Is There Such a Thing as Providence in History? Does it Have Application in Today's World? (Part 2)
Bill Haymin
June 05, 2006
The American Apostasy and Decline
Finding The Cause of America's Problems
Only if we correctly identify and diagnose the true cause of America's problems, can we begin to really solve them. Most Christians today place the blame on various conspiracies of men: the humanists, the ACLU, the big bankers, the Trilateral Commission, the New Age Movement, the World Council of Churches, the Homosexuals, the Feminists, the Communists, the Democrats, the Pope, etc. Information regarding such groups and their activities can be useful, yet must never be regarded as the source of our problems. God forbid it in Isaiah 8, verse 12 and 13:
"You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy! , in regard to all that this people call a conspiracy. And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread."
Most Christians today seem to fear these groups more than they do God. This is wrong, for it diminishes the true Biblical understanding that God is Sovereign over the earth. God sees human conspiracies and laughs at them for He knows what He has planned will prevail. This should be our perspective toward conspiracies. Psalm two says:
"Why are the nations in an uproar, and the people devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed: ‘Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!' He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His furry: ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.' I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance...' Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. ...Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way..."
This prophesy was, of course, describing the first coming of Christ, when He died, rose again, and was given absolute authority to reign. Just prior to His ascension, Jesus delegated this responsibility and authority to His church. Matthew 28:18-19 says:
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."
Christians are Responsible
The Church has been given authority to shape history. If our nation is in an awful condition, God holds us responsible. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 He says:
"If...My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
The power for healing our land rests with God's people.
America's decline has not occurred because the ideas and leadership of various organizations have overcome Biblical ideas. Rather, it is because we abdicated our responsibility to lead and left a void or vacuum in the public realm that has been surrendered by default. Rosalie Slater says it well:
"For one hundred and fifty years and more, up to the time of our Revolution, the seven years of that long struggle, and through the ratification of our Constitution–even through the perilous years of the French Revolution–we maintained our Christian character as a nation. Then began our period of ‘falling away' when we worshiped the ‘effect' of our great success–and forgot the ‘cause.' This vacuum was readily filled with man-centered philosophies which replaced the internal battles of conscience with the social, economic and political struggles of society.
"Thus we veered from a period when, even our governmental proclamations were filled with the language of salvation and the recognition that Christ alone could change the hearts of men, to a pre-occupation with educational, social, economic, and eventually political arrangements, which claimed to insure progress and improvement for society and hence for man."
America has repeated the folly of Israel. God warned them of the danger of apostasy once they entered the promised land and began to enjoy prosperity and peace. Within a short time a generation arose in Israel as well as America that was unfaithful to the God and traditions of their freedom in their fathers. They began to neglect the things that produced their freedom in the first place. We lost our virtue and our self-government and became prey to what Samuel Adams called "internal invaders":
"A general Dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy. While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader...If Virtue and Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great Security."
The only way that "tares" can be sown is when the church is "asleep" i.e. neglecting her role in society ( Matthew 13:24 and Proverbs 24:30-34 ).
Today, the American Christian Republic still stands by the grace of God, yet its foundations have seriously eroded away. If our nation's problems were the result of some conspiracy of men, the solution would be beyond the reach of most of us, and thus fatalism, apathy and despair would prevail. However, since God says the real problem began with our neglect, then the solution is within the grasp of the church. If we accept our responsibility and do our duty, we have grounds for hope.
Why The Influence of Christianity Has Eroded
The Father of American Geography, Dr. Jedidiah Morse, was a clergyman. He preached an insightful Election Sermon in 1799 from Biblical text: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). Said:
"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation, either through unbelief or the corruption of its doctrine, or the neglect of its institutions; in the same proportion will people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom, and approximate the miseries of complete despotism. I hold this to be a truth confirmed by experience. If so, it follows, that all efforts made to destroy the foundations of our holy religion, ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. 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."
He said that the "genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation" through (1) unbelief, (2) corruption of its doctrines, and (3) neglect of its institutions. Let us examine each more carefully.
