Our first president, George Washington, took the oath of office and put his hand on the Bible. What was his first official act as president was that he kissed the Bible. Then he held a two-hour praise and worship session in Congress. They determined to open sessions of Congress with prayer. They selected a chaplain to routinely lead in those prayers.This is a reminder against those who want to keep God out of government. It is interesting why schoolchildren cannot open their session in prayer, but Congress does. The phrase, “In God We Trust,” was officially adopted by our government in 1956.
In 1776, 11 of the 13 colonies required that one had to be a Christian to be eligible to run for political office. In 1777, the Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase Bibles for distribution in the nation. The Gettysburg address states, “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.“ 94% of the writings of the founding fathers of the US contain quotes from the holy Scriptures. The state constitutions of all 50 states mentioned God.
The famous, “Liberty Bell,” has part of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on it which says, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Part of the Scripture Proverbs 14:34 is inscribed above the nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” An image of Moses carrying the tablets of God’s law faces the speaker of the House of Representatives. The new president takes his oath of office with his right hand on the holy Bible and concludes his vow, “so help me God.” (Unfortunately, in our modern era there are some people who take an oath on other than the Bible. What does that say about how our country has degenerated?)
In 1781, Pres. Thomas Jefferson said, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Our six president, John Quincy Adams, said, “no book in the world deserves to be so exceedingly studied in so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible.” At the Constitutional convention in 1781, Benjamin Franklin said, “God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it possible that any empire can rise without his aid?”
The Christian writings and pronouncements of our 16th Pres. Abraham Lincoln would fill an entire book. He said what he assumed about leadership, “We have been the recipients of the choicest boundaries of heaven…. But we have forgotten God. We have forsaken the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened; and we have vainly imagined, and the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were pronounced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
Christian Writer 