THE FAITHS OF OUR FATHERS

I’ve been reading a small book I picked up about our founding fathers. The book is titled THE FAITHS OR OUR FATHERS..WHAT AMERICA’S FOUNDERS REALLY BELIEVED it was written by Alf J. Mapp, Jr.

I have always believed that the founding fathers were men of conscience. They seem to have all been men of substance, bravery, courage, and vision. They knew at the time that they were risking there lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness so that future generations of Americans would not have to. They were men willing to sacrifice their lives and good fortune for a cause they knew was greater than themselves. Only men (and women) of faith and devotion have that kind of character.

Most of the founders were Christians, yet they were not all of the same denomination and some did not claim any denomination. They supported religious freedom but that there should not be a sanctioned church in the U.S. However, they did not support removing God from governance. They were also pragmatic in their approach to forming a new nation and realized that there would have to be compromises in order to keep the states together.

Here is a quote that caught my attention from Charles Carroll of Carrollton, he was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence and the only Catholic to sign it. I’ll admit I never heard of him before I read the book. The quote is from a letter he wrote to his son, “Without morals, a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore, who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure, which denounces against the wicked, the eternal misery, and insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundations of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments”.

I have said in the past (and on my blog) that the lack of good basic morals and ethics is it at the root of most of our troubles as a nation and people. I always seem to forget another key component our founding fathers always referred to, and that is an adherence to virtue. Honesty, fidelity, loyalty, and integrity are all virtues that have eroded through the decades here in the USA. Behavior that used to be considered disgusting, perverted, immoral and indecent just thirty years ago are now considered acceptable, and the country have suffered because of it.

We as a people are no better of now in the 21st century by lowering our cultural standards than we were as a people at the time of our founding. Certainly our lifestyle has improved but when it comes to things higher than ourselves, we are not the people we once were. We cannot match the commitment it took of our founding fathers to radically change the face of government. They turned the tides of time to create a nation that is tolerant of competing ideas in religion, politics and social interaction. In their wisdom came about the foundational documents that insure and protect our freedoms while at the same time recognize that those freedoms do not come from government, they come from God. This nation was founded with a reverence of our creator without establishing a state religion so that every American can worship God freely (or not worship) and still be considered in every way a citizen of the United States of America.

Also, in their wisdom, they placed limits on government so that it cannot take on the form of a tyrant to the people. Thomas Jefferson said, “ when the people fear government you have tyranny; when the government fears the people you have liberty”. Did the founding fathers live up to all of their ideals? Of course not, however as the author wrote in the book “Of course they did not always live up to their ideals. People who do have low standards”.

Another document I would recommend reading (and is included in the book) is the Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom. This particular passage in the statute stuck with me “…that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinion which he disbelieves is sinful an tyrannical…”. The rest of the statute is good reading too.

I believe that I possess a good understanding of the nation’s founding and why we became the greatest nation on earth. I also believe that the further we stray away from the principles, virtues, and morals the founders embodied, the less likely we are to stay the greatest nation on earth.

There you have it.
Pass it along if you like or let me know if I don’t have a clue.

Eddie