The Lion of Judah
Volume IX, Issue 1
September - November 2004
Editor: Don McAlvany
The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor
P O Box 84904, Phoenix AZ 85071
800-528-0559
www.mcalvany.com
"Posterity - you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it." -John Adams
"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." -John Adams, A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765
"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." -Thomas Jefferson
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution." -Abraham Lincoln
"You have the rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." -John Adams
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed and that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of press." -Thomas Jefferson
"Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the world that a free man, contending for his liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth." -George Washington, July 2, 1776
"Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country." -Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
"It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence (divine guidance) of Almighty God."
-George Washington
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that their liberties are the gift of God?" -Thomas Jefferson
"We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God."-Abraham Lincoln
INTRODUCTION
At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution in 1787, a Scottish history professor by the name of Alexander Tyler had this to say about "The Fall of the Athenian Republic" over 2,000 years previous to that date:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, wrote this about the 2000 election:
Counties won by Gore: 677
Counties won by Bush: 2,434
Population of counties won by Gore: 127 million
Population of counties won by Bush: 143 million
Square miles of country won by Gore: 580,000
Square miles of country won by Bush: 2,427,000
States won by Gore: 19
States won by Bush: 29
Professor Joseph Olson has produced another interesting new statistic. Professor Olson looked up the crime statistics for all of these counties and came up with this: Average murders per 100,000 residents in the counties won by Gore: 13.2. Average murders per 100,000 residents in counties won by Bush: 2.1 (not a typo).
Professor Olson adds, "The map of the territory Bush won was (mostly) the land owned by the people of this great country - not the citizens living in cities in tenements owned by the government and living off the government." Professor Olson thinks the U.S. is now between the apathy and complacency phase of democracy although he believes that 40% of the nation's population has already reached the dependency phase.
MIA has written much in recent years about the social, political, and cultural decline of America and the accelerating loss of our freedoms. Part of our problem is that we have forgotten our magnificent history - or it has systematically been expunged from our educational system and is no longer taught. Forty of America's largest universities will graduate students with no course in American history.
The majority of high school and college graduates in America know virtually nothing about World Wars I or II, or the Civil War, or our founding fathers, or our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.Most of our politicians (federal, state, and local) have never even read the U.S. Constitution and yet they (and hundreds of our liberal judges) are passing the laws and handing down the unconstitutional edicts by which we are being governed.
A nation which forgets its history and heritage (especially when it is based on Biblical principles of freedom, liberty and justice) is on its way to losing its freedom and being enslaved - in our case, by global/socialists who do not in any way put America's interests and liberty first. As we celebrate the 228thanniversary of our Declaration of Independence and the birth of freedom in America, it seems appropriate to this writer to ponder the historic, Biblical foundations of American liberty. The following article was written by this writer's close friend, a brilliant historian, author, and lecturer on America's heritage of freedom, Dr. Marshall Foster.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE:FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN FREEDOM
July 4, 1776 was the most historic, monumental turning point in the history of human accomplishments. Until the 56 colonists gathered in Philadelphia and declared that "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," the entire human race, with rare exceptions, groveled for daily survival under the thumb of tyrants, "divine right kings," Eastern warlords and tribal chiefs.
LIFE BEFORE AMERICA - For 5,000 years, since the beginning of recorded civilization, the following list of horrors described the lives of the vast majority of all people on all continents. They could not read and they had no education. They were told what to think, which job they would have for life, and which god to worship. They had virtually no possessions, money, or personal safety. They never traveled more than 20 miles from their home. The prejudicial class or caste system in all nations kept people from ever moving up.
Life was cheap and women and children were treated as property and expendable. Women died early in childbirth or from overwork, seldom reaching old age. Men were slaughtered as pawns in a never-ending cycle of wars for the competing nobles or chiefs. Healthcare was non-existent and one-half of children died before reaching adulthood. The average standard of living and life expectancy had not changed much since Ancient Egypt.
LIFE AFTER AMERICA - Since that magnificent day in 1776, freedom, prosperity and opportunity have been unleashed as never before. The standard of living multiplied 900% in the 19thCentury alone. The literacy rate in America in 1776 was over 95% in New England, and higher than in any other country both then and now. The Industrial Revolution, sparked by the new freedoms of religion and representative government, led to America becoming the invention capital of the world.
Entrepreneurship spawned the American dream of upward mobility, mostly in small businesses, with private property protected by the Constitution and a low tax rate. The explosion of private wealth and the biblical work ethic and charitable giving fostered the creation of the world's first paid missionary movement in America and England. As entrepreneurs and missionaries spread out around the globe, the message of spiritual, political and economic freedom caught on in nation after nation. Today, 228 years after the Declaration of Independence, over 100 nations have imitated America's example and our Constitution.
TUNNEL VISION - President Woodrow Wilson said, "A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, or where it is trying to go. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about..." His prophetic warning has come true in our beloved America. We are like the children of Israel who, when Joshua and the elders died, forgot who they were and their history and went off and worshipped Baal - a pagan idolatrized god.
