PROOF THAT THIS IS A CHRISTIAN AND PROTESTANT NATION
By Charles Hodge
The proposition that the United States of America are a Christian and Protestant nation, is not so much the assertion of a principle as the statement of a fact. That fact is not simply that the great majority of the people are Christians and Protestants, but that the organic life, the institutions, laws, and official action of the government, whether that action be legislative, judicial, or executive, is, and of right should be, and in fact must be, in accordance with the principles of Protestant Christianity.
1. This is a Christian and Protestant nation in the sense stated in virtue of a universal and necessary law. If you plant an acorn, you get an oak. If you plant a cedar, you get a cedar. If a country be settled by Pagans or Mohammedans, it develops into a Pagan or Mohammedan (Muslim) community. By the same law, if a country be taken possession of and settled by Protestant Christians, the nation which they come to constitute must be Protestant and Christian. This country was settled by Protestants. For the first hundred years of our history they constituted almost the only element of our population. As a matter of course, they were governed by their religion as individuals, in their families, and in all the associations for business, and for municipal, state and national government. This was just as much a matter of necessity as that they should act morally in all these different relations.
2. It is a historical fact that Protestant Christianity is the law of the land, and has been from the beginning. As the great majority of the early settlers of the country were from Great Britain, they declared that the common law of England should be the law here. But Christianity is the basis of the common law of England, and is therefore of the law of this country; and so our courts have repeatedly decided. It is so not merely because of such decisions. Courts cannot reverse facts. Protestant Christianity has been, is, and must be the law of the land. Whatever Protestant Christianity forbids, the law of the land (within its sphere, i.e., within the sphere in which civil authority may appropriately act) forbids.
Christianity forbids polygamy and arbitrary divorce, so does the civil law. Romanism forbids divorce even on the ground of adultery; Protestantism admits it on that ground. The laws of all the states conform in this matter to the Protestant rule. Christianity forbids all unnecessary labour, or the transaction of worldly business, on the Lord’s Day; that day accordingly is a dies non, throughout the land. No contract is binding, made on that day. No debt can be collected on the Christian Sabbath. If a man hires himself for any service by the month or year, he cannot be required to labor on that day. All public offices are closed, and all official business is suspended. From Maine to Georgia, from ocean to ocean, one day in the week, by the law of God and by the law of the land, the people rest.
THIS CONTROLLING INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IS REASONABLE AND RIGHT
It is in accordance with analogy. If a man goes to China, he expects to find the government administered according to the religion of the country. If he goes to Turkey, he expects to find the Koran supreme and regulating all public action. If he goes to a Protestant country, he has no right to complain, should he find the Bible in the ascendancy and exerting its benign influence, not only on the people but also on the government.
The principle that the religion of a people rightfully controls the action of the government, has of course its limitation. If the religion itself be evil and require what is morally wrong, then as men cannot have the right to act wickedly, it is plain that it would be wrong for the government to conform to its requirements. If a religion should enjoin infanticide, or the murder of the aged or infirm, neither the people nor the government should conform their conduct to its laws. But where the religion of a people requires nothing unjust or cruel or in any way immoral, then those who come to live where it prevails are bound to submit quietly to its controlling the laws and institutions of the country.
The principle contended for is recognized in all other departments of life. If a number of Christian men associate themselves as a manufacturing or banking company, it would be competent for them to admit unbelievers in Christianity into their association, and to allow them their full share in its management and control. But it would be utterly unreasonable for such unbelievers to set up a cry of religious persecution, or of infringement of their rights and liberty, because all the business of the company was suspended upon the Lord’s Day. These new members knew the character and principles of those with whom they sought to be associated. They knew that Christians would assert their right to act as Christians. To require them to renounce their religion would be simply preposterous.
