mini facs truths about america's christian heritage part 1

8/14/2019 Mini FACS Truths About America's Christian Heritage Part 1

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Mini-FACSo Another Fundamental for American Christians

D oes A m erica ~ have a C hri&-

tian heri~? The so<!aIled "politi-~ correct" say "N o!" Here area few of the facts Ofhisloty. You bethe judge.

April 10, 1606King James I, charter f or the settlementof Virginia: "to the glory of His divineMajesty, in propagating of the Chris-tian religion to such people as yet live

in ignorance of the true knowledgeand worship of God ...."May 23,1609

Second charter granted Virginia: " ...because the principal ef fect which wecan expect or desire of this action is theconversion and reauctionof the peoplein those parts unto the true worship of God and the Christian religion."

November 3, 1620

King James I grants the Charter of thePlymouth Council: "in the hope there-by to advance the enlargement of theChristian religiOn. to the glory of GodAlmighty."

November 11, 1620

The Mayflower C om pact: Pilgrimsaboard the Mayflower in PlymouthHarbor covenant"In ye name of God,

Amen We whose names are under-

writen. the loyall subjects of our dreadsoveraigne Lord, King James, by yegrace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc.&: Ireland king, defender of ye faith,

&., haveing undertaken for ye glorie of

God and ye advancement of ye Chris-tian f aith ..." do by these presents sol-

emnly&: mutually in ye· presence of

God, and one of another, covenant andcombine our selves togeather into a

civill body politick ..."MarchL1629

The First Charter of Massachusetts:"... and for the directing, ruling, anddisposeing of all other Matters andThinges, whereby our said People ...may be soe religiously, peaceablie, andcivilly governed, as their good life and

orderlie Conversacon. maie wynn and in-cite the Natives of the Country to theKnowledg and Obedience of the onIie true

God and Savior of Mankinde, and theChristian Fayth, which in our RoyallIntencon. and the Adventurers free pr0-fession. is the principall Ende of this Plan-

tacion ..."

January 1L 1638Towns of Hartford, Weathersfield andWindsor adopt the FundamenfJl l Orders tiConnecticut and "... enter into Combina-

tion and Confederation togather tomayntayne and presearve the liberty andthe purity of the Gospell of our Lord Jesus,

which we now professe ..."August L 1639

Inhabitants of Exeter, New Hampshire:

"... considering with ourselves the holywill of God and our own necessity, that we

should not live without wholesome lawsand civil government among us, of whichwe are altogether destitute, do, in the nameof Christ and in the sight of God, combine

ourselves together to erect and set upamong us such government as shall be, toour best discerning, agreeable to the will of God ..."

1641 Massachusetts BodyQ/liberties: "The free

fruition of such liberties, Immunities andpriveledges as humanities, CiviIitie and

Christianitie call for as due to every man inhis place and proportion withoutimpeach-ment and Inf ringement hath ever beneand ever will be the tranqualities and Sta-bilities of Churches and Commonwealths.And the deniall or deprivall thereof , thedisturbance if not the ruine of both. H

September 26, 1642"Rules, and Precepts that are observed inthe College at Cambridge in Massachu-

setts Bay" (now k nown as Harvard): "•..Let every Student be plainly instructed,and earnestly pressed to consider well, the

maine end of his lif e and studies is, to

k now God and Jesus Christ which iseternalilif e, John 17:3 and theref ore to lay

Christ in the bottome, as the only founda-tion of all sound k nowledge and learning.



Mini-FACS: Truths About America's Christian Heritage /

And seeing the Lord only givethwisedome, Let everyone seriously sethimself by prayer in secret to seeke it of him Provo2." (O ne hund r ed and six of the

fir st 108 schools in Amerial were fO unded onth e Christ ian fait h.)

"The rlghta of the colonlsta aaChristiana •••may be beat under-stood by reading and carefully8tudylng the In8tltutlon of TheGreat Law Giver and Headof theChristian Church, which are tobe found clearly written and pro-

mulgated Inthe NewTntament."Samuel Adams, Old South Leaff e t, report

of the Boston Committee of Correspon-

dence, November 20, 1772

May 19, 1643New England Colonies of Massachu-setts, Connecticut, New Plymouth andNew Haven adopt Articles oj Confedera-

tion: "Whereas we all came into theseparts of America with one and the sameend and aim namely, to advance thekingdome of our Lord Jesus Christ, andto injoy the liberties of the Gospell inpurities with peace."

April 3. 1644New Haven Colony adopts charter: "...that the judicial laws of God, as theywere delivered by Moses ,.. be a rule to

all the courts in this jurisdiction ..."April 21. 1649

The Marylllnd TolerationAct : "Be it there-

fore ... enacted ... that no person orpersons whatsoever within this prov-

ince ... professing to believe in JesusChrist shall ... hencef orth be any waystroubled, molested (or disapproved of)... in respect of his or her religion nor inthe f ree exercise thereof ..."

April 25. 1689The Gre at l Aw ojPenns ylvaniJl: "Whereas

the glory of Almighty God and the goodof mank ind is the reason and the end of

government ... theref ore governmentitself is a venerable ordinance of God ..."