Unbelief
"And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). ..."The church of the living God, (is) the pillar and support of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15).
Christianity cannot prevail in society without strong vibrant churches. These cannot exist without dedicated godly preachers. This by no means requires a majority of the population to be converted to be a godly nation. Throughout the Revolution, less than a majority of the population were official members of a church (although a definite majority attended church and almost everyone had a Biblical view of life). God never requires a "moral majority" to affect a nation only a "righteous remnant" who really understand their duties in all of life. The American Revolution would never have occurred without the Great Awakening. Revival and awakening of the lost is, therefore, the remedy to unbelief.
Corruption of Doctrine
The doctrine that this refers to has nothing to do with your typical "statement of faith" that most Christians hold to as essential fundamentals. Those doctrines are generally confined to religious questions concerning the Godhead, salvation, etc. The doctrines that, when corrupted or neglected results eventually in the decline of Christianity in society, were understood well by the apostles and even our Founding Fathers generation. These are articulated well in a sermon by Paul the apostle in Acts 17:24-28:
"The God who made the world and all things in it since He is Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist."
Four primary doctrines, that have practical implications on how we view the world, as mentioned here:
(1) Creation - "God made the world." It didn't just happen by chance. This doctrine began to be neglected in our public schools in the late 1800's. It was no longer being taught in a reasonable way, for Christians began to neglect the field of science. Therefore, it became an irrelevant "religious" dogma, taught in the schools. This neglect left a void for a competing ideology - Evolution. Darwin wrote his book in 1859, but it never really became predominant in public education until after the Scopes trial in 1925. Evolution forces lost this trial but won the war of ideas, by exposing a lack of Biblical Scientific reasoning. Today the tables are being turned, as Creation Scientists are restoring solid reasoning for Christians to articulate rather than simply saying "The Lord made the earth."
(2) Lordship - "He is Lord of Heaven and earth." This means He is absolute Master and final authority to whom all must give allegiance. As this doctrine has been neglected, so another competing ideology has gained ascendancy humanism. Humanism says that man is the measure of all things and the one who determines right and wrong for himself. Since 1961 when the Supreme Court recognized humanism as a religion, it has been systematically replacing Christianity as the United States' unofficially established or recognized religion.
(3) Providence - "He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; ...For in Him we live and move and exist." Truly God is the source of every man's provisions, to whom each man and woman must look. As this doctrine has been neglected, so the competing ideology of socialism has prospered. Karl Marx's book, written in 1844, never had much influence in America until we had backslid from Christian principles of economics and greed and materialism grew. As monopolies grew, wealth was accumulated instead of compassionately employed to meet the needs of the poor and society. Individual interests replaced the common good of the community. These needs were then exploited by Marxist and Socialist leaders beginning in 1905. Marshall Foster writes that "in the loft above Peck's restaurant at 140 Fulton Street in lower Manhattan, a group of young men met to plan the overthrow of the predominantly Christian world-view that still pervaded America. At this first meeting five men were present: Upton Sinclair, 27, a writer and socialist; Jack London, Writer; Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a unitarian minister; J.G Phelps Stokes, husband of a socialist leader; and Clarence Darrow, a layer. Their organization was called the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. Their purpose was ‘promote an intelligent interest in socialism among college men and women.' These men were ready to become the exponents of an idea passed on to them by an obscure writer named Karl Marx – a man who never tried to be self-supporting but was supported by a wealthy industrialist who, inexplicably, believed in his theory of ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat.' Although a small group in the beginning, these adherents of socialism more than succeeded in their task."
"By using the proven method of gradualism, taken from the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, these men and others who joined with them slowly infiltrated" the public schools of our nation. By 1912 there were chapters in 44 colleges. By 1941 Dewey had become president and Reinhold Niebuhr, the liberal socialist theologian, was the treasurer."
In 1907, Charles and Mary Beard began to popularize Marx's ideas in their revisionist history books.
