WORLD NEWS & PROPHECY
America’s Forgotten Christian Heritage
This famous painting in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress on June 28, 1776. The painting shows many of the 55 signers of the Declaration—up to 52 of whom professed Christianity.
As the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving comes around again, we are reminded of America’s founding
This famous painting in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress on June 28, 1776. The painting many of from the 55 the signers of the Declaration—at 52 of it whom Christianity. and how far the nation shows has drifted devotion to God onleast which wasprofessed founded.
by Tom Robinson
12 Beyond Today
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B Tm a g a z i n e . o r g
Yet as they would be first to point out, this achievement was not their doing but God’s. They regularly acknowledged Him and, along with the wider populace, sought out His direction and blessing. Let’s take a closer look at the Christian underpinnings of America’s founding and consider the depths to which the nation has now sunk— and what that means for the future. Restoring the Sovereign The Pilgrims and other Puritan settlers sought to construct a model Christian society. Conrad Cherry, in his 1971 book God’s New Israel: Religious Interpretations of American Destiny, states: “They believed that, like Israel of old, they had been singled out by God to be an example for the nations (especially for England). With their charter and company in America, the Puritans could in effect construct a republic independent of an English crown that had not allowed them the freedom of their experiment at home” (p. 27). Setting up and spreading the Kingdom of God, as they understood it, was central to their national purpose. The 1643 Articles of Confederation for Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Plymouth and New Haven declared,
Paintings courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol
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he wall of the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., features a series of eight massive paintings illustrating key events in the founding of America. One of these depicts the Pilgrims who were first on the Speedwell before transferring to join others on its sister ship the Mayflower. Prominent figure William Brewster holds open the Bible to the clear words “The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Above them on the sail are written the words “God with us,” shortened from the Pilgrim motto, “In God we trust, God with us.” Of course, “In God we trust” is America’s national motto even today—imprinted on all U.S. currency and coins. Yet new polls reveal that trust in God and in the Bible have plummeted in recent years. But this result has been a long time coming—the end of a leftist, secular humanist agenda to banish God from the public sphere. For many decades we have seen a concerted effort to play down the role of the Bible and religion in early America. Now things have gone much further, with the nation’s founders denigrated as evil racists. Of course, they were not perfect men, even by the world’s standards. But they established a nation that has overall been a great blessing to the world.
