Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Freedom of religious expression is a key to understanding early American history. Although recent twisting of history declares that America was founded on a basic principle of “freedom from religion,” historic reality is that America was founded on the right of religious expression known as “freedom of religion.”
A quick history lesson will reveal that there is no concept of “freedom FROM religion” in our Constitution, nor is one implied. Our founders quoted thousands of Bible scriptures, opened and closed sessions with prayer to God, and openly stated that they used the Ten Commandments in writing the laws of this great nation. Actually, our founders were standing on government lands while they read directly from the Bible, quoted scripture in speeches, and stood praying together.
If the United States was founded on a principle of “freedom from religion,” would our founders have practiced their religion so openly on government lands? There are more than 4,500 recorded, public quotes by our Founding Fathers about the Bible, God, and yes, the importance of ethics based on Christian principles. All of these statements were delivered while government leaders stood on government properties.
There is absolute historic precedent that the founders of the United States of America and the writers of the U.S. Constitution never believed in “freedom from religion,” nor a silencing of free speech concerning things of a religious nature while on government lands. This is a recent concept – a recent twisting of history that started in the early 1960’s when the U.S. courts started redefining our moral compass as a nation. The notion of “separation of church and state” was popularized at that time, and hundreds of higher court cases removing Judeo-Christian principles from the public arena have followed since.
History is clear. Judeo-Christian ethics are at the foundation of the United States of America. Morality was never seen as relative – it was always based on Natural Law and the authority of Scripture. As hard as it is for some to accept in this 21st century pop-techno-culture, this country and its moral backbone were founded on biblical principles and the freedom of religious expression.
