KEY QUOTES ON AMERICA'S JUDEO CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

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LIST OF HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

1620

". . . Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick . . . "--The Mayflower Compact, Nov. 11, 1620, reprinted in Documents of American History, ed. Henry Steele Commager, ninth edition (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973), pp. 15-16.

The following is William Bradford's account of the Plymouth Plantation's fight against disease during their first winter in the New World: "[I]n the time of most distress, there was but six or seven healthy persons, who, to their great commendations be it spoken, spared no pains, night or day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, [tended to the sick in the following ways:] gathered wood, made fires, prepared their meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them; in a wod, did all the menial and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren. A rare example and worthy to be remembered. Two of these seven were Mr. William Brewster, their reverend Elder, and Miles Standish, their Captain and military commander, unto whom myself, and many others, were much beholden in our low and sickly condition. And yet the Lord so upheld these persons, as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness, or lameness. And what I have said of these, I may say of many others who died in this general visitation, and others yet living, that while they had health, yea, or any strength continuing, they were not wanting to any that had need of them. And I doubt not that their recompense is with the Lord."--William Bradford, Of Plimouth Plantation, reprinted in Bradford's History "Of Plimouth Plantation"(Boston: Wright and Potter, 1898), pp. 111-2. (Bradford's English, in this and in following citations, has been modernized by J.F. Baldwin). Bradford was elected governor of Plymouth Plantation in 1621.

1623

"But God gave them health and strength in a good measure; and showed them by experience the truth of the word, Deuteronomy 8:3: `Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.'"--William Bradford, in BHOPP, p. 175.

1642

"Marvelous it may be to see and consider how some kind of wickedness did grow and break forth here, in a land where the same was so much witnessed against, and watched so closely, and severely punished when it was discovered; as much or more than in any place I have known or heard of . . . And yet all this could not suppress the breaking out of various notorious sins, (as this year, among others, gives us too many sad precedents and instances) especially drunkenness and impurity; not only incontinence between unmarried persons, for which many men and women have been punished sharply enough, but some married persons also. But that which is worse, even sodomy and buggery (things fearful to name) have broken forth in this land, more often than once. I say it may justly be marvelled at, and cause us to fear and tremble upon considering our corrupt natures, which are so poorly bridled, subdued, and mortified; which in fact cannot be by any other means but the powerful work and grace of God's Spirit. But (besides this) one reason may be, that the Devil may bear a greater spite against the churches of Christ and the gospel here, for how much they endeavor to preserve holiness and purity among the people, and strictly punish the opposite when it arises either in church or the commonwealth; that he might cast a blemish and stain upon them in the eyes of the world, who usually are rash in judgment. I would rather think thus, then that Satan has more power in these heathen lands, as some have thought, than in more Christian nations, especially over God's servants in them."--William Bradford, in BHOPP, pp. 459-60.

1755

"The original shield of Columbia University, New York, was adopted in 1755. Its commitment to a biblical world order is evident. Over the head of the seated woman is the (Hebrew) Tetragrammaton, YHVH (Jehovah); the Latin motto around her head means `In Thy light we see light' (Psalm 36:10); the Hebrew phrase on the ribbon is Uri El (`God is my light'), an allusion to Psalm 27:1; and at the feet of the woman is the New Testament passage commanding Christians to desire the pure milk of God's word(1 Peter 2:1-2)."--Gary DeMar, America's Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision, 1993), p.44.

1770

"The people are Protestants; and of that kind which is the most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion. . . . This is a persuasion not only favorable to Liberty, but built upon it. . . . All Protestantism, even the most cold and passive, is a sort of dissent. But the religion most prevalent in our northern colonies is a refinement on the principle of resistance; it is the dissidence of dissent, and the protestantism of the Protestant religion."--Edmund Burke, an Englishman, in a speech to Parliament in 1770, cited in Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1987) p. 67.

