Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

Well, in this blog, as in all others written by hand, I will try my best to state my thoughts on feelings on this issue, and not to give in to differing opinions based upon their popularity. I may not be the most verbally cohesive, but typing is done in private, and no pressure rests upon my shoulders. Reverend Edward's speech made a lot of sense to me. The context of it, which was the fact that we was a Puritan, and that Puritans were known for fiery intolerance, is something that I'm going to view as irrelevant in my judgement of his sermon. My first part of this blog will be composed of the reasons for my acceptance of the legitimacy of his speech, and my second will be the consequences of the ignorance of his speech.

Reverend Edward's speech reminded the members of his society of the importance of revering God. Irrelevant of any government recognition of a religion or control of a church, Edwards is encouraging a Christian Society. Personally, I see the United States as an ideal Christian Nation. Many Secular Humanist negate the statement that I and many, especially right-wing, politicians make on the issue of religion in this Republic. The first statement they make is, assuming they're naive on the issue, is that this country allows Freedom of Religion. This statement, considering the issue, should be taken as no more than a statement. Freedom of Religion is a philosophy that, if anything, is heavily backed by the New Testament. Many others make the statement that the First Amendment of U.S. Bill of Rights declares that Congress shall make no laws recognizing the establishment of a religion, nor will it establish a state Church. Secular humanists simply do not know the Christian, not enlightenment, roots of this Amendment. It is from the Holy Bible that we have the statement made by Christ "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22:21). Although it does state that the state has ownership over certain things, others belong to God. If there was such things the "Church of the United States," headed by the government, Caesar, the state, would be in possession of what is God's, the Church. The purpose of this amendment is to protect religion from the government, not vice-versa. The Church is to be led by clergymen, and they are to focus solely on leading the Christian People, not on statecraft. As far as the recognition of a religion, this can, in technical terms, only extend to the declaration of a state religion. And in this sense, the Church, which is the Bride of Christ, would be relying on a source other than itself for support. This seems very inconsistent with Christian doctrine; to support a religion, a government must tax those that perhaps do not adhere to it. It was Benjamin Franklin who made the claim that the Church should not need state support, and it was George Washington who made the claim that faith needn't be pointed in a political direction. Also, a state religion demands a claim to act in the way of that religion. A nation with a state religion of Christianity therefore seems to claim that they are God's favored country. However, the Bible makes the statement that Christ's Kingdom is not of this earth. Ultimately, if the Church is not controlled by government, it cannot become corrupt, because it will only be able to focus on it's task of leading Christians to salvation, and running a country will not be a part of it's agenda. This is not to say, however, that a government should not be religious. I simply mean to say that they should not rule a country and a Church at the same time. In accordance with Christian Principle, a politician may not control the Church, however, he may look up to the Church, as an adherent (as opposed to looking at the Church, as though he were equal). He should encourage his people to support the Church, and he may do so himself by his own means.  The only non-counterable statement that Secular Humanists used in defense of their position is the statement is the Treaty of Tripoli, in which America's identity as a Christian Nation is denied. However, this treaty was for the Ottoman Turks, a Mahometan nation that often, do to it's religious zeal, faced crusades by Christian Nations. It's possible that Washington did not want the Turks to feel crusaded upon. It was the intention of the Founding Fathers of the Republic not to create a government-enforced religion, but to indeed preserve a religious society. This is summarized by the statement made by John Adams that

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” At the time of this country's inception, the Christian Faith was very important. The colonists claimed that they had no king but Christ the King. The first words of the Treaty of Paris is declared int he name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity. All of these religious references do nothing but point to the religious sentiments of the Founding Fathers. George Washington might not've wanted the government to establish a religion, but he certainly believed that "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." Although the Founding Fathers may have been religious, their religious intentions for this nation must be taken into account. Another statement made by him states that it is his desire that "What American students would learn above all is the religion of Jesus Christ." The former statement is a clear statement in support of religious inspiration of government policy. Although many secularists negate this statement, claiming that it has been twisted in favor of religious bias, George Washington seems to be in favor of the Christian Faith, President Washington's private prayer journal displays a profound belief in  Christ. It is possible that secularists have simply and blatantly negated this claim. George Washington's remarks and actions were similar to those of President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was abhorrent of many mainstream Christian principles, but did ultimately see parts of the Bible as true. His statements declaring the existence of "Nature's God" in the Declaration of Independence are indeed typical Deist practices, and he was influenced by Deist philosophy. However, these statements are often used by Christian philosophers, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Roman Catholic, and Francis Hutcheson, a Presbytarian. Thomas Jefferson supported Congressional Church services, seeing religion as necessary in Republican government. He also supported the evangelization of the aborigines on the western frontier. Thomas Jefferson, as well all of the other Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, who was a Deist (he did believe in the moral tennets of Christianity), supported Congressional Prayer services, which often lasted up to 3 hours. It was the United States Congress who, in their very first action, printed the first Holy Bibles in the English language for use in the American Public Schools. These being the case, it is clear that the Founding Fathers desired America to be a nation that revered Christ God. It is no surprise that President Abraham Lincoln, in his desire to abolish slavery, states in his personal diaries that America was the last Christian Nation on the planet to still allow slavery. As well, it is no surprise that American Supreme Court Justice David Brewer was able to make the claimt that the U.S. is a Christian Nation in the resolution of the case United States vs. Holy Trinity in 1892. However, what does it mean for a nation to be Christian? According to Supreme Court Justice David Brewer, a Christian Naton is defined not by a legal establishment as such, or by an overwhelming majority of Christians as members of the population. Rather it was such due to the basis of it's laws. According to the President John Adams, "The general principles for which we achieved independence are the general principles of Christianity."  Constitutional law professor Edward Mansfield made the statement that 