In our existential culture today, history has lost its meaning for most people. The past doesn't matter. In a world without Providence or ultimate purpose, only the present moment has significance and there is no big picture or cosmic significance. It is like looking at a telephoto snapshot of Michelangelo's painting of the creation in the Sistine Chapel, only seeing a pinpoint section of Adam's hand. Without the perspective of standing below on the floor of the Chapel and seeing the whole masterpiece, one has little appreciation for the work of art. In like manner, if we want to prosper, we must step back and perceive the big picture of world events and plan accordingly.
Famous historian Arnold Toynbee explained how historians have abandoned their time-honored role of perceiving the purpose of events and are now lost in a world of specialization and meaningless detail. He said:
"Our present Western outlook on history is an extraordinarily contradictory one. While our historical horizon has been expanding vastly in both the space dimension and the time dimension, our historical vision - what we actually do see, in contrast to what we now could see if we chose - has been contracting rapidly to the narrow field of what a horse sees between its blinkers or what a U-boat commander sees through his periscope."
The myopic studies of some institutional historiographers may seem innocuous at first glance. But in reality, court historians have been used by governments since the days of Rome to control minds and liberties of the people. Progressively in our time they are the well-chosen messengers and interpreters of a secular state.
THE DANGER OF HISTORICAL AMNESIA
Four out of five seniors from the top 55 colleges and universities received a grade of D or F in their knowledge of American history, according to a recent survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Schools are systematically removing the teaching of our founders from our nation's classrooms. One reason students don't know much of our history is that they can graduate from the top 100 schools of higher learning in America without having to take one course on United States History.
The thought police in American schools and rotten history textbooks are as great a threat to our future prosperity and freedoms as Al Qaeda terrorists, according to David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize winning presidential biographer. He said recently, "Something's eating away at the national memory, and a nation or a community or a society can suffer as much from the adverse effects of amnesia as can an individual."McCullough, whose book on John Adams was on the best-seller list for months, told of the tragic result of our failure to teach history properly. He said, "History is a story, cause and effect. And, if you're going to teach just segments of history - women's issues [for example] - these youngsters have almost no sense of cause and effect. They have no sense of what followed what and why, that everything has antecedents and everything has consequences. And they may begin to think that's true of life, too."
One example of this censorship is that the New Jersey Department of Education removed any teaching about George Washington from its Standards of Learning. The department says teachers will likely talk about Washington in the natural course of things, and that specific instruction about Washington is not needed. James Rees, Executive Director of George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon, said, "I think the concept that people will learn about Washington, Jefferson, and Adams through some sort of osmosis is ridiculous. To think that generations of Americans are not being introduced to this hero, this great leader, is in my mind inexcusable and quite shameful."
THE EMINENT DANGER OF ATHEISTIC SOCIALISM - Few people are aware of the eminent danger we are in because we have allowed an alien worldview to move in and dominate the minds of the coming generation. When the philosophy of history now being taught in America's schools was brought to Germany and Russia, they fell to totalitarian Fascism and Communism. The roots of the secularist view of history being taught today are found in the thinking of the German atheist philosopher Hegel, who influenced Marx and Hitler. Hegel did not believe in the existence of God and thought the closest anyone could come to attaining "eternal life" was to create a government that would exist after his death.
Following this worldview to its conclusion, citizens exist for the government's benefit. The average American receives a candy-coated version of this "Big" government argument couched in democratic terminology. But we must face the facts. Without a faith in a Creator, government changes from being our servant to our master. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Every man is born a petty tyrant. We must bind them down with the chains of the Constitution."
THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
The best way to dispel darkness and recapture our original success formula is to expose the deceptions to the light of truth. For 28 years I have been teaching and developing the materials for families, students, and churches to tell the whole story of America.Let us focus on a couple of questions that illustrate the desperate need for truth telling in our day. Is the Declaration of Independence the product of the secular French Enlightenment, and built upon the examples of Greece and Rome, or is it of Biblical origins? Was George Washington just a silk-stocking aristocrat or was he a Godly man of impeccable character who depended upon Divine Providence to win the Revolution? As we investigate the true saga of America, we can come out of the experience more in love with our true history than ever before and prepared to defend it.
ROOTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - When we examine the theory of "revisionist" historians that our founding documents were based on the French Enlightenment, the Greek democracies, and Roman law, the truth exposes gross error and in some cases malfeasance and deception. A study of the writings of our founding fathers like the Federalist Papers, reveal that they studied all forms of government in all of history. But here is what James Madison, father of the Constitution, said concerning the democracies of the Ancient World in Federalist No. 10:
"Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security and the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."
A study of the ancient Greeks reveals that of the 1200 years of their culture, only 70 years had any inclination to democracy at all and that was in Athens alone. Athens, a warrior state, supported their city by pillaging and enslaving fellow nation states. Over 60% of the city was inhabited with slaves supporting a small minority of philosophers and soldiers. They practiced human sacrifice to their gods and practiced pedophilia (adult/child forced homosexuality) in their military starting with Alexander the Great. Their paganism was often more sophisticated than most, but they certainly were not the foundation of our republic.
WHAT ABOUT THE ROMANS AND THEIR PAX ROMANA? - There is no doubt that the Roman Empire had a stabilizing impact upon the ancient world. Some of their laws and the dream of the people being involved in government, as seen in the Senate before Julius Caesar, were promising. But like Hammurabi's Laws in ancient Sumaria, they lacked a higher authority than the state and its helpless pagan idols for their foundation. The result was, as always with mankind, power corrupted and absolute power corrupted absolutely.
