The Biggest Threat To America

What is the biggest threat to the United States of America?

Is it terrorism?
Is it Socialism?
Is it nuclear war?
Is it dirty bombs?
Is it judicial obstructionism in the U.S. Senate?
Is it natural disasters?
Is it AIDS?
Is it human diseases or some yet undiscovered virus?
Is it Hillary Clinton?

Let me first quote Abraham Lincoln, before I go any further.

"At what point should we expect the approach of danger? By what means are we to fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military power to step across the ocean and crush us? Never. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it cannot and it will not come from abroad. If danger ever reach us, it must spring up from amongst us. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live through all time or die by suicide."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) From an 1838 speech when he was just 29 years old.

It is my belief that this approach of danger that must spring up from within America to destroy us, is our own unwillingness to conduct our lives within a moral and virtuous framework.
The Founding Fathers knew quite well that national morality, individual virtue and a national focus on religion, are essential ingredients in a free constitutional republic.

"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code ... laws essential to the existence of men in society."John Quincy Adams

WHAT ABOUT THE EFFORTS TO REMOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843

HEY, YOU MIGHT SAY, WE ELECT OUR OWN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND IF THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, ISN'T THAT WHAT WE GAVE THEM POWER TO DO?

"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843

With the level of freedom, liberty and independence guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution, with special emphasis on the Bill of Rights, personal responsibility and individual virtue are inseparable.

"[Religion] is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submission to the Divinity?"Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.

"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principle…"George Washington (1732-1799)

How can we honestly expect to hold onto our current level of freedom, or even gain back some of the freedom and liberty we have lost in the past century, if we cannot control ourselves. We must have self-discipline and a focus upon morality and religion that we once had if America is to survive another 230 years.

"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. Religion and virtue are the only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.

"The belief in a God all Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.

It has been said that some of the Founding Fathers were not Christians. I have heard many uninformed people say that we can find our own level of morality and define for ourselves what is right, true and just. Of course, that's a bunch of Sophist hogwash. There are moral absolutes and we have lost sight of them.

Have you ever been walking in the woods, following a clearly marked and well trodden path, only to find that after walking for a while, the path is gone? The path has vanished. What do you do? Really, what do you do? Of course, you know exactly what to do. You retrace your steps until you find the path again. NOW, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT.

Even as I write this message, there are national efforts to remove the Ten Commandments of God from all public buildings and displays.

Well, for those who think the "separation of Church and State" is part of our history and can easily be found in the founding documents of the United States, I say that you should be a little more informed of real United States history and not the historical revisionist crap that our children are being taught in public school.

The "Separation of Church and State" cannot be found in the founding documents of America because the Founding Fathers knew that national morality, virtue and religion are completely inseparable in a free country.

"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.

"The great pillars of all government and of social life …[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman

Some completely uninformed people actually have the belief that the Founding Fathers were not Christians. Well, bear with me a bit as I list some quotes disproving that.

"You do well to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."George Washington from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.

"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."George Washington July 9, 1776

"The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in his discourses."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"The precepts of philosophy laid hold to actions only, but Jesus pushed His scrutinies into the heart of man, erected the tribunal in the region of his thoughts and purified the waters at the fountainhead."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.

"Why is it next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the Fourth Of July? It is because the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission on earth and laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) From a speech on July 4th 1837.

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman

"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice

"The Americans, combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)

"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: That it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of Christianity with the principles of civil government."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.

"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity, will change the face of the world."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.

"O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight."President George Washington (From a booklet of prayers he wrote.)

"My custom is, to read four or five chapters [of the Bible] every morning immediately after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time. It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper."President John Adams in a letter to his son John Quincy Adams

"The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests."Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States

"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die. This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which can make them rich indeed."Patrick Henry (1799, on his death bed)

"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect…All confidence must be withheld from the means we use and respond only on that God who rules in the armies of Heaven and without whose blessing the best of human councils are but foolishness and all created power vanity…and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven."John Hancock, April 15, 1775, just four days before the "shot heard round the world".

OK, OK, YOU SAY, YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT CLEAR, THE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE INDEED CHRISTIANS.

Our system of government depends almost entirely upon the American people being virtuous and righteous. If we continue on the path of moral relativism, we're doomed. If we continue to keep God and Jesus Christ out of our public lives we're doomed to failure.

If we continue to buy the lie that God should not have a place in our public schools, we're denying the truth of our historical record. In fact, right now, let me post in the 2nd and 3rd Articles of the Massachusetts Constitution as follows:

Article II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society,publicly, and at stated seasons to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship.