The loss of Christian character and responsibility led to the failure of many state banks in the early 1900's. In an effort to remedy this situation, power was granted to a centralized Federal Reserve Board in 1913. But this unbiblical economic structure and lack of character produced even greater problems. Within 20 years the Stock Market had crashed and America was in the midst of the Great Depression. With the propagation of socialism, people were ready for the ‘New Deal' of Franklin Roosevelt. Programs such as Social Security, and other welfare agencies, set up the State as provider rather than God.
Another corrupting event occurred in 1913. In that year a federal income tax amendment was passed which paved the way for deficit spending, inflation and financing of ungodly nations and causes.
(4) Sovereignty- "He made... every nation... having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation." Our Founder's and all preceding generations of Americans were unified and motivated by this basic truth, but it was neglected in our schools little by little until replaced by a new ideology-Existentialism. Existentialists believe history is meaningless and the future unpredictable and therefore to plan and work for goals is hopeless. Instead their philosphy is "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die." It is totally present-oriented and hedonistic. Marshall Foster warns that:
"Many Christians have subconsciously adopted the existential view of history. They de-emphasize their importance in a God-ordained historical chain of Christianity and see themselves simply as individuals God has plucked out of an evil world who are now just awaiting heaven. Their sense of responsibility for the past and their hope and planning for the building of the future are lost in the "now generation" where they are called to focus on self-improvement. This attitude covers the burden of guilt that lays heavily on the head of American Christians, but it does not alleviate their responsibility for our nations crisis....Until the Christian comes to grips with his historical duties denouncing his existential perspective and reaffirming the providential view of history, the renewal of our nation will be impossible."
"In colonial America the God of the Bible was seen as sovereign over men and their property, reflecting the "Biblical worldview" of the Reformation. But in the past 100 years a disarming doctrine, which sees Satan as the sovereign of this world, has been accepted by many in Christian circles. Many Bible teachers today see Jesus as having the authority and right to rule, but as having given over powers to subjugate the world temporarily to Satan."
"The world-view of the reformers was diametrically opposite to this view. Jesus Christ is the ruler of the earth (1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 2:14) and Satan, a defeated foe (John 12:3, Colossians 2:15)."
"One's attitude toward the sovereignty issue is of paramount importance, because it affects what is done in every area of life. Here is the contrast:
"If you see God ruling the earth:
"1. Your commission is to subdue the earth and build godly nations through evangelizing and discipleship.
"2. You see Christian culture as leavening all areas of life, replenishing the earth, and blessing all mankind.
"3. All of God's world is His and every activity, to be seen as a spiritual work of God.
"4. Reformation is expected if a nation is obedient to God's word.
"If you see Satan ruling the earth:
"1. Your commission is just to concentrate on saving souls from this evil world.
"2. You see Christian culture as a counter- culture, an isolated, persecuted minority in a evil world.
"3. Church activity is primary and spiritual, while worldly pursuits are secular and to be dealt with only as a necessity. "4. Reformation is impossible since things must get worse because Satan is in control.
"The above contrasts illustrate the importance of ideas in determining consequences, because to the degree Christians have abdicated their leadership role and denied the ‘crown rights to Jesus Christ,' to that degree the humanists have filled the void."
What is the remedy for the corruption and neglect of these vital doctrines? It is the Restoration of the New Testament Church in its practical theology and Biblical reasoning and world-view. After the Civil War "liberal" churchmen of the North continued emphasizing social reform but without the Bible as the basis. This is sometimes called the "Social Gospel" today. The more "Fundamental" or Bible-based churchmen of the South, after the military defeat of the South, became fatalistic. They retreated to emphasizing only religious or church concerns and viewed most social movements with suspicion. Two new "Christian" positions developed among these "fundamentalists": (1) an eschatology of defeat and escape, and (2) a "separation of church and state" concept that sanctioned their non-involvement in society.
