What would they think of us now?

"And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."Those of you who live in The UK, Canada, or the US, if you are like me, might have been brought up knowing very little about the tremendous influence of our Faith upon these lands. I have been amazed to learn just a little bit of how rich is the history of the Kingdom of God in these lands. There is a series of messages on this subject concerning Canada for instance here at SI by Ian Goligher.https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=502Concerning America's own Christian Heritage, I have been reading a book titled "Christianity and the American Commonwealth" by Dr. Charles B. Galloway, first published in 1898. Today I came across a passage that was exceptionally striking to me that I wanted to share with you all. As I am currently a resident of Philadelphia these things seemed even more profound to me but perhaps they are of some interest to all of us who are concerned for our peoples and nations that have 'known' the Lord at one time.The following qoute is from the chapter of Laws adopted by the Quaker colony of Pennsylvania:"Whereas the glory of Almighty God, and ye good of mankind, is the reason and end of government, and therefore government in itself is a venerable ordinance of God; and forasmuch as it is principally desired and intended by the proprietary and governor, and the freedom of the province of Pennsylvania, and territories thereunto belonging, to make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christians and civil liberty, in opposition to any unchristian, licentious, and unjust practises, whereby God may have his due, Caesar his due, and the people their due, and insolency and licentiousness on the other, so that the best and firmest foundation may be laid for the present and future happiness both of the governor and the people of this province and territorys aforesaid and their posterity: Be it therefore enacted by William Penn, proprietary and governor, by and with the advice and consent of the deputys of the freemen of this province and counties aforesaid in assembly mett, and by the authority of the same, that these following chapters and paragraphs shall be the laws of Pennsylvania and the territorys thereof."Following this the author goes on to say"Then, after granting the most liberty of conscience and worship, in order that looseness, irreligion and atheism might not creep into the body politic, the law provides for the observance of the Sabbath, punishes profane swearing and cursing and further enacts, that "whoever shall speak loosely and profanely of Almighty God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or Scriptures of truth, and is thereof legally convicted, shall forfeit and pay five pounds, and be imprisoned for five days in the house of correction."It is comforting for me to realise and know that our common Christian values are NOT what is out of place in our Country. We are not the ones who have perverted our laws and institutions to serve our own ends.And so I wonder 'what would they(our founders) think of us now?' There is a large statue of William Penn atop the city hall building here in Philadelphia. I wonder too what he would think of the language so loosely used today.

Here are a few more qoutes that I ran across today in my reading.From "Christianity and the American Commonwealth" by Dr. Charles B. Galloway"In 1777 Congress called the colonies to earnest prayer, and begged 'that with one heart and voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins,whereby they have forfeited every favor, and their earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance;'"In 1799, by resolution of Congress, the people are called upon to pray: 'That God would grant to his Chruch the plentiful effusions of divine grace, and pour out his Holy Spirit on all ministers of the gospel; that he would bless and prosper the means of education and spread the light of Christian knowledge throughout the remotest corners of the earth.'"...similar appeals were made in 1780,1781, and 1782. Certainly there was no lack of religious faith in that body of Christian patriots."One more thing of note, this concerning the War of Independence, "The French allies proved to be dangerous friends. They fought for our success in the field, but they poisoned our national faith. They injected the virus of an aggressive and unblushing infidelity into our country that came near working its ruin." Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Thank you Chris for posting this thread. I have begun listening to Goligher - on Canadian Christian History. I would like more info on the history of the Blacks - as it relates to the history of the church, and times of awakenings. The Black history is a significant part of US national history, and also Canada -a very dark part. I am preparing for a presentation of Black History in Canada, along with a researcher. One song, "Darling Nellie Grey" will be sung. I find it interesting that most renditions of the song leave out the verses that reveal the darker aspect of our history. Even after many of the Blacks escaped to Canada, the "Promised Land", they endured ill treatment. I wonder what the awakenings did for the Blacks. Diane

Thank you Chris for digging this out here."Then, after granting the most liberty of conscience and worship, in order that looseness, irreligion and atheism might not creep into the body politic, the law provides for the observance of the Sabbath, punishes profane swearing and cursing and further enacts, that "whoever shall speak loosely and profanely of Almighty God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or Scriptures of truth, and is thereof legally convicted, shall forfeit and pay five pounds, and be imprisoned for five days in the house of correction."Remarkable, truly

Hi everyone.Crsschk, it sure is! There's more I'd like to share as I continue reading the book.Diane, I wish you well on your search in that topic.Something related to that which has been in my thoughts from time to time concerns our corportate confession of the sins of rascisim and prejudice of our past.I have wondered if there has ever really been such a thing on our part. It seemslike there has been a sort of quiet acknowledgement of the evil but never any sort of public proclimation concerning our guilt as a body of believers, in America in particular, before God and the nation.Perhaps this would be good for our health as a nation, at this time. It may be that it was done before, I do not know.Just some thoughts.