Hollywood and most modern texts tend to romanticize the conquest of the ancients. It was not just the Hittites and Assyrians who were characterized by extreme barbarity. The Romans, who are known for their enlightened rulership of the world, actually killed more people than all other nations combined over an 800-year period. They annihilated entire civilizations, such as Carthage during the third Punic War, and the Jewish civilization at Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Historian Josephus records that the Roman armies besieged Jerusalem for four years, starving the people to the point of sheer insanity. When they entered the city they gutted the inhabitants like fish, looking for swallowed gold, killing hundreds of thousands, then tore the temple and city down and ground it to rubble. The Romans were not the role models for our Founding Fathers.
LIBERTE' FRATERNATE' DE'BAUCHE' - What about the influence of the Enlightenment? Admittedly there was some influence of the Enlightenment upon America. But that influence was far overshadowed by that of the Bible and a theistic worldview. Professors Donald Lutz and Charles Hyneman reviewed 15,000 items and read 2,200 books and materials of our founding period. They documented the sources cited by our founding statesmen. In the 1770s, 44% of all citations were from the Bible. In contrast, 18% of the writers cited were from the Enlightenment (most of whom were themselves Christians), and only 11% were from the classical period of Greece and Rome.
The fact is that the concepts of liberty set forth in the Declaration cannot be found in any pagan tradition. The truth is the Saxons of England sacrificed humans up to the time of Charlemagne. The Franks (Germans) practiced burning men at the stake in honor of Odin into the 8thCentury. The Scandinavians were renowned for their human sacrifice until their conversion in the middle of the 11thCentury. Not until a Biblical worldview permeated a people do we see the beginnings of liberty.
OUR DOCUMENTS OF LIBERTY - The true story of the Declaration of Independence is that it was not a radical document based upon pagan antiquity or French libertines. To the contrary, it was a culmination of a long line of Christian resistance documents, both Catholic and Protestant, against tyrannical government. The first great document of liberty, after the Bible, was the Magna Carta of 1215 A.D. Penned by a minister, Stephen Langdon, it limited the power of the king over the rights of the people. It took an army of nobles to force King John to sign the document or die.
Unfortunately, the limitation of the king's power was not enforceable in a nation built upon a class system where the king could break his own laws if he had a big enough army. That is why William Wallace, the brave Scottish leader, died a martyr's death fighting for the liberties of his people later in the 13thCentury. It took four more centuries, after the Bible was for the first time translated and given to the common man. Therefore a people understood that God was not a respecter of persons and that all men are created equal.
THE BLOODY GLORIOUS ROAD TO FREEDOM - We are heirs of the martyrs of liberty in Europe whose sons and daughters immigrated to America and fought for our freedom. No story is more inspiring than the story of these pioneers of liberty. The brave Scottish Covenanters shine like the sun as a challenge to us today. They stood together in the 17thCentury against the divine right tyranny of the English kings. This time, however, they were well versed in the Bible and the sovereignty of God over royalty. Eighteen thousand ministers and their wives gave their lives to stand for their national Covenant of 1638.
THE BRAVEHEARTS' DECLARATION - A Biblical reformation swept through Scotland and the "Covenanters," those who stood for the sovereignty of Christ over the king- were slaughtered en masse by order of the English Parliament. Their crime was that they stood for the National Covenant agreed on by most of the people of Scotland in 1638. Charles I and his bishops pledged to exterminate forever "the new sect sprung up among us from the dunghill, the very dregs of the people... whose idol is that accursed paper, the Covenant."
Forty-two years later, after the end of Oliver Cromwell's protectorate, those faithful believers were again enduring genocide for their faith at the hands of Charles's son. The king's troops were everywhere. Four thousand cavalry were dedicated to finding ministers of the gospel like Richard Cameron, the Lion of the Covenant. Richard, with his brother Michael always at his side, would ride out of the hills to preach to the people and then escape into homes of refuge or to a cold marsh to regroup.
On June 22, 1680, Cameron and a band of about 20 ministers and elders rode into the town of Sanquhar. The people gathered by the Town cross as Michael Cameron clearly and solemnly read what has come to be called the Sanquhar Declaration. He said that he and those with him, "...disown Charles Stuart, who hath been reigning, or rather tyrannizing, as we may say, on the throne of Britain these years bygone, as having any right, title to, or interest in, the said crown of Scotland for Government, as forfeited several years since by his perjury and breach of covenant both to God and His Kirk, and usurpation of His Crown and Royal Prerogatives therein...As all, we being under the standard of our Lord Jesus Christ, Captain of Salvation, do declare a war with such a tyrant and usurper, and all the men of his practices, as enemies to our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Cause and Covenants, and against all such as have strengthened him ..."
These leaders then rode out of town and continued to preach from place to place. A few months later, heavily armed British dragoons found this small band of ministers. Faced with no means of escape and certain annihilation, Richard Cameron mounted his horse and led his fellow believers into the valley of death, declaring: "Be encouraged, all of you, to fight it out valiantly, for all of you who fall this day I see heaven's gates cast wide open to receive you."