Neglect of our Institutions
Our corruption in government is largely a result of the church neglecting our educational institutions. In the early 1800's the clergy and church began to gradually cease providing leadership in our public universities and schools. Thus Harvard was taken over by the Unitarians, and as the quality of public education declined, Horace Mann convinced Massachusetts that the answer was to let civil government take charge of it instead of the private sector (families and churches). Rosalie Slater writes that:
"In the years 1837-1848 Horace Mann, whom John Dewey designated as ‘the father of progressive education', made a series of Annual Reports to the Massachusetts Board of Education of which he was Secretary. These reports paved the way gor a state financed, state directed, and ultimately a state controlled education program superseding local control through the demand for "standardization": of school structures, textbooks, curriculum, and teacher training and certification. But even this might not have proved so effective in the "secularization" of education had we not deliberately removed the Bible as the basis of our Christian character and substituted for salvation and regeneration of heart a psychological atheism which found man innately "good" and society "bad".
"There were many alert clergymen of the time of Horace Mann who were aware of this "condition" for the drive to achieve ‘universal public education.' This ‘condition' was that Christianity be neutralized for the larger goal of building, not Christian character and conscience, but humanitarians with benevolent inclinations toward mankind. And for those individuals who wised the schools to teach a patriotism which indicated how great was ‘the faith of our fathers' there was substituted a bland form of non-controversaial democracy and ‘citizenship in the state.' Thus the public school was able to accomplish that which the hired European mercenaries of England never could – namely to separate our patriotism from our Christian conviction."
The clergy, who began to neglect the preaching of political sermons in weekday classes and in Election Sermons, had also neglected the Sabbath. Deuteronomy 5:15 reveals that the purpose of the Sabbath was to remember God's hand in history. This once was a regular practice in Sunday Schools as well as sabbath day traditions in the home. The parents and grandparents would tell stories to their children on Sunday about how God's hand was seen in their home, church and nation. This is in serious neglect today in America. Economic institutions are also in neglect. Marshall Foster says:
"In the early days of our nation, the tithe supported not only churches but church schools and colleges, and provided for a variety of other social needs. In Rushdoony's ‘Revolt Against Maturity' he discusses how one New England town coped with radical population changes wholly by the use of the tithe. Salem, Massachusetts, saw a population boom between 1795 and 1845, doubling its population several times over until it had grown from a village into a city. There was a flood of foreign immigrants and one would think that the town's character would have been completely changed and that the burden of such an influx of people would have caused a complete dislocation of its social fabric. But, as a matter of fact, the needs of the immigrants-as well as of the town's own citizens-were met through a variety of tithing agencies that cared for the poor, provided education, job-training, children's education, Bible courses, and taught the immigrants English. Salem shows what conscientious tithing Christians can accomplish in the field of social welfare, as Powell and Rushdoony point out: ‘Conscientious and intelligently administered tithing by even a small minority can do much to reconstruct a land."
In the Bible, God commanded Israel to provide for the poor through their tithe (Duet. 14:27-29). The use of the tithe (and charitable organizations) was how every social need was met in America for 300 years before the "New Deal" turned it over to the civil government just 50 years ago. If Christians today would tithe and give special offerings for the poor, to distribute individually or pool together with other Christians in their church, great things could happen. This must be done if we are ever going to disestablish the unbiblical welfare system today. Church-going Christians only give about 2% of their income to the church. In 1983, only 32% of Christians in America tithed. No wonder there is a problem. If every church in America took responsibility for just 3 families, there would be no need for welfare!
So the remedy for our neglect of Christian institutions is the Reformation of Society. As Christians commit themselves once again to being the "salt of the earth," corruption shall subside, "the righteous will be in authority," and "the people will rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). "Righteousness exalts a nation." (Proverbs 14:34).
Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell, Chapter 17 in America's Providential History. Charlottesville, VA ( www.providencefoundation.com ) Permission was granted to reprint this article.
As the author of a previous article has said, I also pray that not only will Christian schools and colleges separate from the rot of secularism and construct a truly distinctive curricular that includes America's Christian history, but that unbelievers might come to realize that if it wasn't for "Christianity" and "Americas Christian God," their would be "no America!"
By Bill Haymin, copyright 2006.
