These are the reflections of Christopher Columbus as recorded in his diary concerning his discovery of the New World.  These words make it clear that Columbus believed he was influenced by the Holy Spirit to sail West, not for the sake of finding a new trade route, but for the purpose of taking the Gospel of Christ to those who had heard it.  His desire was not the discovery of riches, but the advancement of the kingdom of Christ on earth.

From the age of Columbus until the end of the twentieth century, America was a nation whose law was based upon the Christian religion.  To demonstrate this fact, one need only to honestly examine the historical facts.  Study America’s first legal document (the Mayflower Compact) and you will find the Pilgrims came to the New World “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith.”  Analyze the original charters of America’s oldest and most prestigious universities (the Ivy League) and you will see they were founded for the advancement of the Christian faith, as noted in the history of Harvard: “Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”  Study the history of public education which dates from the seventeenth century and you will find that the teaching of Christianity was required, as noted in the laws of Connecticut: “This court observing, that notwithstanding the former orders, made for the education of children and servants, there are many persons unable to read the English tongue, and thereby incapable to read the holy word of God or the good laws of this colony . . .” (1690).  Deeply committed Christians such as Noah Webster (“America’s Schoolmaster”), William McGuffey, and Dr. Jedediah Morse ("Father of American Geography") taught the Christian faith to school children.  Dr. Morse wrote, “Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”  The Northwest Ordinance, which established the way in which new states were added to the union, required the teaching of religion and morality in public schools–religion being interpreted at that time as Christianity.

And let us not forget that our Continental Congress published and distributed Bibles–not the Koran!  Throughout their history, the American colonies had relied upon England to supply them with Bibles.  But during the War of Independence, that supply was cut off.  Patrick Allison, Chaplain of the Congress, placed before that body a request to meet the demand for Bibles.  A committee studied the problem and recommended that 20,000 Bibles be imported from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere.  In 1780, Congress again approved another request for Bibles, and in 1781, Robert Aitken, who was a Philadelphia bookseller and publisher of The Pennsylvania Magazine, petitioned Congress to print the needed Bibles in his book shop.  Many of the Bibles which Aitken published were distributed by statesmen themselves.

To this cursory study of the influence of Christianity upon the history of our nation could be added numerous other pieces of evidence to demonstrate that our nation has been founded upon Christianity.  It was primarily the clergy of early America who were responsible for throwing off the rule of King George III when he refused to obey English law in his dealings with the colonies.  If America is to witness a spiritual awakening, the clergy must understand their heritage in our republic and stand against judicial decisions when they set aside the Constitution of our nation.

May our prayer be, “Lord open the eyes of the clergy and the people!”

--Dr. Stephen A. Flick, Pastor