Eight years later, in 1688, the lesser magistrates of Scotland and England threw off the last Stuart monarch and brought William and Mary to the throne of England. They restored religious liberty to the entire commonwealth. This was called the "Glorious Revolution," a turning point in all of history. But how soon we forget that the ensuing liberty which took root in America was built on the sacrifice of the signers of the Sanquhar Declaration.
By the time of our founding then, the colonists in America knew that their only hope of lasting liberty with property was a nation "under God" with rights given by the Creator, not the government. As the Declaration states: "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights... That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men."
"OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, OUR SACRED HONOR"
July 2, 1776 was a solemn occasion for the Continental Congress assembled at the Pennsylvania State House. A Declaration of Independence lay before them and each of these 56 men knew the price for signing on this document. They knew that if America won the impending war they would be heroes, but if America lost they would be hung as traitors. The penalty for treason was hanging the victim until he was half dead from strangling, then disemboweling him and cutting his body into four quarters while he was still alive. This is how King Edward Longshanks executed the Scottish patriot William Wallace, and how tens of thousands of other lovers of liberty died at the hands of the British kings.
The men assembled that day were not antinomian rebels against authority. They were well-respected men of means possessing a carefully reasoned Biblical and legal basis for resistance. Twenty-four were lawyers and judges, nine were farmers and owners of large plantations, several were merchants, and one, Rev. John Witherspoon, was a minister and President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University).
As the moment of decision drew near. Rev. Witherspoon sensed that some delegates were still wavering in their commitment to this national covenant. He stood to his feet and with a strong Scottish brogue, gave the clarion call:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men. We perceive is now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery. That noble instrument should be subscribed to this very morning by every pen in the house. Though these gray hairs must soon descend to the sepulcher, I would rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at the crisis the sacred cause of my country!"
The delegates went on to approve the Declaration of Independence by unanimous vote. After the vote tally was read, silence descended over the room. Some delegates wept, others bowed in prayer. John Hancock, who was President of the Congress and leader of the Massachusetts militia, broke the silence as he signed the Declaration with unusually large writing and declared,
"His majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can also double the purse on my head." Breaking the tension of the moment, he went on to say, "We must be unanimous; there can be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together." Benjamin Franklin, the oldest delegate at 70, wittily replied, "Yes we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately!"
At that moment, Samuel Adams - the man whom most of his contemporaries agreed was the heart and soul of the revolution - rose and stated the underlying reason why these men and their countrymen were willing to risk death by signing this declaration. He prophetically declared: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom men alone ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven...from the rising to the setting sun, His kingdom come." That day, 56 men signed a covenant which said, "With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
Of the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes sacked, looted, occupied by the enemy or burned. Nine of the 56 died in the war from hardship or bullets. Many of these patriots gave their lives; most gave their fortunes; but not one disgraced his honor.
In the 21thCentury, we must realize that this incredible document and its antecedent, the Constitution, will not protect us or our property if we allow our documents to be re-interpreted by the courts, schools and politicians.
GEORGE WASHINGTON:
GODLY HERO OR SILK STOCKING ARISTOCRAT?
With the Declaration of Independence signed, the colonists did not have to wait long to find out that the battle for their liberty had just begun. Over the next several years mankind's hope of liberty, declared in Philadelphia, would hang by a thread. The men who had signed the document would have to flee to Baltimore and begin to pen a surrender document.
One man - leading an outnumbered militia army of farmers - stood between victory and defeat, between freedom and tyranny. As we capture a glimpse of the grandeur of the "Father of our Country" in the following paragraphs, we will begin to expose the character-assassination of the modern "political correctness movement," which has left a whole generation to grow up ignoring or disdaining our greatest hero. George Washington knew the significance of this moment in history, whether we have known it or not, when he said that the fate of unborn millions was at stake, depending on the bravery of his army and the Dower of divine Providence.
CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, 1776 - On August 27, 1776, George Washington and his army of 8,000 men were attacked and surrounded by General William Howe and his 30,000 British and German troops on Long Island. All seemed lost for the American cause.
General Howe could have finished the victory that day. Instead, he stopped to eat cake and drink wine at 3:00 p.m. and put off the final assault until morning. Washington in the meantime began a desperate, bold strategy. He collected rowboats and sloops from the fishermen of Gloucester and Marblehead and set out to evacuate his troops by night. Yet surely some of the 100 or so British ships in the river would hear the oars or see 8,000 men crossing in front of them. But as historian John Fiske writes: "The Americans had been remarkably favored by the sudden rise of a fog which had covered the East River..." The Americans miraculously escaped annihilation. Mark the first meeting of the "man of faith" and the "man of the flesh."
In the coming months, like the children of Israel running before the horses of Pharaoh, America's untrained, volunteer army was to be tested by fire. Washington's men escaped north along the Hudson River, often without food or provisions. A smallpox epidemic decimated every tent along the river. Detailed diaries of their straits were kept by Charles Peale. The escaping army included Peale's brother, James, who in the retreat from New York had lost his clothing. James was wrapped in an "old dirty blanket jacket, his beard long, and his face so full of sores, that he could not clean it." He was so disfigured that Peale did not recognize him at first sight.
On October 6, Howe went on a full offensive again. He sailed up the Hudson taking out the key forts of Washington and Lee. At Fort Washington, 2,800 Americans surrendered. The colonists were stripped and force marched back to New York to be imprisoned in old ships like the Jersey. They were left there to starve or die of smallpox or exposure. Only a few hundred survived the ordeal. The saga of British debauchery was gaining momentum.