When Protestant Christians came to this country they possessed and subdued the land. They worshipped God, and His Son Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world, and acknowledged the Scriptures to be the rule of their faith and practice. They introduced their religion into their families, their schools, and their colleges. They abstained from all ordinary business on the Lord’s Day, and devoted it to religion. They built churches, erected school-houses, and taught their children to read the Bible and to receive and obey it as the word of God. They formed themselves as Christians into municipal and state organizations. They acknowledged God in their legislative assemblies. They prescribed oaths to be taken in His name. They closed their courts, their places of business, their legislatures and all places under the public control, on the Lord’s Day.
They declared Christianity to be part of the common law of the land. In the process of time thousands have come among us, who are neither Protestants nor Christians. Some are papists, some Jews, some infidels, and some atheists. All are welcomed; all are admitted to equal rights and privileges. All are allowed to acquire property, and to vote in every election, made eligible to all offices, and invested with equal influence in all public affairs. All are allowed to worship as they please, or not to worship at all, if they see fit. No man is molested for his religion or for his want of religion. No man is required to profess any form of faith, or to join any religious association. More than this cannot reasonably be demanded. More, however, is demanded. The infidel demands that the government should be conducted on the principle that Christianity is false. The atheist demands that it should be conducted on the assumption that there is no God, and the positivist on the principle that men are not free agents. The sufficient answer to all this is, that it cannot possibly be done.
THE DEMANDS OF INFIDELS ARE UNJUST
The demands of those who require that religion, and especially Christianity, should be ignored in our national, state and municipal laws, are not only unreasonable but they are in the highest degree unjust and tyrannical. It is a condition of service in connection with any railroad which is operated on Sundays, that the employee be not a Christian. If Christianity is not to control the action of our municipal, state and general governments, then if elections be ordered to be held on the Lord’s Day, Christians cannot vote. If all the business of the country is to go on, on that as on other days, no Christian can hold office. We should thus have not a religious but an anti-religious test-act. Such is the free-thinker’s idea of liberty.1 But still further, if Christianity is not to control the laws of the country, then as monogamy is a purely Christian institution, we can have no laws against polygamy, arbitrary divorce or “free love.” All this must be yielded to the anti-Christian party; and consistency will demand that we yield to the atheists, the oath and the Decalogue; and all the rights of citizenship must be confined to blasphemers. Since the fall of Lucifer, no such tyrant has been made known to men as August Comte, the atheist. If, therefore, any man wishes to antedate perdition, he has nothing to do but to become a free-thinker and join in the shout, “Civil government has nothing to do with religion; and religion has nothing to do with civil government.”
CONCLUSION
We are bound therefore to insist upon the maintenance and faithful execution of the laws enacted for the protection of the Christian Sabbath. Christianity does not teach that men can be made religious by law; nor does it demand that men should be required by the civil authority to profess any particular form of religious doctrine, or to attend upon religious services; but it does enjoin that men should abstain from all unnecessary worldly avocations on the Lord’s Day. This civil Sabbath, this cessation from worldly business, is what the civil government in Christian countries is called upon to enforce. (1.) Because it is the right of Christians to be allowed to rest on that day, which they cannot do, without forfeiting their citizenship, unless all public business be arrested on that day. (2.) Because such rest is the command of God; and this command binds the conscience as much as any other command in the Decalogue. So far as the point in hand is concerned, it matters not whether such be the command of God or not; so long as the people believe it, it binds their conscience; and this conscientious belief the government is bound to respect, and must act accordingly. (3.) Because the civil Sabbath is necessary for the preservation of our free institutions, and of the good order of society.
