We stand at a crossroads in our History. Perhaps it is time to look back
into our past so we may understand the full import of the America Spirit.
It is said that 'wisdom' is more priceless than rubies and gold. And with
that in mind, we will journey back to the inception of America and listen
to those who have gone before us. We will look far beyond our sophisticated society overwhelmed with technology and advancement, to a time in the far-distant past where wisdom abounded and God ruled the hearts of men. The legacy they left us has for many years been buried, forgotten and forsaken.
We face an uncertain future. We fear the unknown. But we are still Americans. We still live in the home of the brave and the free. We will hold tightly to the one thing that separates us from many other nations, and that is Freedom! We will conquer our enemies. We are a united people; united in mind, heart and purpose.
Let Freedom ring throughout every home, church, state and government building. May our stand for freedom ultimately be a beacon of light to those who also desire Freedom. God Bless America! --- Tara Hart
John Adams
Diary entry dated February 22, 1756:
"Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their own law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love and reverence toward Almighty God...what a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be."
On June 21, 1776, John Adams had this to say:
"Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure, than they have it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting
liberty."
On July 3rd, 1776, the day following the approval by Congress of the declaration of Independence, John Adams (the second President of the United States) had this to say to his wife Abigail:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward and forever. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; that posterity will triumph in that day's transaction, even though we may regret it, which I trust in God we shall not."
On July 26, 1776 John Adams stated in his diary:
"The Christian religion is above all the Religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of Wisdom, Virtue, Equity, and Humanity. It is the Resignation to God, it is Goodness itself to Man."
March 4, 1797, John Adams declared this in his inaugural Address:
"And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessings upon this nation."
His prayer on November 2, 1800:
"I pray Heaven to bestow The Best of Blessings on This House and All that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof!"
John Quincy Adams
The sixth President of the United States and the son of John Adams
John Q Adams revealed his convictions and philosophy in the following (1840):
“The first and almost the only Book deserving of universal attention is the Bible.”
“I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you, Search the Scritpures! The Bible is the book of all others, to be read at all ages, and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice through, and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions of one or two chapters every day and never to be intermitted, unless by some unruling necessity. In what light soever we regard the Bible, whether with reference to revelation, to history, or to morality, it is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue. It is no slight testimonial, both to the merit and worth of Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation the great mass of those who have risen in eminence by their profound wisdom and integrity have recognized and reverenced Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of the Living God. “
In 1846, near his time of death, John Q made these entries in his diary.
“May I never cease to be grateful for the numberless blessings received through life at His Hands, never repine at what He has denied, never murmur at the dispensations of Providence, and implore His forgiveness for all the errors and delinquencies of my life!”
“Providence, has showered blessings upon me profusely. But they have been blessings unforeseen and unsought. Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory!” "Duty is ours; results are Godīs.”
Quotes from Our Founding Fathers
The Continental Congress on June 12, 1775, less than two months after the
'shot heard around the world' was fired at Concord, issued a call for all citizens to fast and pray and confess their sins that the Lord God might bless the land.
In His biography, Horace Greenley (1811-1872) an American Journalist of renown, had this to say:
"It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."
William Cowper, an English poet (1731-1800):
"Nature is but a name for an effect, Whose cause is God."
Timothy Dwight (1752-1817) President of Yale University:
"Where there is no religion, there is no morality. With the loss of religion, the ultimate foundation of confidence is blown up; and the security of life, liberty and property are buried in ruins."
"The Bible is a window in this prison of hope, through which we look into eternity." "Perhaps no one who has persisted in his efforts to gain eternal life was ever finally deserted by the Spirit of grace."
Ralph W. Emerson (1803-1882):
"All I have seen has taught me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen."
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Inaugural Address 1961:
"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God."
"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it - and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessings and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) On February 22, 1812, declared this at a Washington Society of Alexandria:
"The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness; a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths. He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation."
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865):
In June 1863, a college President asked Lincoln if you thought the country would survive. This was his reply: "I do not doubt that our country will finally come through safe and undivided. But do not misunderstand me, I do not rely on the patriotism of our people, the bravery and devotion of the boys in blue or the loyalty and skill of our generals. But the God of our fathers, Who raised up this country to be the refuge and asylum of the oppressed and downtrodden of all nations, will not let it perish now. I may not live to see it, I do not expect to see it, but God will bring us through safe."
October 24, 1863:
"When everyone seemed panic-stricken, I went to my room and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed. Soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into His own hands."
"I have often wished that I was a more devout man than I am. Nevertheless, amid the greatest difficulties of my Adminstration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my whole reliance in God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the right."
Peter Marshall (1902-1949) Chaplain of the United States Senate:
"The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and privileges as American citizens. The time is come, it is now, when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship. America's future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God's government."
The Maryland Intolerance Act 1649:
"Be it therefore enacted that no person or persons whatsoever within this province...professing to believe in Jesus Christ shall henceforth be any ways troubled, molested or disapproved of in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof.
President John Hancock 1774:
"We think it is incumbent upon this people to humble themselves before God on account of their sins, for He hath been pleased in His righteous judgment to suffer a great calamity to befall us, as the present controversy between Great Britain and the Colonies. And also to implore the Divine Blessing upon us, that by the assistence of His grace, we may be able to reform whatever is amiss among us, that so God may be pleased to continue to us the blessings we enjoy, and remove the tokens of His displeasure, by causing harmony and union to be restored."
The Holy Bible was found to have directly contributed to 34% of all
quotes by our Founding Fathers, including newspapers articles, pamphlets
books, monagraphs, etc. The other main sources that the Founders quoted
include: Montesquieu, Blackstone, Locke, Pufendorf, etc., who themselves
took 60% of their quotes directly from the Bible. Direct and indirect quotes combined reveal 94% of all of the quotes of the Founding Fathers are derived from the Bible.
