America’s Founders were unanimous in the belief that only a virtuous people could maintain the freedoms they had implemented in the nation’s founding documents. If that is true—that virtue is the foundation of freedom--then America is in big trouble.
Many cultural
commentators agree that America is experiencing a decline in virtue,
characterized by a loss of honesty, personal responsibility and civility in
public life. Factors often cited include a culture of contempt, political polarization, writing off or "cancelling" those with whom you disagree and a shift from community-focused values to a "Me-Centered" narcissism.
One only has to
spend a little time on the internet to encounter hostility, crudeness, hatred
and anger. It is now common to attack those with whom you disagree with
personal smears rather than engaging in civil dialogue. The strategy seems to
be: Don’t bother discussing the message, demonize the messenger.
Unless there is a
cultural shift, this does not bode well for America’s future. America’s
founders were convinced that virtue and freedom go hand in hand and that a nation
cannot maintain freedom without virtue in its citizenry.
Virtue may be
defined as “moral excellence” and 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.” John Adams made the same point in a letter to his cousin, Zabdiel
Adams, a minister of the gospel. Adams exhorted him,
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
In his Farewell Address, George Washington admonished the fledgling nation to cling to religion and morality, which he called "indispensable supports" for a stable and prosperous nation. James Madison was in complete agreement and wrote, “To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue is a chimerical idea.”
A chimerical idea is a “pipedream” or “fantasy” with little or no chance of ever occurring. In other words, those who think that a certain political party or ideology can bring happiness and stability to a society apart from Christian morality, are living in a fantasy world. Psalm 33:3 says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, and America’s Founders, without exception, believed those words.
Samuel Adams
believed that virtue was unlikely to remain vigorous from one generation to
another without spiritual awakenings. This is because over time churches tend
to institutionalize and formalize. A heart experience with God is minimized and
adherence to the outward forms of the institution is emphasized as what really
matters.
In this condition,
Christians tend to lose their passion and fire for truth and become comfortable
in the outward forms. In such a state, spiritual atrophy sets in and the church
is no longer the salt and light Jesus called her to be. Virtue is lost and moral
and spiritual decay begins to impact the society, from which the late Dr.
Michael Novak says, “Only periodic awakenings have been known to offer a cure.”
He goes on to say,
Far from
having a hostility toward religion, the Founders counted on religion
[Christianity] for the underlying philosophy of the republic, its supporting ethic,
and its reliable source of rejuvenation
This critical role of an awakened
Christianity in the life of America is affirmed in a quote from an anonymous 18th visitor to this country, whom this writer believes was Alexis de Tocqueville. This
visitor was searching for the secret to America’s rapid rise to affluence and
power and recounted how he sought for America’s greatness in her form of
government, her educational system, her vast commerce, etc. This visitor then
said something astounding.
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, 176-77).
America can be great
again, not by seeking greatness, but by seeking God. America can be great again,
not by running from her past, but by reconnecting with her past and learning
from her Founders, who like the above visitor, tied America’s future greatness
to her ability to maintain virtue and goodness.
We must, therefore, have
another Great Awakening across this land that will reconnect us to our Christian
roots and restore virtue to our culture. Otherwise, America will continue on a
downward moral spiral and freedom will be lost for the generations to come.
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, America's Reawakening, scheduled for release around March 15. His other books are available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.
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