September 5. 1774Continental Congress, Carpenter's Hall,

Philadelphia: With news just receivedthat British troops had attack ed in B0s-ton, the minister opens the session byreading Psalm 35: "Plead m y cause, Oh,

Lord , wit h them that st r ive with me , f ight against them t hat fight against me.... "(Congress also authorizes payment to

chaplains to open its sessions withprayer.)

Mav 20. 1775The M eck 1enbur~ (Nq C ounty Resolu-t ions: "We hereby declare ourselves a

free and independent people; are, andof a right ought to be, a sovereign and

self-governing association, under con-trol of no power other than that of our

God and the general government of Congress."

June 12, 1775Continental Congress.calls all citizensto fast and pray and conf ess their sinthat The Lord God might bless the land."And it is recommended to Christians,of all denominations, to assemble for

public worship, and to abstain fromservile labour and recreations on saidday."For the f irst time, all Americansprayed together. (C ontinent J d C ongr ess

Journals , Vol. II, p. 87)

May 17. 1776Congress appoints a day of fasting andprayer f or the colonies so they might"by a sincere repentance and amend-ment of life, appease God's righteous

displeasure, and through the merits andmediation of Jesus Christ, obtain His

pardon and forgiveness."June 12, 1776

Virgini J l B at oj Ri~hts: " (Sec. 16) ThatreligiOn, or the duty which we owe ourCreator, and the manner of dischargingit, can be directed only by reason and

convictions, not b y f orce or violence;and therefore all men are equally enti-

tled to the free exercise of religion, ac-cording to the dictates of conscience;and that it is the mutual duty of all topractice Christian forbearance, love, andcharity towards each other."

July 2-4, 1776

Declaration ojlndependence: " ... the sepa-rate and equal station to which the Laws



of Nature and of Nature's God entitlethem ...We hold these truths ... that allmen are created equal, that they areendowed by their Creator with cer-

tain unalienable rights ... appealing tothe Supreme Judge of the world ...And f or the support of this Declara-tion, with firm reliance on the Protec-tion of Divine Providence ...." (Congressestablishedcommitteeto designagreatsealf ortheUnitedStates.Jef f~ JohnAdams,and Franklin.Jeffersonproposed a picture

of Israelitesin thewUdernessguidedby thepillar of f ireby night and thecloudby day.

Ben jamin Franklin suggested the motto"Rebellionto tyrants is obedience to God"on an officialsealdepictingMosespartingtheRedSeaand symbolizingtheexodusto

liberty.)

1776 Delaware Const iiiiiiOir prescribes this

formal oath: "I, - -, do profess faithin God the Father, and in Jesus Christ,His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost,

one God blessed forevermore; and Ido acknowledge the Holy Scriptures

in the Old and New Testament to begiven by divine inspiration."

August 2 " 1776"We have this day restored the Sov-ereign to Whom all men ought to be

obedient. He reigns in heaven" andfrom the rising to the setting of the

sun, let His kingdom come." Sam

Adams as the Declaration of Indepen-dence was being signed.

September 11, 1777Continental Congress directs its Com-mittee of Commerce to import 20,000copies of The Bible from Europe, be-

cause the domestic supply was short;it also authorizes chaplains in theContinental Army; General Wash-

ington moves t o have chaplains ap-pointed in each regiment

November 1, 1777Continental Congress issues the firstproclamation of thank sgiving extend-

ing to all colonies: " ... That with oneheart and one voice the good peoplemay express the gratef ul feelings of their hearts, and consecrate them-

selves to the service of their Divine Bene-

factor and together with their sincereack nowledgeements and offerings, theymay join the penitent conf ession of their

manif old sins, whereby they have for-feited every favour, and their humble

and earnest supplication that it mayplease God, through the merits of JesusChrist, mercifully to f orgive and blot

them out of remembrance ...and to pros-

per the means of religion for the promo-tion and enlargement of that k ingdom

which consisteth in rightousness, peace

and joy in the Holy Ghost"

March 2. 1778George Washington comments on thefortunes of the United States' war forindependence: "The hand of Providencehas been so conspicuous in all this, thathe must be worse than an inf idel, andmore than wicked, that has not gratitudeenough to acknowledge his obligation."

January 16, 1786Virginia Statute PiRelipms L ib e r ty . "Well

aware that Almighty God hath createdthe mind f ree; that all attempts to influ-ence it by temporal punishments or bur-

dens, or by civil incapacitations ... are adeparture from the plan of the Holy

Author of our religion ..."

July 13. 1787 Nort hwes t Or dinance ... (Article nI): "Re-ligion, morality, and knowledge being

necessary to good government and the

happiness of mank ind, schools and themeans of education shall be forever en-

couraged."September 17, 1787

Constitution Pi The United Sta~ratified

May 29, 1790): "(Preamble) We the PeO-ple of the United States, in order to ..•secure the Blessings of Liberty to our-selves and our posterity ..." (ART. LSec.7) " Ifany Bill shall not be returned by thePresident within ten Days (Sundays ex-cepted) ..." "Done in Convention, by theunanimous consent of the States pres-ent, the seventeenth day of September,

in the yetl1' of O U T Lord one thousand seven

hundred and eighty-seven." (Emphasisadded)

mini facs truths about america's christian heritage part 1

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