The indispensable condition of social order is either despotic power in the magistrate, or good morals among the people. Morality without religion is impossible; religion cannot exist without knowledge; knowledge cannot be disseminated among the people, unless there be a class of teachers, and time allotted for their instruction. Christ has made all His ministers teachers; He has commanded them to teach all nations; He has appointed one day in seven to be set apart for such instruction. It is a historical fact that since the introduction of Christianity, nine tenths of the people have derived the greater part of their religious knowledge from the services of the sanctuary. If the Sabbath, therefore, be abolished, the fountain of life for the people will be sealed.2
Hengstenberg, after referring to the authority of the church and other grounds, for the observance of the Lord’s Day, closes his discussion of the subject with these words: “Thank God, these are only the outworks; the real fortress is the command that sounded out from Sinai, with the other Divine commands therewith connected, as preparatory, confirmatory, or explanatory. The institution was far too important, and the temptations too powerful, that the solid ground of Scriptural command could be dispensed with … It is as plain as day that the obligation of the Old Testament command instead of being lessened is increased. This follows of course from the fact that the redemption through Christ is infinitely more glorious than the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt, which in the preface to the Ten Commandments is referred to as a special motive to obedience. No ingratitude is blacker than refusing to obey Him who for our sakes gave up His only begotten Son.” He had said before that the Sabbath “rests on the unalterable necessities of our nature, inasmuch as men inevitably become godless if the cares and labours of their earthly life be not regularly interrupted.” 3
Notes:
1. A free-thinker is a man whose understanding is emancipated from his conscience. It is therefore natural for him to wish to see civil government emancipated from religion.
2. The Sabbath and Free Institutions. A paper read before the National Sabbath Convention, Saratoga, August 13, 1863, by the Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D., President of Williams College, Mass. See also an able article from the pen of the Rev. Joshua H. McIlvaine, D.D., entitled, “A Nation’s Right to Worship God,” in the Princeton Review for October, 1859; also the article on “Sunday Laws,” in the same number of the journal.
3. Ueber den Tag des Herrn, Berlin, 1852, pp. 92-94; 40
— Charles Hodge (1797-1878), American theologian, in his Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, pp. 343-348
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
OUR ANTI-CHRIST CULTURE
“It’s a Christian’s duty,” wrote Thomas Watson, “to be settled in the doctrine of faith. Settled Christians are not meteors in the air, but fixed stars.” Yes, we know this is “odd” theology, but the apostle Paul said it first (Colossians 1:23).
Are we really “grounded and settled” in the faith? If we are, we are well aware that our culture opposes true Christians and the true gospel. Opposition often makes us “unsettled,” doesn’t it? We cringe when we are spoken against, or when our faith is challenged. We are “moved away from the hope of the gospel” when castigated for professing such hope, even though we know in our hearts that Christ alone is “the way” and “the truth” and “the life.”
Our sports culture is anti-Christ. Think about it! Our media culture is anti-Christ. Think about it! Even our religious culture is saturated with an anti-Christ message, dishonoring Him, putting “little Jesus” on the shelf with all of our other so-called gods. And sadly, our homes have become anti-Christ, no longer having daily Bible reading and prayer. Think about it!
But Scripture tells us plainly that when we speak we are to do it as the very “utterances” or “oracles” of God, “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever” (I Peter 4:11). But this squarely conflicts with our culture’s view of Christ. What? “Praise Christ”? Never! The culture wants nothing to do with glorifying Christ! Take a stand for Christ in public anywhere and see! Speak up for Christ on the job or in class and see! The great emphasis placed upon the Person and work of Christ in the Biblical record is not going to be tolerated for one moment in the public arena! This shuts our mouths as Christians, causing us to become ashamed of our profession. We are in the minority for sure. The question remains, Are we going to fulfill our “duty” to be “grounded and settled,” being “fixed stars” for our glorious Lord and Master? Here is the challenge: let us all humbly “examine ourselves,” then “take up our cross daily,” and be in reality true “followers” of the Lord Jesus Christ in our ungodly, anti-Christ culture. by W. F. Bell, Canton, GA
“It’s a Christian’s duty,” wrote Thomas Watson, “to be settled in the doctrine of faith. Settled Christians are not meteors in the air, but fixed stars.” Yes, we know this is “odd” theology, but the apostle Paul said it first (Colossians 1:23).
