Today, not much is taught on America's Christian heritage,

but instead much is excluded from the books and literature about

this country and it's history. In public schools the position of

evolution is taught so no students or teachers would have to

submit to the fact there is a God. This is even though the

schools nor anyone else can provide any factual evidence of how

the 'supposed' evolution began or, how something came from nothing.

Surprising to many, when the history of this nation and country

is studied, the foundation of its beginning is found to be in God

and in Christ, as John 13:6 says that no one can go to the Father

except through the Son.

Even before the people of the colonial times began the work

towards this country's Independence from England there was

evidence of God in the hearts and minds of settlers in the new

land. In that context, the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe

was actually one that was delayed in hesitation, because of the

common belief that the Indians were tools of the devil, as they

had no knowledge of God or Christ (Wills 141). Most of those

colonists believed that the country could continue only as the

state and the church worshipped with each other, shared what they

each held in value, and considered the ways of God and the nature

of the universe before all actions or thinking (Gaustad 13).

In the year of 1682 laws were written for Pennsylvania

and in them were protection for those who follow and profess God,

along with a law that did not allow 'daily labor' on Sundays,

which was an intention to keeping the requirement of the fourth

in the listing of the Ten Commandments.(Gaustad 27) At that

time, when the body of Christ was attacked, the state was put in

as much danger.(Gaustad 13) In the mid 1700's the Christians

were outnumbered by unbelievers in South Carolina to the extent:

"that English churchmen saw South Carolina as the best

possible example of what happens to a society that enjoys no

national or established church: drunkenness, immorality,

ignorance, false teaching and scandalous worship all

prevail."(Gaustad 16)

Before the founding of Jamestown, Captain John Smith and

some soldiers and carpenters had first placed a Cross in the

sandy beach of where their ship had gone ashore (Robertson 25).

After that, King James I had given the people of the Virginia

Company certification to settle in a community in Virginia and

"'serve and fear God the giver of all goodness.'" (Robertson 35)

Before their ship, the Mayflower had come ashore forty-one of the

people aboard had together written and signed The Mayflower

Compact, and what was written in that clearly states that those

on that ship were there for the Cause of Christ (Robertson 31).

In the latter half of that century King Charles II had

described the purpose of the founders of Rhode Island to be for

the sharing of the Word of God.(Robertson 32) Connecticut, New

Jersey and New Hampshire were founded by the same certification

as was Massachusetts Bay, which was for sharing of the Christian

faith (Robertson 32). Also in that purpose of sharing and

teaching of the Christian faith was the education system in the

American colonies begun (Robertson 39). Schools were first for

the teaching of the Indians both about the ways and life of God

in Christ, then to train them in daily living skills along with

providing a formal education for the children of the settlers

(Robertson 41).

Among the first schools that were built were Harvard, Yale,

and principles (Robertson 43-47). That focus in these schools,

or colleges , was to the extent that students could be suspended

or expelled for not continuing their prayer and study of the life

and message of Christ on a daily basis (Robertson 45). That may

sound fanatical or overboard to some people today, but to those who

are in Christ it is essential for life itself (1Corinthians 2:14).

Among the graduates of Harvard,the second college, were James Otis,

preparatory schools for these colleges a tool called the New England

Primer was used by many students and contained a different rhyme that

began with each letter of the alphabet, with each being a Christian

teaching; and it also contained the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's

creed, the Ten Commandments, and a listing of the books of the

Bible, among other things (Robertson 48).

Many people stopped attending the churches regularly,

because of the King of England's enforcing his rule on the

churches. As that happened greed, immorality, self indulgence and

injustice had come to the Americas, similar to what the English

churchmen had found in North Carolina (Robertson 55, Gaustad 16).

Because of the Great Awakening, "Many persons, recalling that

first Great Awakening, now wished for a national revival, being

persuaded (to Adam's dismay) that there must be only one religion

in the country, and, indeed, the world" (Gaustad 96). In that

quote the word 'persuaded' could only be understood in

comparison to 2Corinthians 5:11, which states "Since then, we

know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What

we are is plain to God, and I hope it is plain to your

conscience." This had such vital importance to those in the

Congress they had staked their lives for presenting the message

that God was the source of the nation's freedom, instead of the

King of England or Parliament (Robertson 62). This was the same

belief to so many that on the Liberty Bell was engraved a verse

from Leviticus as remembrance of that period in history:

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to its inhabitants."

(Robertson 63)

Before the Constitution was the Magna Carta, which started

with the admittance of King John that his power and authority

were "by the grace of God."(Robertson 64) The Constitution has

refererence to God in the same way. After the Constitution,

during his presidency, Thomas Jefferson said "'Can the liberties

of a nation be sure when we remove their only firm basis, a

conviction in the minds of the people, that these liberties are

the gift of God? that they are not to be violated but by his

wrath?'" Even for those who say that they believe in God, but

not the son, Jefferson also said of the Bible,"'it is a document

of proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple

of the doctrine of Jesus.'" (Robertson 65) Is there any other

explanation, other than what Jefferson said about the surety of

liberties or anything else said with similar meaning, for the

behavior and convictions of the founding fathers of our nation

and our country?

These people had believed in this so strongly that they even

shared the message where it was illegal and still through prison

windows after being arrested for their Godly acts and

behavior.(Robertson 77,78) In giving their reasons for taxing

people to support Christian teaching the Virginia Assembly

admitted, "'The general diffusion of Christian knowledge hath a

natural tendency to correct the morals of men, to restrain their

vices, and preserve the peace of society.'"(Robertson 81)

What has been covered in this paper has just skimmed

the evidence of the faith in and the presence of God in the

forming of this country. Much more can be found in historical

documents or articles that are not censored from the teachings of

Christ. Many other things have happened and are still happening

towards the goals of spreading the truth of Christianity. Some

of the facts are things such as the National motto 'In God we

Trust', and the Eye of Divine Providence and 'He has smiled on

our undertakings', as "Annuit Coeptis , on a dollar bill

(Infopedia 'Great Seal of the United States'). There are also

things such as the designs of the American flag through the years

(Infopedia 'United States Flag') and things George Washington

said in his farewell address, "and let us with caution indulge

the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.

Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on

minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us

to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of

religious principle." (Saffire, 362)

Bibliography

1.Wills, Gary. (1990). Under God: Religion and Amarican Politics.

New York: Simon and Schuster.

2.Gaustad, Edwin S. (1987). Faith of Our Founding Fathers:

Reigion and the New Nation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

3.Robertson, Pat. (1986). America's Dates With Destiny.

Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

4.*Infopedia 2.0 CDRom. (1995) Softkey Multimedia Inc.

5. Safire, William. (1992) Lend Me Your Ears. New York: W.W.

Norton & Company.