How did a country once so
dedicated to God stray so far from its values?
Religious persecution drove the Pilgrims from
their native English land to the shores of the New World. When
America’s first pioneers arrived in Plymouth in 1614 they dedicated
the land to the advancement of Christianity for the glory of God.
Less than two centuries later the Revolutionary War led to the
Declaration of Independence. The God-centered document was the
forerunner to the U.S. Constitution and would further solidify
Christianity as the foundation of a new nation. To be sure, American
history is overflowing with examples of our rich Christian heritage,
but the state of the 21st century union is a far cry from what our
ancestors hand in mind when they laid down their lives for their
faith. Families are dysfunctional, drug addiction is rampant and
prisons are full.
How did a country once so dedicated to God stray so far from its
values? What we have, says David Barton, founder of Aledo,
Texas-based WallBuilders, an organization dedicated to the
restoration of the constitutional, moral and religious foundation on
which America was built, is a huge disparity between beliefs and
policy.
“The beliefs of the people about issues like school prayer, abortion
and gay marriages are healthy, with two thirds of our nation
supporting every traditional biblical value,” says Barton, author of
Original Intent. “Yet our laws are not demonstrating those beliefs.
That’s where it comes back to ‘we the people.’ We’re still strong in
our beliefs, we are just not voicing our opinion to the
legislature.”
Barton speaks wisdom. Abraham Lincoln declared, “The ballot is
stronger than the bullet.” Calvin Coolidge proclaimed, “The whole
system of American government rests on the ballot box.” And Dwight
Eisenhower noted, “The future of this republic is in the hands of
the American voter.” Still, three out of four Christians fail to
exercise their constitutional right to vote, according to the
Presidential Prayer Team.
Pastor Mark Beliles, founder of Grace Covenant Church in
Charlottesville, Va., is praying that believers will reflect on our
nation’s heritage and get back to the voting booth this November for
what many Christian leaders are calling a significant turning point
in our nation’s history. “It’s absolutely critical that Christians
be united for reform,” says Beliles, who is also a board member of
the Providence Foundation, a Christian educational organization
whose mission is to spread liberty, justice and prosperity among the
nations. “If we are going to see transformation of cities in our
nation, then we need to get involved in politics.”
So what is the role of the local church in the local government?
Barton says Church leaders need to take a stand for righteous policy
like Jesus did when He spoke out against the civil rulers of His
time, and all believers need to be good stewards of the vote that
God has entrusted to them.
Pastor Rod Parsley, for one, is taking that mandate seriously both
in the pulpit and through his new Center For Moral Clarity. “If we
can inform Christians about moral issues and elected officials that
stand on the side of biblical morals, then we feel like we can
really make a difference,” says Tim Nelson, ministerial fellowship
coordinator for Parsley’s World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio.
“We need to take our country back before it’s too late.”
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