America's Godly Heritage

Early on July 4th I finished reading "The Freedom Factor" by Gerald Lund. A fictional book contemplating the would-be state of our Great Nation if the Constitution had never been ratified. It was very thought provoking. Quite the book to be reading on the 4th of July.

It really motivated and inspired me to teach my children more about the history of our country. Our family had the amazing opportunity to live in Boston for 4 years and to visit many of the historical sites. Unfortunately, our children were quite young and I am not sure how much they really remember. On this Independence Day we decided to browse the instant viewing section of Netflix. I came across a documentary entitled, "America's Godly Heritage"

"America's Godly Heritage clearly sets forth the beliefs of many famous Founding Fathers concerning the proper role of Christian principles in education, government, and the public affairs of the nation. The beliefs of Founders such as Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams, John Jay, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and many others are clearly presented. It also provides excerpts from court cases showing that for 160 years under the Constitution, Christian principles were officially and legally inseparable from American public life."

This documentary talks a lot about the separation of church and state. Did you know that this is stated NO WHERE in the Constitution or the 1st Amendment? The popular phrase "Separation of Church and State" was merely an excerpt from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists (and not even word for word) ... and taken quite out of context from its intended meaning.

The 1st Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

"Respecting an establishment of religion" means that the founding fathers wanted to prohibit the establishment of a national religion (like the Church of England) by the Congress or the preference of one religion over another.

"Prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means the founding fathers wanted us to be able to freely choose our own religous beliefs.... without the government telling us what to believe.

NO WHERE does it say we should take religion out of all government and educational institutions..... a complete separation of church and state. I think most of the founding fathers would be disgusted on how the words they wrote intending to make this nation great, have been twisted and misused.... bringing our nation down.... down .... down....

I highly recommend you watch the video.