General Howe was in control of the field. His army marched into New Jersey and appeared ready to devour Philadelphia. The Congress left and took up residence in Baltimore. The British had 33,000 soldiers, 12 ships of the line, 22 frigates and hundreds of transport ships. The Americans by late autumn had only 3,100 men remaining at arms - with no ships - and 1,500 of these were leaving the army on December 31 because their enlistments were up.
CHRISTMAS DAY: SNOW, HAIL AND VICTORY - By Christmas Eve, George Washington had few options. Like the righteous of Proverbs 24, his army had fallen at least seven times in the fall of 1776. He was about to lose one-half of the tiny, 2,000-man army that shivered with him on the west bank of the Delaware, as their enlistments were up in a few days. Most of his troops and the majority of colonists still had resolve, but they had lost hope that England could ever be defeated.
Washington decided on one final offensive. He gathered the same fishermen who had helped him retreat in August from Long Island and had his beleaguered troops ferried across the half-frozen Delaware at midnight on Christmas Day. Just before they boarded the boats, the General had Thomas Paine, the now famous pamphleteer (and author of Common Sense), read to the men his challenge, The American Crisis. Paine began his challenge with these words:
"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country, but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of men and women. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: Tis dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to set a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax but) 'to bind us in all cases whatsoever', and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then is there no such a thing as slavery upon the earth. Even the expression is impious, for so unlimited a power can belong only to God."
Washington landed near Trenton in a blinding snow and hailstorm that served as a cover for his crossing and approach. His men quickly surprised a detachment of 1,200 Hesseans. Colonel Rahl and his men had been partying and drinking with a pompous, false sense of security late into the night. When Washington attacked in the early morning, almost all were captured and Rahl was mortally wounded. Before 8:00 a.m., Washington had recrossed the river with over 1,000 prisoners, and only five casualties of his own. As was his custom, he did not mistreat his prisoners.
He immediately crossed the river, again avoiding the massive British counterattack and surprised the British from the rear at Princeton. He won another victory, riding his horse between the lines and miraculously remained unscathed as both armies volleyed. His troops rallied for a final charge and won.
THE GREAT TURNING POINT - These victories changed the course of history. His men re-enlisted, France began to support the cause, and hope in the providence of God (the great equalizer) reinvigorated the colonists.
As we read the description of George Washington and his character given by Reverend Henry Muhlenberg at Valley Forge, it is not hard to surmise why our Lord gave favor to the patriot cause:
"I hear a fine example today, namely, that His Excellency General Washington rode around among his army yesterday and admonished each and every one to fear God, to put away the wickedness that has set in and become so general, and to practice the Christian virtues. From all appearances, this gentleman does not belong to the so-called world of society, for he respects God's Word, believes in the atonement through Christ, and bears himself in humility and gentleness. Therefore, the Lord God has also singularly, yea, marvelously, preserved him from harm in the midst of countless perils, ambushes, fatigues, etc., and has hitherto graciously held him in His hand as a chosen vessel."
No wonder the man of faith became the Father of his Country, while William Howe became a prototype of failure for the ages.
OUR PRESIDENTS DECLARE THE
TRUE FOUNDATION OF OUR DECLARATION
The reality of our God-centered rights has been self-evident right up to the middle of the 20thCentury - even to our presidents. President Calvin Coolidge stated in 1924: "It seems ...perfectly plain... that the right to equality...has for its foundation reverence for God. If we could imagine that swept away...our American government could not long survive." President Harry S. Truman stated it this way, "The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was given to Moses on the Mount...If we don't have a proper fundamental moral background, we will end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State!" President John F. Kennedy put it this way in his Inaugural Address in 1961: "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."
President Ronald Reagan summed it up as only he could on August 23, 1984: "Without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure ... If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under." So much for the lie of the secular Declaration!
CONCLUSION: THE BIG PICTURE EXPOSES THE LIES AND SETS YOU FREE - Winston Churchill, considered the greatest figure of the 20thCentury, understood the secret to exposing historical lies in order to build a strong future. This forward looking visionary, who single-handedly saw into the future and forged the coalition that saved Western Civilization including America from Marxism, Fascism, and Communism, unveiled the mystery of his wisdom and foresight. He said, "The further backward you can look the farther forward you can see." He went on to say, "The greatest advances in human civilization have come when we recovered what we had lost: when we had learned the lessons of history."
We live in a time much like Churchill's and, like him, we can be encouraged that we can win against all odds. When we step back and survey the grand scope of history, as Churchill did all his life, we come to see that small minorities, standing for truth have always been the true world changers.
Let me encourage you to redouble your efforts on behalf of liberty. We must realize that our aim must be victory and the restoration of our constitutional republic. As Churchill told Parliament as Germany was about to invade England in 1940, "Without victory, there is no survival." Our personal happiness and financial prosperity are intertwined with the preservation of our religious, economic, and political freedoms. Benjamin Franklin was right when he said to his fellow patriots on the day they signed the Declaration, "We must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately." May God give us the strength and character of our Founders, to unite and train a new generation to restore our "One Nation Under God."