Article III. As the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion and morality; and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community, but by the institution of the public worship of God, and of public instructions in piety, religion and morality: Therefore, to promote their happiness and to secure the good order and preservation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily.
And the people of this commonwealth have also a right to, and do, invest their legislature with authority to enjoin upon all the subjects an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any on whose instructions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend.
Provided, notwithstanding, that the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, shall, at all times, have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, and of contracting with them for their support and maintenance.
And all moneys paid by the subject to the support of public worship, and of the public teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uniformly applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be any on whose instructions he attends;otherwise it may be paid towards the support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which the said moneys are raised.
Any every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law: and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.

WOW HUH?

So much for separation of Church and State huh? This might lead you to ask, what about the First Amendment that says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion? Here's my take on that portion of the First Amendment.

The Founding Fathers were very aware of how England did things. They wanted to be completely separate from England. That is what the Declaration of Independence and the ensuing Revolutionary War was about, remember?

England had a national church. It was called the Church of England. If you were not a member of the Church of England, but gathered privately for religious services, you were known as "Separatists". As Separatists, you were persecuted, oppressed and maltreated by the English government.

This drove a group of these Separatists to Holland, who then decided to make a new life for themselves in America. They made the perilous journey in 1620. We know them as the Pilgrims.

The Founding Fathers wanted nothing to do with an official national church that would control and oppress other Christian denominations. That is what that portion of the First Amendment is all about. Like it or not, believe it or not, it doesn't matter to me. The fact remains that the Founders of the United States of America wanted God, morality, religion and government to work together for the common good, remember the first Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay?

"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice

I wonder to myself sometimes what Chief Justice John Jay would have said to Michael Newdow who is single-handedly trying to erase God from everyday life in America? I say, we all stand on our own two feet and tell Michael Newdow to sit down and shut up and keep your God-hating opinions to yourself.

I will now finish this hopefully enlightening communication with the rest of the Founding Fathers words on the importance of morality, religion and virtue in America and its role in government and our lives as individual and free Americans.

Please feel free to pass it on. Incidentally, all these quotes can easily be found on my Web site. http://www.savetheguns.com/. If you want to see what the Founding Fathers had to say concerning private firearm ownership, go to my "Quotes" page. www.SaveTheGuns.com/quotes.htm

Now for the remaining quotes I have on religion, morality and virtue and their importance in America:

"Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone...? I think it is an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God, the author of Nature whose laws never vary...Government...is by no means an arbitrary thing depending merely on compact or human will for its existence... The power of God Almighty is the only power that can properly and strictly be called supreme and absolute. In the order of nature immediately under him comes the power of a simple democracy, or the power of the whole over the world...[God is] the only Monarch in the universe who has a clear and undisputable right to absolute power because He is the only one who is omniscient as well as omnipotent... The sum of my argument is of God, that the administrators of it were originally the whole people."Samuel Adams (1722-1803) The Father of the American Revolution

"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation."George Washington in his last official address to Congress

"I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray but that ye act."John Hancock (1737-1793) First signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"[T]he law…dictated by God himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)

"Three points of doctrine, the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it is possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)

"And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?...[W]ithout His concurring aid...we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.

"No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.

"[W]e ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."George Washington (1732-1799)

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."George Washington (1732-1799)

"[T]rue religion affords to government its surest support."George Washington (1732-1799)

"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."George Washington (1732-1799)

"It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to own their dependence on the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose god is the Lord."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"Your love of liberty -- your respect for the laws -- your habits of industry -- and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness."George Washington

"Providence punishes national sins with national calamities."George Mason (1725-1792) The Father of the Bill of Rights

"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove from them a conviction these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

"In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.

“And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.

"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."Benjamin Franklin

"There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."Patrick Henry in a 1787 speech

"We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God's concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord keep the city, they labor in vain that build it.'"Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist. This quote was said on the floor of the Constitutional Convention June 28, 1787

"It's the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and his favor."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.

"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you."Abraham Lincoln 1858

"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."General George Washington 1779

"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843

"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."William Penn

"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America . . . America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."Alexis de Tocqueville

"What is liberty without...virtue? It is...madness, without restraint."Edmund Burke

"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised!, in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust our cause to our swords."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"

"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"

"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country's Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions."George Washington

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."John Adams

"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843

"My God, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth have ever enjoyed."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third President of the United States. Author of the Declaration of Independence.

"Our task and our duty must be to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God, for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyes of all are upon us."John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1649

AND NOW, LET ME END THIS COMMUNICATION TO YOU WITH MY FAVORITE SHORTEST QUOTE OF ALL TIME:

"I am nothing. Truth is everything."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth President of the United States.

WE HAVE LOST SIGHT OF THE PATH FOR AMERICA THAT WAS SET FORTH FOR US BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS. JUST AS IF WE GOT LOST IN THE WOODS, WE MUST RETRACE OUR STEPS AND FIND THAT PATH AGAIN IF WE ARE TO EVER PRESERVE THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME TODAY.

MARC RICHARDSON
INFO@SAVETHEGUNS.COM