Are we really “grounded and settled” in the faith? If we are, we are well aware that our culture opposes true Christians and the true gospel. Opposition often makes us “unsettled,” doesn’t it? We cringe when we are spoken against, or when our faith is challenged. We are “moved away from the hope of the gospel” when castigated for professing such hope, even though we know in our hearts that Christ alone is “the way” and “the truth” and “the life.”
Our sports culture is anti-Christ. Think about it! Our media culture is anti-Christ. Think about it! Even our religious culture is saturated with an anti-Christ message, dishonoring Him, putting “little Jesus” on the shelf with all of our other so-called gods. And sadly, our homes have become anti-Christ, no longer having daily Bible reading and prayer. Think about it!
But Scripture tells us plainly that when we speak we are to do it as the very “utterances” or “oracles” of God, “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever” (I Peter 4:11). But this squarely conflicts with our culture’s view of Christ. What? “Praise Christ”? Never! The culture wants nothing to do with glorifying Christ! Take a stand for Christ in public anywhere and see! Speak up for Christ on the job or in class and see! The great emphasis placed upon the Person and work of Christ in the Biblical record is not going to be tolerated for one moment in the public arena! This shuts our mouths as Christians, causing us to become ashamed of our profession. We are in the minority for sure. The question remains, Are we going to fulfill our “duty” to be “grounded and settled,” being “fixed stars” for our glorious Lord and Master? Here is the challenge: let us all humbly “examine ourselves,” then “take up our cross daily,” and be in reality true “followers” of the Lord Jesus Christ in our ungodly, anti-Christ culture. by W. F. Bell, Canton, GA
Monday, November 01, 2010
Subject: RETIRED
Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and went into a shop. I was only in there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
I went up to him and said, “Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?” He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a “Nazi.”
He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.
So I called him a “doughnut eating Gestapo.” He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said “Keep PELOSI in the House.”
I try to have a little fun each day now that I’m retired. It’s important for my health.
Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and went into a shop. I was only in there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
I went up to him and said, “Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?” He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a “Nazi.”
He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.
So I called him a “doughnut eating Gestapo.” He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said “Keep PELOSI in the House.”
I try to have a little fun each day now that I’m retired. It’s important for my health.
FORGETTER FORGOTTEN OR WHAT?
My forgetter’s getting better,
But my rememberer is broke –
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, it is no joke
For when I’m “here” I’m wondering
If I really should be “there,”
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven’t got a prayer!
Oft times I walk into a room,
Say “What am I here for?”
I wrack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.
At times I put something away
Where it is safe, let’s see:
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!
When shopping I may see someone,
Say “Hi” and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, “Just who was that?”
Yes, my forgetter’s getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it’s driving me plumb crazy
And that isn’t any joke.
CAN YOU RELATE???
My forgetter’s getting better,
But my rememberer is broke –
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, it is no joke
For when I’m “here” I’m wondering
If I really should be “there,”
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven’t got a prayer!
Oft times I walk into a room,
Say “What am I here for?”
I wrack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.
At times I put something away
Where it is safe, let’s see:
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!
When shopping I may see someone,
Say “Hi” and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, “Just who was that?”
Yes, my forgetter’s getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it’s driving me plumb crazy
And that isn’t any joke.
CAN YOU RELATE???
Please share with everyone you know because:
I DON'T REMEMBER
WHO I SENT IT TO!
I DON'T REMEMBER
WHO I SENT IT TO!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A GUN CONTROL HISTORY LESSON
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
---------------------------
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
----------------------------
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
-----------------------------
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!
It will never happen here in our America, you say. I bet the Aussies said that too!
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
---------------------------
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
----------------------------
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
-----------------------------
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!
It will never happen here in our America, you say. I bet the Aussies said that too!
CATCHING PIGS
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime. In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked:
"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke. "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place inthe woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put the fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.
When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, now used to the free corn, will start coming through the gate to eat that free corn again.
You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept theircaptivity."
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.
--------------------------------------------
One should always remember two truths:
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch, and
2) You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
If you see that all of this wonderful government "help" is a problem confronting the future of America, you might want to share this with your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably ignore this.
