"I have lived a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire [great country] can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ´except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.´ (Ps 127:1)." … Benjamin Franklin

"…it would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to the Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in councils of nations and who providential aids can supply every human defect … No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United states. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency." … George Washington, First Inaugural Address

"Is there a possibility that the government of nations may fall into the hands of men who teach … that men are but fireflies, and this all [referring to God’s creation] is without a Father?" … John Adams

Benjamin Franklin is attributed to have stated in a letter to the French ministry,
March 1778: Whoever shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.

President Calvin Coolidge stated in 1923:
The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.

The Fourth of July is one of our most celebrated holidays, and has been for nearly two centuries-a fact confirmed by a very elderly John Quincy Adams in a speech he delivered on the 4th of July in 1837-America's 61st birthday.

John Quincy Adams properly reminded the crowd that one of the most important elements of the American movement for independence had been its spiritual underpinnings. He asked:
"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, our most joyous and most venerated festival occurs on this day? And why is it that . . . thousands and tens of thousands among us . . . year after year . . . celebrat[e] the birthday of the nation? Is it not that . . . the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?"

So clearly did John Adams see God's hand in America's independence, he even believed that to help America achieve her independence was the single reason God had created him. As he told his wife, Abigail: "The Colonies must be declared free and independent States. . . . When these things shall be once well finished, or in a way of being so, I shall think that I have answered the end of my creation."

Declaring independence was only the beginning; much sacrifice, patience, and reliance on God would still be required. As signer of the Declaration Abraham Clark explained: "This seems now to be[gin] a trying season; but that indulgent Father who hath hitherto preserved us will, I trust, appear for our help, and prevent our being crushed; if otherwise, His will be done."

Our Founders knew that without Gods help-or, as they announced in the Declaration itself-"a firm reliance on Divine Providence"-they would never achieve their objective.

The possibility that we might forget the sacrifices necessary to preserve liberty was something which troubled our Founders. This was made clear in a letter from Dr. Benjamin Rush to John Adams after witnessing the celebration surrounding America's 35th birthday in 1811. Dr. Rush told Adams:"The 4th of July has been celebrated in Philadelphia in the manner I expected. The military men, and particularly one of them, ran away with all the glory of the day. But scarcely a word was said of the solicitude and labors and fears and sorrows and sleepless nights of the men who projected, proposed, defended, and subscribed [signed] the Declaration of Independence. Do you recollect your memorable speech upon the day on which the vote was taken? Do you re collect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the House when we were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress [John Hancock] to subscribe what was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants? The silence and the gloom of the morning were interrupted, I well recollect, only for a moment by Colonel Harrison of Virginia [a large and powerful man], who said to Mr. Gerry [a frail and tiny man] at the table [just before he signed the Declaration]: I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes; but from the lightness of your body, you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead!" This speech procured a transient smile, but it was soon succeeded by the solemnity with which the whole business was conducted.

Many have been the claims that Benjamin Franklin was not a Christian, but rather a diest (according to Webster's 1828 dictionary a "diest" is One who believes in the existence of a God, but denies revealed religion). It makes me wonder why he would be quoted as follows, Benjamin Franklin stated:

• A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district - all studied and appreciated as they merit - are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.
• A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.
• God grant that not only the Love of Liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nation.

The Founding Fathers on Religion - (nowhere does there appear in the Declaration of Independence, The Consititution, or The Bill of Rights a prohibition of God's impact on government, but rather that government should not hinder religious freedom.)

On September 14, 1775, from his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts, General Washington sent the order to Colonel Benedict Arnold prior to his campaign against Quebec:

As the contempt of the religion of a country by ridiculing any of its ceremonies, or affronting its ministers or votaries, has ever been deeply resented, you are to be particularly careful to restrain every officer and soldier from such imprudence and folly, and to punish every instance of it.
On the other hand, as far as lies in your power, you are to protect and support the free exercise of the religion of the country, and the undisturbed enjoyment of the rights of conscience in religious matters, with your utmost influence and authority.

First of all, I . . . rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins. Samuel Adams, Signer of the Declaration

To my Creator I resign myself, humbly confding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity. John Dickinson, Signer of the Constitution

I resign my soul into the hands of the Almighty who gave it in humble hopes of his mercy through our Savior Jesus Christ. Gabriel Duvall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice; selected as delegate to Constitutional Convention

This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed. Patrick Henry

I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by his beloved Son. . . . Blessed be his holy name. John Jay, Original Chief-Justice U.S. Supreme Court

I am constrained to express my adoration of . . . the Author of my existence . . . [for] His forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state. Robert Treat Paine, Signer of the Declaration

I think it proper here not only to subscribe to . . . doctrines of the Christian religion . . . but also, in the bowels of a father's affection, to exhort and charge them [my children] that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, that the way of life held up in the Christian system is calculated for the most complete happiness. Richard Stockton, Signer of the Declaration

On November 20, 1772, in the section of The Rights of the Colonists entitled, "The Rights of the Colonist as Christians," Samuel Adams declared:
The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, the rights of the Colonists as Christians may best be understood by reading and carefully studying the institutions of The Great Law Giver and the Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.

 

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