"In every country, the morals of a people – whatever they may be – take their form and spirit from their religion. For example, the marriage of brothers and sisters was permitted among the Egyptians because such had been the precedent set by their gods, Isis and Osiris. So, too, the classic nations celebrated the drunken rites of Bacchus. Thus, too, the Turk has become lazy and inert because dependent upon Fate, as taught by the Koran. And when in recent times there arose a nation [i.e., France] whose philosophers [e.g. Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Helvetius, etc.] discovered there was no God and no religion, the nation was thrown into that dismal case in which there was no law and no morals. . . . In the United States, Christianity is the original, spontaneous, and national religion." That being said, a Christian Nation does not persecute those who do not adhere to it's faith. To the contrary, it allows it's citizens libertarian freedom in accordance with Biblical principles. It does not at all mean that it's citizens must be Christians, or that the government must adopt a specific religion. Secular Humanists, however, are under this impression in their ignorance of the position of those supported the maintenance of a Christian Nation. It was Thomas Paine who made the claim that "It is important that we remember that this country was not founded by religionists, but by Christians; not by religions, but by the Gospel of Jesus Christ." At least in my opinion, this statement differentiates nations founded by the Christian Faith form those not founded by such. Members of non-Christian religions have often claims that this country is a Christian Republic, and as such it has guaranteed their freedom. Therefore, it ought not change. Aaron Zelmar, a Jew, made the statement that "[C]hristian America is the best home our people have found in 2,000 years. . . . [T]his remains the most tolerant, prosperous, and safest home we could be blessed with." My sentiments as to the Christianity of the United States is echoed by many. A Confucian state, as had been seen in 18th and 19th century Vietnam, would demand the power of the authority. An Islamic state, as has been seen in the Middle East especially in Saudi Arabia, would demand capital punishment for blasphemy, as well as harsh punishment for apostasy and evangelization. The Secular societies of France and Turkey have severely harmed religious liberty, prohibiting Muslims from wearing veils in public and Christians from having large crosses atop Churches, as well as, in France's case, slaughtering Christians during the Deist-led Reign of Terror. These atrocities have only inspired Islamo-Fascism. Atheist governments such as those of the Soviet Union have become the most deadly in human history; it was the Soviet Atheist Joseph Stalin who killed 10-60 million of his own population during the Purges. It was Mao Zedong, a Chinese Atheist, who killed 10 to 45+ million of his own people during the Great Leap Forward. The Atheist Communists of Cambodia massacred a quarter of their population during the Khmer Rouge. It is perhaps for this reason that Occidental diplomats in the 1930s hoped that China would become Christian. It was Christianity that would inspire a free Chinese government. President John Quincy Adams states the following quote on the Christian Faith in America: "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." It is for this reason that I believe that Jonathan Edward's words must be heeded. This country was by no means made to be a Godless state, even looking at things from a secular standpoint. In conclusion, I quote the House Judiciary Report of 1854: ""Chistianity must be considered as the foundation upon which the whole structure rests. Laws will not have not permanence or power without the sanction of religious sentitment, without a firm belief that there is a Power above us that will reward our virtues and punish our vices. In this age there will be no substitute for Christianity: that, in its general principles, is the great conservative element on which we must rely for the purity and permanence of free institutions. That was the religion of the founders of the Republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. There is a great and very prevalent error on this subject in the opinion that those who organized this Government did not legislate on religion."
"The great vital and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ."  That being said, do you really think that a non-religious society was the intention of our Founding Fathers?