1773

"[A]lways keep the Ministry obliquely in View whatever your profession be. This will lead you to cultivate an acquaintance occasionally with the most sublime of all Sciences and will qualify you for a change of public character if you should hereafter desire it. I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of Religion or against temporal Enjoyments even the most rational and manly than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent Advocates in the cause of Christ, and I wish you may give in your Evidence in this way."--James Madison, in a letter Sept. 25, 1773 to William Bradford, reprinted in The Papers of James Madison, eds. William T. Hutchinson and William M.E. Rachal (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1962), vol. 1, p. 96.

1775

"We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations, and will raise up friends for us. The battle is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave . . . Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"--Patrick Henry, in a speech March 23, 1775.

1787

"Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."--Article III of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

"During that crisis period [of the Constitutional Convention], when the temperature and tempers threatened to go through the ceiling, eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin, the second-most-respected man in the colonies, rose to make what has become a famous plea: that prayers be held in the assembly every morning before delegates proceeded with the agenda. In his address he also requested that one or more of the city's clergy be present to officiate in that service. Prayers have opened both houses of Congress ever since."--LaHaye, in FFF, p. 57.

1788

"I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance equal in power and glory. That the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a revelation from God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him."--Roger Sherman, who signed the Declaration of Independence and attended the Constitutional Convention, provided suggestions for a creed for his church. This excerpt of his creed, written in his own handwriting, was cited in FFF, p. 136.

1789

"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States. . . . No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. . . . We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."--George Washington, in his first inaugural address (April 30, 1789), reprinted in The Writings of George Washington, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-44),vol. 30, pp. 292-6.

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion."--George Washington, ca. 1789, in Maxims of Washington, ed. John F. Schroeder (Mt. Vernon: Mt. Vernon Ladies Association, 1942), p. 106.

"Religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, unpunished and unrestrained by the magistrate, unless under color of religion any man disturb the peace, the happiness, or safety of society, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other."--James Madison, ca. 1789, cited in Gaillard Hunt, James Madison and Religious Liberty (Washington: American Historical Association, Government Printing Office, 1902), p. 166.

1794

"God's will be done; to him I resign--in him I confide. Do the like. Any other philosophy applicable to this occasion is delusive. Away with it."--John Jay, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, in a letter to his wife, Sally Jay, April 20, 1794, reprinted in The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, ed. Henry P. Johnston (New York, NY: Burt Franklin, 1970), vol. 4, p. 7.

1796

"I have long been of opinion that the evidence of the truth of Christianity requires only to be carefully examined to produce conviction in candid minds . . ."--John Jay, in a letter to Rev. Uzal Ogden, Feb. 14, 1796, in CPPJJ, vol. 4, p. 203.

1811

"While in France . . . I do not recollect to have had more than two conversations with atheists about their tenents. The first was this: I was at a large party, of which were several of that description. They spoke freely and contemptuously of religion. I took no part in the conversation. In the course of it, one of the masked me if I believed in Christ? I answered that I did, and that I thanked God that I did."--John Jay, in a letter to John Bristed, April 23, 1811, in CPPJJ, vol. 4, p. 359.

1813

"The general principles, on which the Fathers achieved independence, were . . . the general principles of Christianity."--John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 28, 1813, reprinted in The Adams-Jefferson Letters,ed. Lester J. Cappon (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1959), vol 2, pp. 339-40.

1822

"The same merciful Providence has also been pleased to cause every material event and occurrence respecting our Redeemer, together with the gospel he proclaimed, and the miracles and predictions to which it gave occasion, to be faithfully recorded and preserved for the information and benefit of all mankind."--John Jay, in an address to the American Bible Society, May 9, 1822, in CPPJJ, vol. 4, p. 480.

1829

"Christianity becomes not merely an auxiliary, but a guide, to the law of nature; establishing its conclusions, removing its doubts, and evaluating its precepts."--Joseph Story, "The Value and Importance of Legal Studies," a lecture delivered August 25, 1829 at his inauguration as Dane Professor of Law in Harvard University, cited in James McClellan, Joseph Story and the American Constitution (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma, 1971), p. 66. Story served as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1811-1845, and founded the Harvard Law School.