Finding The Cause of America's Problems
Only if we correctly identify and diagnose the true cause of America's problems, can we begin to really solve them. Most Christians today place the blame on various conspiracies of men: the humanists, the ACLU, the big bankers, the Trilateral Commission, the New Age Movement, the World Council of Churches, the Homosexuals, the Feminists, the Communists, the Democrats, the Pope, etc. Information regarding such groups and their activities can be useful, yet must never be regarded as the source of our problems. God forbid it in Isaiah 8, verse 12 and 13:
"You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy! , in regard to all that this people call a conspiracy. And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread."
Most Christians today seem to fear these groups more than they do God. This is wrong, for it diminishes the true Biblical understanding that God is Sovereign over the earth. God sees human conspiracies and laughs at them for He knows what He has planned will prevail. This should be our perspective toward conspiracies. Psalm two says:
"Why are the nations in an uproar, and the people devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed: ‘Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!' He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His furry: ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.' I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance...' Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. ...Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way..."
This prophesy was, of course, describing the first coming of Christ, when He died, rose again, and was given absolute authority to reign. Just prior to His ascension, Jesus delegated this responsibility and authority to His church. Matthew 28:18-19 says:
"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."
Christians are Responsible
The Church has been given authority to shape history. If our nation is in an awful condition, God holds us responsible. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 He says:
"If...My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
The power for healing our land rests with God's people.
America's decline has not occurred because the ideas and leadership of various organizations have overcome Biblical ideas. Rather, it is because we abdicated our responsibility to lead and left a void or vacuum in the public realm that has been surrendered by default. Rosalie Slater says it well:
"For one hundred and fifty years and more, up to the time of our Revolution, the seven years of that long struggle, and through the ratification of our Constitution–even through the perilous years of the French Revolution–we maintained our Christian character as a nation. Then began our period of ‘falling away' when we worshiped the ‘effect' of our great success–and forgot the ‘cause.' This vacuum was readily filled with man-centered philosophies which replaced the internal battles of conscience with the social, economic and political struggles of society.
"Thus we veered from a period when, even our governmental proclamations were filled with the language of salvation and the recognition that Christ alone could change the hearts of men, to a pre-occupation with educational, social, economic, and eventually political arrangements, which claimed to insure progress and improvement for society and hence for man."
America has repeated the folly of Israel. God warned them of the danger of apostasy once they entered the promised land and began to enjoy prosperity and peace. Within a short time a generation arose in Israel as well as America that was unfaithful to the God and traditions of their freedom in their fathers. They began to neglect the things that produced their freedom in the first place. We lost our virtue and our self-government and became prey to what Samuel Adams called "internal invaders":
"A general Dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy. While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader...If Virtue and Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great Security."
The only way that "tares" can be sown is when the church is "asleep" i.e. neglecting her role in society ( Matthew 13:24 and Proverbs 24:30-34 ).
Today, the American Christian Republic still stands by the grace of God, yet its foundations have seriously eroded away. If our nation's problems were the result of some conspiracy of men, the solution would be beyond the reach of most of us, and thus fatalism, apathy and despair would prevail. However, since God says the real problem began with our neglect, then the solution is within the grasp of the church. If we accept our responsibility and do our duty, we have grounds for hope.
Why The Influence of Christianity Has Eroded
The Father of American Geography, Dr. Jedidiah Morse, was a clergyman. He preached an insightful Election Sermon in 1799 from Biblical text: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). Said:
"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation, either through unbelief or the corruption of its doctrine, or the neglect of its institutions; in the same proportion will people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom, and approximate the miseries of complete despotism. I hold this to be a truth confirmed by experience. If so, it follows, that all efforts made to destroy the foundations of our holy religion, ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. 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."
He said that the "genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation" through (1) unbelief, (2) corruption of its doctrines, and (3) neglect of its institutions. Let us examine each more carefully.
Unbelief
"And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). ..."The church of the living God, (is) the pillar and support of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15).
