of my surroundings. By the time I arrived at my hotel, my heart was so full I could hardly contain myself. I could hardly wait to open my  PC and began writing down the thoughts that continued to flood my mind. That experience lasted far into the night as I sat on the hotel bed and prayed and praised God and wrote.

The Fruit of That Experience

This was a defining moment and changed the course of my life and led to the writing and publication of several books that document how the First Great Awakening had a direct bearing on the founding of America and the ending of slavery. The first book was America's Revival Heritage and then came Pilgrims and Patriots.

In 2019, I sensed the Holy Spirit stirring my heart to write a book about how it was the Great Awakening that brought about the end of slavery in America. I therefore, wrote, 1726: The Year that Defined America and Abolitionist Founding Fathers. Somewhere in the midst of all this also wrote and published The Faith and Vision of Benjamin Franklin and 5 Pillars of the American Republic.

More than once I have been amazed at how I was providentially led to resources to confirm the vision I had seen and to fill out the historical narrative to document America’s spiritual birth. This was important for as the noted historian, Carl   said, “When a nation goes down or a society perishes, one condition may always be found: they forgot where they came from." 

This research and writing has solidified in me the truth that was revealed to me that summer day in 2010. God brought forth America for a special purpose, and that purpose is not yet fulfilled. We are people of Destiny and have a God-given task to fulfill.

God is Ready to Do it Again

Jonathan Edwards once said that when God determines to do a thing in the earth, He first sets His people to praying for the very thing that He has determined to give. It is obvious that there is a new hunger stirring across the body of Christ for a Divine awakening from heaven. Not something skillfully worked up by a religious maestro, but a Divine visitation that is prayed down from heaven.

Recently, I was providentially led to Zechariah 10:1, which reads, Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone. It was a fresh prod from the Lord to ask for the rain of the Holy Spirit in these days of the latter rain when God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh as prophesied in Acts 2:17-18.

Yes, I am convinced that God is not through with America and that a fresh wind from heaven is already beginning to blow across the land. 

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a historian, Bible teacher and ordained minister. He has a passion to see America reconnect with her Christian roots and experience another great, national spiritual awakening. To contact him about sharing his "1726" PowerPoint presentation to your congregation or group, send him an email at dreddiehyatt@gmail.com. Check out his books on Amazon and visit his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.