1831

The August 23, 1831 issue of the New York Spectator carried the following story about a witness who was denied the right to present his testimony because he was an atheist: "The Court of Common Pleas of Chester County (New York) a few days since rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice; and that he knew of no cause in a Christian country where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief."--Cited in Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960), vol. 2, p.306.

1833

"My own private judgment has long been (and every day's experience more and more confirms me in it)that government cannot long exist without an alliance with Religion to some extent, and that Christianity is indispensable to the true interests and solid foundation of all governments. . . . I know not, indeed, how any deep sense of moral obligation or accountableness can be expected to prevail in the community without a firm foundation of the great Christian truths."--Joseph Story, in a letter to Jasper Adams, May 14, 1833, in JSAC, p. 139.

"The American population is entirely Christian, and with us Christianity and Religion are identified. It would be strange indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and exhibit relations with it."--John Marshall, in a letter to Jasper Adams, May 9, 1833, in JSAC, p. 139. Marshall was Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1801-1835.

1835

"There is no country in the whole world, in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America: and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth."--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, n.d.), vol 1, p.294.

1837

"You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad . . . It is from within, among yourselves--from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition and inordinate thirst for power--that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He who holds in His hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors He has bestowed and enable you, with pure hearts and pure hands and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge He has committed to your keeping."--Andrew Jackson, Farewell Address, March 4, 1837, reprinted in A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, vol. 3 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896), pp. 307-8.

1860

"Christianity is not the legal religion of the State, as established by law. If it were, it would be a civil or political institution, which it is not; but this is not inconsistent with the idea that it is in fact, and ever has been, the religion of the people. This fact is everywhere prominent in all our civil and political history, and has been, from the first, recognized and acted upon by the people, as well as by constitutional conventions, by legislatures and by courts of justice."--The New York Supreme Court, in Lindenmuller v. The People, 33 Barbour 561.

1863

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. . . . We have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!"--Abraham Lincoln, "Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day," March 30, 1863, reprinted in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), vol. 6, p. 156.

1864

"All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book [the Bible]. But for it we could not know right from wrong."--Abraham Lincoln, "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore," Sept. 7, 1864, in CWAL, vol. 7, p.542.

1892

This U.S. Supreme Court decision cites a number of examples that America was founded on Christian principles, and concludes, "There is a universal language pervading [these examples], having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons: they are organic utterances; they speak the voice of the entire people. . . . These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."--Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S. 457, 9-10.

1905

"It is not exaggeration to say that Christianity in some of its creeds was the principal cause of the settlement of many of the colonies . . . "--David J. Brewer, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1889-1910, The United States, a Christian Nation (Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Co., 1905), p. 19.

"Christianity came to this country with the first colonists; has been powerfully identified with its rapid development, colonial and national, and to-day exists as a mighty factor in the life of the republic."--David J. Brewer, in USCN, p. 40.

"In the common schools the Bible has been as much a text-book as the New England primer. It is only within very late years that any objection has been raised to its daily use . . . "--David J. Brewer, in USCN, p. 61.

"In no other way can this republic become a world power in the noblest sense of the word than by putting into her life and the lives of her citizens the spirit and principles of the great founder of Christianity."--David J. Brewer, in USCN, p. 70.

1947

"[T]his is a Christian Nation. More than a half century ago that declaration was written into the decrees of the highest court in this land. It is not without significance that the valiant pioneers who left Europe to establish settlements here, at the very beginning of their colonial enterprises, declared their faith in the Christian religion and made ample provision for its practice and for its support. The story of the Christian missionaries who in earliest days endured perils, hardship--even death itself in carrying the message of Jesus Christ to untutored savages is one that still moves the hearts of men."--Harry S. Truman, in a letter to Pope Pius XII, August 6, 1947, from the papers of Myron Taylor in the Harry S. Truman Library.

1951

reprinted from America's Christian Heritage.