But God help you when the gate slams shut!
(From an e-mail sent by my sister, Becky
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime. In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked:
"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke. "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place inthe woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put the fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.
When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, now used to the free corn, will start coming through the gate to eat that free corn again.
You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept theircaptivity."
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.
--------------------------------------------
One should always remember two truths:
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch, and
2) You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
If you see that all of this wonderful government "help" is a problem confronting the future of America, you might want to share this with your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably ignore this.
But God help you when the gate slams shut!
(From an e-mail sent by my sister, Becky
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Today I came across a story which I had read many years ago. It was found in an old issue of the MESSENGER OF PEACE magazine (January 1943). I have slightly edited this work of an unknown author. W. Fulton
WRONG DIRECTIONS
I was going West one time during the winter. The train had two engines ploughing along through heavy snowy conditions. There was a woman with a little baby in her arms who wanted to leave the train at a certain little station. The brakeman came in and called the name of the station when we were getting near. The woman said, “Don’t forget me.” He replied, “Sure.”
A nearby passenger said, “Lady, I will see that the brakeman does not forget you—don’t you worry!”
A while later he said to the woman, “Here’s your station!” And she hopped off the train and into the winter storm!
The train pulled away and had gone on about three-quarters of an hour when the brakeman returned and asked, “Where is that woman with a child?” “Oh,” the traveling man said, “She got off back there.”
The brakeman cried, “Then she’s gone to her death! Man, we only stopped the train back there because of a problem with the engine! That was not her station! She got out in the wilderness.”
Immediately they called for volunteers and went back looking for the lady. They searched for hours, and finally found her out on the prairie, covered with a shroud of ice and snow from the pitiless storm, as she had folded the little babe to her breast. She followed the man’s misguided directions, but they were wrong and led to certain death.
Greater will be the responsibility of that preacher who betrays the trust placed in him by his hearers and who directs them wrongly to their eternal destruction. Only the proven truth of God will benefit any person. A lie damns. This is true in the personal salvation of the soul. It is also true of the Ship of State, here in the United States of America, where so much of the political viewpoint at this hour is Godless and un-American. How solemn the responsibility of our elected officials when they lead their citizenry further away from the foundations of GODLINESS and PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY on which the U.S.A. government was founded! Beware!
SCRIPTURE:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” Proverbs 14:12.
WRONG DIRECTIONS
I was going West one time during the winter. The train had two engines ploughing along through heavy snowy conditions. There was a woman with a little baby in her arms who wanted to leave the train at a certain little station. The brakeman came in and called the name of the station when we were getting near. The woman said, “Don’t forget me.” He replied, “Sure.”
A nearby passenger said, “Lady, I will see that the brakeman does not forget you—don’t you worry!”
A while later he said to the woman, “Here’s your station!” And she hopped off the train and into the winter storm!
The train pulled away and had gone on about three-quarters of an hour when the brakeman returned and asked, “Where is that woman with a child?” “Oh,” the traveling man said, “She got off back there.”
The brakeman cried, “Then she’s gone to her death! Man, we only stopped the train back there because of a problem with the engine! That was not her station! She got out in the wilderness.”
Immediately they called for volunteers and went back looking for the lady. They searched for hours, and finally found her out on the prairie, covered with a shroud of ice and snow from the pitiless storm, as she had folded the little babe to her breast. She followed the man’s misguided directions, but they were wrong and led to certain death.
Greater will be the responsibility of that preacher who betrays the trust placed in him by his hearers and who directs them wrongly to their eternal destruction. Only the proven truth of God will benefit any person. A lie damns. This is true in the personal salvation of the soul. It is also true of the Ship of State, here in the United States of America, where so much of the political viewpoint at this hour is Godless and un-American. How solemn the responsibility of our elected officials when they lead their citizenry further away from the foundations of GODLINESS and PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY on which the U.S.A. government was founded! Beware!
SCRIPTURE:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” Proverbs 14:12.
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