[McAlvany Note: This article was written by Dr. Marshall Foster. Dr. Foster, founder and president of the Mayflower Institute (a nonprofit educational foundation, dedicated to teaching the Biblical and historical foundations of liberty), is a nationally recognized historian and best-selling author, a popular keynote speaker and syndicated radio host. Founder of the Los Angeles Rams Chaplains Program and the Campus Crusade ministry at the University of Southern California as well as a Bible College professor, he powerfully impacts audiences through seminars, books, video courses, media appearances, and educational tours.
Giving over 400 seminars in 41 states, Canada, and Europe, Marshall reaches millions through radio and TV as seen on Focus on the Family, CBN's 700 Club, and the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Marshall, his wife of 35 years, Trish, in concert with the Mayflower Institute Team, are inspiring a new generation to rise up and restore America as "One Nation Under God."
Dr. Foster, Director of Education for American Christian Tours, leads exciting Christian legacy teaching tours to America's Historic East Coast as well as his signature Braveheart Tour which explores the historic roots of our liberty in England and Scotland. He has an excellent set of video tapes - The Holy Cause of Liberty and a book, The American Covenant - which are a must read for every family in America who wish to teach their children, grandchildren - and themselves - how and why America became the greatest, most prosperous nation in the history of the world.
Marshall's masterful teaching of our Biblical foundations of liberty, courage, and sacrifice point the way to how America can return to its former greatness. Buy a set today! 1-866-566-1620]v
GIVE THANKS
Victoria Thacker
Purrrfect for Women
www.brokenarrowministries.com
The plaque over my desk says the following: "The joy of the Lordmy strength." This is a very familiar portion of Scripture found in Nehemiah 8:10. As I reflect upon those words, and then over the past ten years of my life, I indeed know that those words are an awesome truth. It was ten years ago this past June that my husband was murdered and my whole world fell to pieces. My hopes and dreams for any type of future were dashed! The joy of my life lay in his grave. This experience turned out to be (and still is) the most hard-hitting test of my faith since my salvation. "Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it." Jeremiah 10:19.
Throughout that period of my life, I had extra-long talks with the Lord. These talks have only been interrupted to get my tears under control or to read the Word so that His balm could soothe my soul. During that first year it was a struggle to just put one foot in front of the other or to hold two congruent thoughts at the same time. To keep on keeping on, I would need transforming grace; I would need to know beyond any shadow of doubt that Christ was ever by my side and that He had everything under control. The joint ministry I had enjoyed with my husband was one that had always been rooted in faith, but now his roots were no longer entwined with mine. Would this change the way I considered or looked at things? Would my faith be affected?
As I was praying, a statement that I had heard my husband utter many times while preaching entered my mind, "God is either all He claims to be, or He is the biggest liar in the whole world. I challenge you to prove God." My heart was so troubled that it was hard for me to fathom how I could have recalled those words on my own. As I look back upon that time, I know that it was the Holy Spirit speaking those thoughts, making intercession for me, and helping with decisions about my next move. (Romans 8:34). I recall telling the Lord that this whole mess (meaning my life) was entirely in His hands; if everything didn't work out, it would reflect on Him, and if everything did work out, it would also reflect on Him. I was desperately seeking for peace of mind and contentment for my soul. During that time, I made the decision that my life would be all in all, or it would be nothing at all. "God, you're either all you say you are, or you're not God." To confirm this, I needed to establish a foundation from which to draw a conclusion. I committed to try my best not to call any attention to my daily needs, (so that God would be solely responsible for them) or to voice the hopelessness I was experiencing, (instead of seeking comfort from others, I would depend upon Him to calm the storms). Then, of course, I needed to rely upon the Lord for things I had previously entrusted to my husband's care. In this way, only God would be privy to my needs.
Very soon after my commitment, the Lord impressed upon my heart to no longer receive my husband's paycheck that the church had so generously continued to give me. I must admit that it was more than a little scary to tell the church treasurer not to cut a check for me any longer. In fact, as soon as I spoke those words, the "What have I done?" thought went flying through my mind. "Here I am, a bird in the wilderness, waiting to be fed. What now Lord? I haven't a job or large sums of money in the bank; I have no bonds, 401-k's, or any type of insurance." Satan began to challenge me big time. He raised all kinds of doubts in my mind. Had I made the right decision to forgo this money? Had I jumped into this decision prematurely? Was I sure the Lord told me to do this? Had it been the right decision for me to completely depend upon the Lord? Had I turned my back on a provision the Lord had seemingly provided for me? I knew the answer to that question: our church wasn't big enough to payout two salaries, and eventually we would need to pay another pastor. Oh well, it was too late to change my mind, as I had already spoken with the treasurer.
My hands were feeble, my spirit faint, and my knees weak as I entered into the next phase of this journey. Our family was thrust into the criminal justice system and the due process of law, which turned out to take two years. Throughout those years, I felt like it would be disloyal to my husband if I didn't attend all the proceedings dealing with his murder. It took me by surprise when, after this extended period of time had passed, my family found no justice in the criminal justice system. For one of the murderers, we endured a hung jury. This meant that we then had to go through an excruciating plea agreement to which our family vehemently objected. The plea agreement was for eleven years and three months. That old Murphy's Law had my back against the wall. Walking away from the courtroom with this unforeseen verdict didn't help the broken heart that I was dragging around. People who meant well said, "Hold on! Be strong!" But, strength was just the thing I lacked at the time. I urgently needed the arm of the Lord to strengthen and uplift me. It was essential that my soul receive a touch from the Master's Hand.
