While some think the principles of living contained in the Bible as summarized by the Ten Commandments are a threat to the liberties of America, the exact opposite is true. It has been these standards of right and wrong that have formed the foundation of liberty and prosperity in our nation.
Why then has such an assault developed in recent years against these principles? The root of the conflict that we are witnessing is a war of worldviews, between one that is Christian and one that is humanistic.
Humanists argue that there are no absolutes. Right and wrong are based upon what a majority says or what a minority in power says, hence, law is evolving.
In great contrast is the Christian worldview in which God is the source of what is right and wrong and reveals this in the Bible. This was the view of law in America for most of our history.
Some would ask, “What difference does it make if we have a Christian or humanistic foundation, just as long as I have my freedoms?” We must understand that ideas have consequences. The fruit we get is determined by the seeds we plant. The fruit of America has been liberty and prosperity beyond that of any nation in history. If we change seeds, we will get different results.
Toward the end of his life, Benjamin Franklin (who was not orthodox in his beliefs) wrote a reply to Thomas Paine seeking to dissuade him from publishing a work of an irreligious tendency which spoke against Christian fundamentals. He told Paine that no good would come from publishing his ideas, writing that “he that spits against the wind, spits in his own face.” Franklin told Paine that “perhaps you are indebted to … your religious education, for the habits of virtue upon which you now justly value yourself …. Among us it is not necessary, as among the Hottentots, that a youth, to be raised into the company of men, should prove his manhood by beating his mother.” Only evil would result if Paine’s ideas succeeded, for, as Franklin wrote, “If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it.”
Many today in America are “beating their mother” when they seek to remove Christianity from our public life. Christianity is what has produced the liberty and prosperity that has allowed people to pursue such unwise action.
Christianity has been the lifeblood of America. If the Christian worldview prevails, it will once again nourish every aspect of the life of this nation producing freedom, justice, opportunity and life for all.
(This column courtesy of Agape Press.)