Page 19 - Heavenly Signs III by Mel Gable

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CHAPTER 3: FOUNDING PRINCIPLES – 1776

America was indeed begun by men who honored God and set their founding principles by the words of the
Bible. They lived their lives with honesty towards truth and established this country “for the sake of its survival.” A
great many of America’s founding fathers have been quoted in regard to living by Biblical values.

Patrick Henry (1736-1799), five-time Governor of Virginia, whose “Amongst other strange things said of me, I hear it is
said by the deists that I am one of their number; and, indeed, that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me
much more pain than the appellation of Tory; because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics; and I find much
cause to reproach myself that I have lived so long and have given no decided and public proofs of my being a Christian. But, indeed,
my dear child, this is a character which I prize far above all this world has, or can boast.”
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Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third U.S. President, chosen to write the Declaration of Independence, said: “I
have little doubt that the whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator, and, I hope, to the pure doctrines of Jesus
also.” He proclaimed that it was the God of the Bible who founded America in his 1805 inaugural address: “I shall
need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted
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them in this country.”

In today’s world there are many that claim that the founding fathers were not Christians. It is believed by those
that hold this belief, that if the U.S. was founded on the Christian religion, the Constitution would clearly say so
and it does not. Nowhere does the Constitution say: “The United States is a Christian Nation.” What they miss is
the founders saw a need to separate state from religion. Could this separation be part of their religious beliefs or
because they didn’t believe in a God? In Frank Lambert’s book he has examined the religious affiliations and
beliefs of the Founders. Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 49 were Protestants, and two
were Roman Catholics who were D. Carroll and Fitzsimons. Among the Protestant delegates to the
Constitutional Convention, 28 were Church of England or Episcopalians. However, after the American
Revolutionary War was won, eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two
were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists. Is that not a majority of the delegates? A few prominent
founding fathers were anti-clerical Christians, such as Thomas Jefferson who created the so-called “Jefferson Bible”
and Benjamin Franklin. Others, such as Thomas Paine were deists, or at least held beliefs very similar to those of
deists. None of the founding fathers were atheists. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the power of the government is
derived from the governed. Up until that time, it was claimed that kings ruled nations by the authority of God. Is
the Declaration of Independence a radical departure from the idea that the power to rule over other people
comes from God? God knows in advance of who will come into authority to rule a nation. Because of this, Paul
wrote to the early church in Rome.
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Romans 13:1-4 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no
authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists
authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation
upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have
no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God
to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a
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minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

14 S. G. Arnold, The Life of Patrick Henry (Auburn: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1854), p. 250.

15 Frank Lambert. The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. (Princeton, N.J. Princeton University Press, 2003).

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New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ro 13:1–4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.