The well that I was accustomed to running to felt dry. If there was anything left in me, I was much too weak to pump it out. Then, slowly but surely, God allowed me to become aware that all of these impossible situations, which had entered my life, were there so that I would come to KNOW that my God is real. "O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?" Deuteronomy 3:24. Time and time again I had seen His Hand move upon my life in miraculous ways. He revealed Himself in many different ways through the unbearable circumstances. This is how I became certain that God is who He says He is! Years ago, we referred to someone as the 'genuine article' when we found them to be what they were portrayed to be. God is the genuine article! Once a person really grasps hold of this illuminating truth, acknowledging it from the depths of the heart and soul, that person is fixed firmly in Christ. I guarantee that it will change how a person thinks, reasons, and responds to life. This is one of the most comforting truths to cling to! You and I are safe and sound in the arms of Jesus.
Day by day, hour-by-hour, as He revealed Himself to me, my soul was refreshed and my heart was renewed. His strength gave me a resolve to keep on keeping on. If you serve the living God, you serve the all powerful, mighty Saviour. He can do anything but fail! When you put God to the test, He will ace every single test you give Him. "There failed not ought of any good thing..." Joshua 21:45.
I struggled for a long time, believing I could never heal from the mighty blow that I had encountered. I just assumed that it was curtains as far as any type of life for me was concerned, ever again. Then, somehow, little by little, life began to re-enter those tired, dead bones of mine. My compassionate, wonderful friend, Jesus Christ, was mending my broken wings. He was so merciful to have borne me up throughout those awful days. He alone was the one who soothed my inner longings and revived me. As He touched my spirit and soul, I felt like a well-watered garden. I can't pinpoint the exact time that I got back in the race and started flying again, but I do remember how sweet it was to have found my way back to life. He had reached down and touched the troubled spot that no one else could reach.
I am bountifully blessed to have had this opportunity to prove God - to know, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that God never fails. Knowing this makes my future secure. Resting in this has made me a different person. From day one, He has been there for me. It is not something that I can explain, and, indeed, it is not something that needs explanation. After all, faith comes through belief, not rationalization. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1.
God desires to prove Himself to all His children. As a husband loves showing off for his wife, so the Lord loves the opportunity to present Himself as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. God is trying to gain our attention with each circumstance that He allows to come into our lives so that He can acquaint us with His power, majesty, and grace.
Thanksgiving Day is just around the comer. I believe that is why God stirred my heart to write on this subject for Pur-r-r-fect for Women in this issue. Thanksgiving is all about being grateful, thankful, and appreciative. I have so much to praise Him for: His faithfulness in meeting my every need, His unfailing love, His strength and courage to help me keep on keeping on, His grace for every trial, His peace for my soul, and the list goes on!
Give Thanks
Give thanks with a grateful heart.
Give thanks to the Holy One.
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now, let the weak say, "I am strong."
Let the poor say, "I am rich."
Because of what the Lord has done for us,
Give thanks!
When your world seems to be spinning out of control; when your life seems to be sinking; where will you find solace; where will you find peace? Where will your joy come from?
"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Habakkuk 3:18
May your heart be filled with joy,
the spirit of love,
and the certainty of knowing
"Jesus Never Fails!"
Biological Weapons Pose
Biggest Threat to World
The Scotsman reports: "The threat posed to the world by biological weapons is now far greater than that from nuclear and chemical because of the 'riotous' development in biotechnology, a leading scientist warned. Professor Malcolm Dando, the head of Peace Studies at Bradford University, who has studied arms control for 20 years, wrote the report, Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity II, in which he writes, "What we are talking about here is the development of a technology which could clearly be misused by terrorists or deranged individuals. We have such a much more difficult problem in controlling biological weapons (as opposed to nuclear) in the long term. If life sciences are misused there are major threats to human rights, human dignity and human safety." He said if nothing is done, bio-weapons technology could be harnessed by terrorists to target specific ethnic groups to release devastating diseases, such as the 1918 Spanish flu. Among the biological weapons with the potential to wreak havoc are genetically engineered anthrax and a synthetic version of the polio virus. The reason for publishing the report, five years after the first was published in 1999, was because biological science had developed so rapidly. According to Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, 'It's never been easier to develop biological weapons ... all you have to do is look on the internet.' [www.jvim.com]v
TIMES OF THE GENTILES
South Carolina Scouts Serving Allah and America??? -- Under an American flag, after a plaintive rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," almost 300 scouts received khaki scout hats and merit badge armbands Sunday ... The York County Sheriff and the head of South Carolina's FBI clapped and handed out certificates ...Then the campers recited the Koran and pledged their lives to Allah. Sunday's award ceremony was for the Muslim Scouts of America after a month-long camp held at Islamville, a 40-acre tract outside York ... Muslims of America stresses Islam while affirming patriotic values and commitment to America ... The FBI's Les Wiser, special agent in charge of South Carolina, told the camp graduates that America celebrates its differences and unity at the same time. The camp's ideals of trustworthiness, loyalty and service are the same values as he learned in scouts decades ago. "My duty is to protect diversity," Wiser told the campers and their families. "I'm here to build trust between you and me."... "Brotherhood," said Nasir Abduul-Wadud of Springfield, Massachusetts. "Unity. Leadership. We learned so much here."[www.heraldonline.com,www.swordofthelord.com]
