The phrase, "God Bless America," has become as common a public fixture in recent days as the ubiquitous US flag. We see it heralded on buttons, bumper stickers, pins, poster, banners and billboards. We hear it from political pundits, commentators, columnists, journalists, and the various aspirants to political offices that cover the landscape of America just now. In short, it appears America has called on God to bless her in a "jihad" (holy war) of her own, to rid the world of "terrorists" and "evil". It is worth noting that President Bush gathered in the National Cathedral in Washington DC, just days after the attack on September 11, political, social, and religious leaders of every conceivable stripe, praying for divine assistance for the course they would take in the days ahead. Many Presidents before him had called the nation to prayer during times of war or national mourning. This was to my knowledge, however, the first time in America's history that the triune God of the Bible, whose son Jesus Christ declared himself the one and only way to God the father, was clearly not the focus of this gathering's prayers. In his place, America's leaders have embraced a "universalistic" God that people of every religion are supposed to embrace in the name of diversity and multiculturalism. The savior of mankind, who died on a cross for our sins, was noticeably absent in the invocations uttered. Based on this gathering, I believe Christians can disabuse themselves of any notions that their faith, or America's traditional culture on which it is based, will hold any more importance in the future than Buddhism, Islam, or any other religious faith. America's Christian era is clearly past, so far as our elites are concerned. Serious Christians ought to ponder the language now being used in connection with those being described as "terrorists" today. I keep hearing that the only problem with Islam is its "fundamentalists", which are routinely described as "extremists". Have any of you ever heard the media, or some of our political leaders talk about Christian "fundamentalists" as problematic, or extreme? What does this portend in terms of how these Christians are treated in the future? Perhaps they will come under the scrutiny of the new Department of Homeland (fatherland) Security.
In the early days of our first War for Independence, George Washington issued the following declaration to the men under his command, "The Continental Congress having earnestly recommended that Thursday next be observed by the inhabitants of all the English Colonies upon this continent as a day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer, that they may with united hearts and voice unfeignedly (sincerely) confess their sins before God, and supplicate the all Wise and Merciful Disposer of Events, to avert the desolation and calamities of an unnatural war." George Bush, as well as the rest of America, seems to have forgotten the part about humbling ourselves and confessing our sins before asking God to bless us, and presumably the war we've decided to make on anyone in the world we say supports terrorism. My Bible tells me that only under God's conditions can we expect him to bless us.
Have we, as a nation, no sins in need of forgiveness? In some circles today, to suggest that we do is considered un-American. I think precisely the reverse is true. Any Christian worthy of the name should recoil in horror at the thought of the 4,000 abortions that take place in this country every day. Just this morning I heard a well- respected Christian minister say that over the course of the past 28 years, 43 million babies have been murdered with our government's sanction. Even if he were wrong by half, we are talking about a holocaust that makes every other pale in comparison. In a truly Christian society, much less a civilized one, it shouldn't matter what a majority of 9 justices of the Supreme Court says on such an issue, what should matter is the sanctity of human life and attempts to undermine it. Abortion is nothing more than the deliberate killing of an innocent human being and is condemned by the sixth commandment. For a Biblical justification of this position you can read Psalms 139: 13-16, Genesis 2:7, and Exodus 21:22-25 for starters.
I have heard it said that because there is no afterlife for nations, they must be judged in this life. Does anyone think this is cause for some concern? II Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." History clearly teaches us that people from Christendom established the land we think of when we say "America," they confessed their submission to the God of the Bible, seeking his blessings upon them. There is no question that God did indeed bless his people here. It is just as clear that the political, social, and religious liberties we have long enjoyed grew out of Christianity and is part of an inheritance we are rapidly losing. Is there a connection between America's turn away from the God of the Bible and the gradual loss of those liberties? I certainly think so.
A question all of us should ponder today is whether or not an America that has clearly rejected God's commandments is deserving of his blessings. America cannot be neutral on this question. Our founders knew this and spoke of it. God himself proclaims that he is a jealous God. He blessed Israel only so far as they remained faithful to him, and when they sinned, by seeking after mammon, the flesh, or other God's, judgment always followed.
