The Case for America’s Christian Heritage (Hardcover)

AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNEY OF OUR NATION’S PROVIDENTIAL BEGINNINGS

America’s original founding was rooted deeply in the things of Jesus Christ and His kingdom. The original charter given to Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century was to establish“the true Christian faith.” John Rolfe at Jamestown sought to “advance the Honor of God and to propagate his Gospel.” The faithful Christians who wrote the Mayflower Compact stated that their mission was “for the Glory of God and advancements of the Christian faith.” Supreme Court Justice Brewer (1837-1910) confirmed these facts and many more that he gleaned from our nation’s original documents and referenced in his 1905 book The United States: A Christian Nation:  

In no charter or constitution is there anything to even suggest that any other than the Christian is the religion of this country.… In short, there is no charter or constitution that is either infidel, agnostic, or anti-Christian. Wherever there is a declaration in favor of any religion it is of the Christian.  

Even some of our nation’s Founders who did not identify as Christians could not escape the impact the Bible had on our nation’s founding and the moral precepts that held the fledgling nation together. America’s Christian heritage is writ large in its state Constitutions, charters, laws, symbols, and repeated stated reliance on the overruling providence of God. It’s not enough, however, to relive history. There’s much work before us to reset the foundation stones of a firm reliance on Divine Providence. We need to heed the words of Benjamin Franklin who quoted Psalm 127:1 during the drafting process of the Constitution: “except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it,” and “that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel.”  

The principles that were true and necessary centuries ago for building nations are equally true and necessary today. 

Let’s get to work!

Gary DeMar is the president of American Vision and is the author of more than 35 books on numerous topics from God and Government and Thinking Straight in a Crooked World to America’s Christian History: The Untold Story to Last Days Madness. Gary writes twice-weekly articles at AmericanVision.org and produces four podcasts each week.