Islamic Beliefs Enter Mainstream-- When the Islamic call to prayer was allowed to be broadcast through the streets of Hamtramck, it thrust religious tradition into the national spotlight and illustrated the growing influence of Muslims in the multi-ethnic enclave. But the religious and cultural practices of Muslims in Metro Detroit are taking hold on a much quieter and broader scale with schools, businesses, hospitals, funeral homes and even cemeteries adjusting to meet their needs. At Henry Ford and St. John hospitals, polices have been adopted that allow Muslim women to maintain their religious modesty during medical treatment. East-facing graves are being added at cemeteries like White Chapel in Troy to meet the growing demand for graves facing Mecca. And schools in Hamtramck and Dearborn are tailoring schedules and offering halal food that meets the dietary needs of Muslims. ...Sally Howell, a University of Michigan graduate student and member of a research team that studied Metro Detroit Arabs last year, [said,] "Mainstreaming their culture is a boost to them, but perhaps more important to the rest of the community to increase our understanding of them." [Doug Guthrie, Detroit News, www.swordofthelord.com]
Muslims Could Dominate Europe by Century End If present trends continue, Europe is "likely to become part of the Western Arab world" by the end of this century, says Bernhard Lewis, a leading Islamic scholar. Missionaries with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) agree. "The indigenous Europeans have a low birth rate, but many of the [Muslim] immigrant populations that are moving into the region have high birth rates," says IMB's Chris Mills. "It's just a matter of time before there's a shift in the balance of culture and worldview ... Part of our goal is to share the gospel, meeting these [immigrants] as they come into these countries and building relationships with them," Mills said, adding that Muslims living in Europe are often open to the gospel. "Islam is not their heart faith," he says. "It's a cultural religion, but it's not really who they are." [Mission Network News/Assist News Service, www.pulpithelps.com]
Social and Geo-Political Briefs:
!A new study, published in the Social Science Research journal, shows only 40% of cohabitating couples end up marrying within four to seven years.
!Mesa, AZ - A law that requires juveniles to get their parents' or a judge's consent before having an abortion apparently has not changed the number of minors having the procedure, a newspaper analysis showed.
!Italian men have been pretending to be gay in a bid to avoid having to do compulsory military service.[www.mcalvany.com]
Governor's Gay Affair Makes No Impact in Poll -- "New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's approval rating has not suffered since he announced that he had an affair with a man and will resign in November, a poll showed recently." In fact his "...approval rating was 45%, two points higher than in a similar poll conducted two weeks earlier, according to the Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll." -[Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter 9/2004 -- Editor Dr. David Bennett: Proverbs 3:35 "The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools."]
Christianity Makes Inroads in Satanic StrongholdsAnimistic and spiritist religions are rampant in much of Africa, sometimes demanding human sacrifices as witchdoctors keep entire communities in fearful submission. Christians are often accused of "angering the gods" and chased from their homes or sentenced to death for "offending" a deity. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin reported that about a month ago Nigerian police raided at least 11 shrines and were shocked by what they found: 30 skulls, 50 decaying human corpses and five fresh dead bodies. In another part of Nigeria, a Christian woman and her family had to run away from patrons of an animist shrine. They claimed that their "god" had chosen this woman to be its priestess. When she refused because of her Christian beliefs, followers of the idol sentenced her and her family to death. Despite such incidents, native missionaries persevere in spreading the gospel among animist tribes, and they are seeing "great breakthroughs" in their evangelistic outreach to spiritist communities. One ministry in Benin, a country known worldwide as the "cradle of voodoo," reported that 300 animist chiefs and witches have given their lives to Jesus Christ in recent months. [Religion Today/Christian Aid Mission, as reported in www.pulpithelps.com]
"Surveys reveal an unprecedented desire for religious and spiritual growth among people in all walks of life and in every region of the nation. There is an intense searching for spiritual moorings, a hunger for God. It is for churches to seize the moment and direct this often-vague and free-floating spirituality into a solid and lived-out faith. The key is that too many pastors naively assume that church members know and understand the core doctrines of their own faith. For example, half of all Protestants have no idea whatsoever what the word 'grace' means and what it has to do with their salvation. Now that's pretty basic doctrine. Pastors today assume that their people know the basics. They don't. Many pastors no longer see the need to openly discuss the impact of sin. Someone has to ask the hard questions. If we don't talk about the whole dimension of sin, repentance, grace and forgiveness, what is the faith all about? What are we doing? Without true discipleship, the church can simply turn into a social-service agency." -George Gallup Jr., Pollster
The Role, Purpose & Effects of Music -- Foundation magazine offers a 65-page very informative booklet by Pastor David Moss for its July-August issue. There is a warning to heed: "Things done in the house of God are not acceptable to Him merely because they are done in the house of God. Neither are they acceptable to Him merely because they are done in the name of Christ." [Matt. 7:21-23] Phone: 805/528-3534.
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