GOERGE WASHINGTON'S PROPHETIC WARNING TO AMERICA

A Note from the Author: "I am not writing as a political partisan. I am not a member of any political party. I am writing as follower of Christ who is also an  American citizen, deeply concerned about this nation."

Did George Washington speak prophetically in his Farewell Address after serving two terms as the nation’s first president? Indeed, in this address, published on September 19, 1796, Washington warned the fledgling nation to reject a certain mindset and way of thinking that has now become characteristic of the modern Democrat Party.

There is no question that the modern Democrat Party has radically changed. My parents voted Democrat as did my grandparents. They would, however, be repulsed by the platform and policies of the modern Democrat Party.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated more than once that his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, would not be welcome in this new Democrat Party.

The Democrat Party has become a party with no moral compass that embraces just about everything and everybody, except evangelical, Bible-believing Christians. It is quite amazing that Washington warned of this very thing 330 years ago this month.

Washington's Amazing Farewell Address

In his Farewell Address, Washington urged the new nation to maintain "religion" and "morality," which he called "indispensable" supports for national prosperity. Washington obviously did not see religion as something to be “tolerated” in America, but as something “indispensable” for the life of the nation.

The new Democrat Party, however, sees Christianity and morality as unimportant and dispensable. In 2019 the Democrat National Committee (DNC) unanimously passed a resolution affirming atheism and declaring that neither Christianity nor any religion is necessary for morality or patriotism. Not a single Democrat leader spoke out in opposition to this rejection of God in the affairs of the nation.

Washington boldly rejected this agnostic way of thinking, calling religion and morality “those great pillars of human happiness.” He also warned against indulging the supposition that morality could be had apart from religion. “Both reason and experience,” he said, “forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 165).

When Washington and any of the Founders speak of “religion” they are referring to Christianity. Christianity was the only religion they knew. And while they were tolerant of other religions, they were not “religious pluralists” in the modern sense. They unashamedly derived their morals and values from the Bible and Christianity.

In this same Address, Washington insisted that anyone who would seek to subvert morality and Christianity could not claim to be a “patriot,” i.e., someone who loves their country. He said,

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. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them.

In other words, any pastor, politician, government official, educator or entertainer who would undermine the influence of Christian morality in America is, in the words of our Founding Father, “unpatriotic.”  They do not love America.

Thomas Jefferson completely agreed with Washington's Farewell Address, and he made it required reading at the University of Virginia, which he had founded. Two years later in 1798, President John Adams declared, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people and is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The Democrat Party’s Slide into Secularism

The Democrat Party has obviously devolved into a radical secularist party that personifies the very thing Washington warned the nation to avoid. They seek to purge Judeo-Christian principles and values from our institutions and culture. They are diametrically opposed to the vision of Washington and America’s founding generation.

This hostility towards Christians was on full display when the newly elected 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."

This was not a surprise to those who had observed the party’s slide into secularism. For example, at the 2012 Democrat National Convention there was a voice vote on whether to include God in their platform. For many present, it sounded as though the nays were clearly in the majority. When, therefore, leadership gave it to the ayes and declared that God would be included, loud boos erupted throughout the auditorium.

The majority did not want even a superficial reference to God in their platform. The Angeles Times carried a headline that read, “Democrats Booed God” and a headline in the Washington Times read, “Democrats Have Officially Abandoned God.”

On August 24, 2020, the same DNC that one year before had declared religion and morality unimportant, doubled down by passing another resolution praising the values of the "religiously unaffiliated." This resolution was championed by the Secular Coalition of America, an organization that lobbies on behalf of atheists, agnostics, and humanists on public policy.

So, in the resolutions of 2019 and 2020, the DNC was simply putting in writing the change that for decades had been taking place in their party. For some time, the Party had also supported the removal of Ten Commandment displays, crosses, and other Christian symbols from public property. They also supported banning prayer and Bible reading from public schools.

When President Obama spoke at Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, he demanded that the Christian symbol behind the podium where he was to speak be removed. And when the Democrat Party took control of the House of Representatives in 2018, they ordered the removal of the phrase "so help me God" from the oaths that witnesses would take before their committees. 

So, their unhinged reaction to Johnson was not a total surprise but it did clearly demonstrate that the Democrat Party is no longer a supporter of the Judeo-Christian principles and values on which this nation was founded.

Conclusion

I am here reminded of the words of Ronald Reagan when he left the Democrat Party in 1962. He clarified his decision, saying, “I did not leave the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left me.” If that was true in 1962 how much more is it true today with the Democrat Party now being led by people like Bernie Sanders, AOC, Zohran Mamdani, Gavin Newsome and Kamala Harris.

I cannot in any way support the Democrat Party because its vision and policies for America are destructive. If the Democrats gain power, they will destroy the nation by implementing the very things Washington warned against.

But all is not lost. There is hope for America’s future. Christians in America, however, must awaken. They must get out and vote this November 4 and they must join me and thousands of others in praying for another Great Awakening to sweep across the land. George Washington would wholeheartedly agree.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt has been in full-time ministry for over 50 years as a professor of theology, pastor, Bible teacher, revivalist and missionary. He is the author of over 30 books and this article is derived primarily from America's Reawakening and 1726: The Year that Defined America, both available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.