In Proverbs 8:36, God reminds us that "all they that hate me, love death." Abortion, AIDS, the high crime rate, our never-ending military adventures around the world, and lately, consideration of Euthanasia as "an idea whose time has come", leaves me to wonder if indeed we live in a culture of death. Many people today, even well meaning Christians, act as though we all still live under a government guided by Christianity. They deceive themselves. Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm." Perhaps Americans are convinced that they no longer need God. After all, they might tell themselves, look at how rich and powerful we are. Is this the American pride we hear so much about? If so, remember Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." As Paul Proctor wrote in a recent editorial, "It is not pride in ourselves that will restore God's blessings to America. Pride in self is what destroys men and nations". No, if we are to be delivered from the enemies we have made as the result of our constant foreign meddling, we must humble ourselves and confess our sin before the one true, triune God, and seek to restore him to his place of sovereignty over our people. We delay at our own peril. I welcome comments at wcarlson@i-plus.net -- Wayne Carlson
In the early days of our first War for Independence, George Washington issued the following declaration to the men under his command, "The Continental Congress having earnestly recommended that Thursday next be observed by the inhabitants of all the English Colonies upon this continent as a day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer, that they may with united hearts and voice unfeignedly (sincerely) confess their sins before God, and supplicate the all Wise and Merciful Disposer of Events, to avert the desolation and calamities of an unnatural war." George Bush, as well as the rest of America, seems to have forgotten the part about humbling ourselves and confessing our sins before asking God to bless us, and presumably the war we've decided to make on anyone in the world we say supports terrorism. My Bible tells me that only under God's conditions can we expect him to bless us.
Have we, as a nation, no sins in need of forgiveness? In some circles today, to suggest that we do is considered un-American. I think precisely the reverse is true. Any Christian worthy of the name should recoil in horror at the thought of the 4,000 abortions that take place in this country every day. Just this morning I heard a well- respected Christian minister say that over the course of the past 28 years, 43 million babies have been murdered with our government's sanction. Even if he were wrong by half, we are talking about a holocaust that makes every other pale in comparison. In a truly Christian society, much less a civilized one, it shouldn't matter what a majority of 9 justices of the Supreme Court says on such an issue, what should matter is the sanctity of human life and attempts to undermine it. Abortion is nothing more than the deliberate killing of an innocent human being and is condemned by the sixth commandment. For a Biblical justification of this position you can read Psalms 139: 13-16, Genesis 2:7, and Exodus 21:22-25 for starters.
I have heard it said that because there is no afterlife for nations, they must be judged in this life. Does anyone think this is cause for some concern? II Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." History clearly teaches us that people from Christendom established the land we think of when we say "America," they confessed their submission to the God of the Bible, seeking his blessings upon them. There is no question that God did indeed bless his people here. It is just as clear that the political, social, and religious liberties we have long enjoyed grew out of Christianity and is part of an inheritance we are rapidly losing. Is there a connection between America's turn away from the God of the Bible and the gradual loss of those liberties? I certainly think so.
A question all of us should ponder today is whether or not an America that has clearly rejected God's commandments is deserving of his blessings. America cannot be neutral on this question. Our founders knew this and spoke of it. God himself proclaims that he is a jealous God. He blessed Israel only so far as they remained faithful to him, and when they sinned, by seeking after mammon, the flesh, or other God's, judgment always followed.
In Proverbs 8:36, God reminds us that "all they that hate me, love death." Abortion, AIDS, the high crime rate, our never-ending military adventures around the world, and lately, consideration of Euthanasia as "an idea whose time has come", leaves me to wonder if indeed we live in a culture of death. Many people today, even well meaning Christians, act as though we all still live under a government guided by Christianity. They deceive themselves. Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm." Perhaps Americans are convinced that they no longer need God. After all, they might tell themselves, look at how rich and powerful we are. Is this the American pride we hear so much about? If so, remember Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." As Paul Proctor wrote in a recent editorial, "It is not pride in ourselves that will restore God's blessings to America. Pride in self is what destroys men and nations". No, if we are to be delivered from the enemies we have made as the result of our constant foreign meddling, we must humble ourselves and confess our sin before the one true, triune God, and seek to restore him to his place of sovereignty over our people. We delay at our own peril. I welcome comments at wcarlson@i-plus.net -- Wayne Carlson