Church and State: The Foundation of Good Governance

This book is written with the intention of clarifying various opinions and teachings that have surfaced in the last generation of Americans about the founding fathers intentions in our self-governance as a nation and God’s involvement in the process of this great American experiment. Our educational system has taken the liberty of re-interpreting the founders original intention about the church’s involvement in our governing process. They claim President Jefferson had the resolve that the church has no place in the affairs of men in governing everyday life. However, Jefferson was reacting to the affairs of the church of Rome and its hold on the monarchies of Europe. Our founders never wanted this for America. In saying that, they always adhered to freedom from religious influence over the government especially a state sponsored one. They never expected religion to remain on the sidelines of governing especially when God influences the hearts of men.
Everywhere in government is the evidence of God’s influence when men govern. Our Presidents until recently [the last 30 years] always were sworn into office with their hand on the Bible. All government officials sworn into office placed their hands on the Bible as a testament to their obedience to the US Constitution and responsibilities they were about to undertake. Until recently, there was not a court of law that a witness could take the stand before a judge and jury and swear to tell the truth by placing their hand upon the Bible. The Ten Commandments printed and framed were displayed on the walls of our government buildings and schools. Our children opened their school day in prayer until the 1960’s. This is evidence of open acknowledgement of God in our government institutions until the secular humanists began to gain control of our judiciary and reinterpret the intentions of our founding fathers. I submit to you, should our founding fathers had not wanted God anywhere near our government functions they would not have hung the Ten Commandments in government buildings and placed their hands upon a Bible when being sworn in to lead the nation or bear witness in court. Even to this day, the US Congress opens its sessions in prayer. If the examples of these former things are evident to us then the latter must be true. Our founding fathers expected us to acknowledge God in our institutions. They never expected the citizens of America to completely expel God from every aspect of government.
In the Founders’ understanding, they believed that government ought to support true morality and virtue. That is, morality and virtue grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God, from which they derived man’s natural rights and duties. Our understanding of true morality and virtue is founded in the Holy Scriptures. Since this was the intention of our founding fathers it is practical and indeed necessary to invoke the aspects of God into our American society without having to establish a national religion. This has been done! However, secular humanists wish to eradicate any evidence of godly things, biblical teaching, and honor to a holy God in our society and they will stop at nothing to accomplish this goal. In fact, they have succeeded in removing the majority of God from the national fabric of American society. This was never the intention of our founding fathers. Patrick Henry states the following: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”
On October 11, 1798, John Adams wrote "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”