Christianity cannot prevail in society without strong vibrant churches. These cannot exist without dedicated godly preachers. This by no means requires a majority of the population to be converted to be a godly nation. Throughout the Revolution, less than a majority of the population were official members of a church (although a definite majority attended church and almost everyone had a Biblical view of life). God never requires a "moral majority" to affect a nation only a "righteous remnant" who really understand their duties in all of life. The American Revolution would never have occurred without the Great Awakening. Revival and awakening of the lost is, therefore, the remedy to unbelief.
Corruption of Doctrine
The doctrine that this refers to has nothing to do with your typical "statement of faith" that most Christians hold to as essential fundamentals. Those doctrines are generally confined to religious questions concerning the Godhead, salvation, etc. The doctrines that, when corrupted or neglected results eventually in the decline of Christianity in society, were understood well by the apostles and even our Founding Fathers generation. These are articulated well in a sermon by Paul the apostle in Acts 17:24-28:
"The God who made the world and all things in it since He is Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist."
Four primary doctrines, that have practical implications on how we view the world, as mentioned here:
(1) Creation - "God made the world." It didn't just happen by chance. This doctrine began to be neglected in our public schools in the late 1800's. It was no longer being taught in a reasonable way, for Christians began to neglect the field of science. Therefore, it became an irrelevant "religious" dogma, taught in the schools. This neglect left a void for a competing ideology - Evolution. Darwin wrote his book in 1859, but it never really became predominant in public education until after the Scopes trial in 1925. Evolution forces lost this trial but won the war of ideas, by exposing a lack of Biblical Scientific reasoning. Today the tables are being turned, as Creation Scientists are restoring solid reasoning for Christians to articulate rather than simply saying "The Lord made the earth."
(2) Lordship - "He is Lord of Heaven and earth." This means He is absolute Master and final authority to whom all must give allegiance. As this doctrine has been neglected, so another competing ideology has gained ascendancy humanism. Humanism says that man is the measure of all things and the one who determines right and wrong for himself. Since 1961 when the Supreme Court recognized humanism as a religion, it has been systematically replacing Christianity as the United States' unofficially established or recognized religion.
(3) Providence - "He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; ...For in Him we live and move and exist." Truly God is the source of every man's provisions, to whom each man and woman must look. As this doctrine has been neglected, so the competing ideology of socialism has prospered. Karl Marx's book, written in 1844, never had much influence in America until we had backslid from Christian principles of economics and greed and materialism grew. As monopolies grew, wealth was accumulated instead of compassionately employed to meet the needs of the poor and society. Individual interests replaced the common good of the community. These needs were then exploited by Marxist and Socialist leaders beginning in 1905. Marshall Foster writes that "in the loft above Peck's restaurant at 140 Fulton Street in lower Manhattan, a group of young men met to plan the overthrow of the predominantly Christian world-view that still pervaded America. At this first meeting five men were present: Upton Sinclair, 27, a writer and socialist; Jack London, Writer; Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a unitarian minister; J.G Phelps Stokes, husband of a socialist leader; and Clarence Darrow, a layer. Their organization was called the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. Their purpose was ‘promote an intelligent interest in socialism among college men and women.' These men were ready to become the exponents of an idea passed on to them by an obscure writer named Karl Marx – a man who never tried to be self-supporting but was supported by a wealthy industrialist who, inexplicably, believed in his theory of ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat.' Although a small group in the beginning, these adherents of socialism more than succeeded in their task."
"By using the proven method of gradualism, taken from the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, these men and others who joined with them slowly infiltrated" the public schools of our nation. By 1912 there were chapters in 44 colleges. By 1941 Dewey had become president and Reinhold Niebuhr, the liberal socialist theologian, was the treasurer."
In 1907, Charles and Mary Beard began to popularize Marx's ideas in their revisionist history books.
The loss of Christian character and responsibility led to the failure of many state banks in the early 1900's. In an effort to remedy this situation, power was granted to a centralized Federal Reserve Board in 1913. But this unbiblical economic structure and lack of character produced even greater problems. Within 20 years the Stock Market had crashed and America was in the midst of the Great Depression. With the propagation of socialism, people were ready for the ‘New Deal' of Franklin Roosevelt. Programs such as Social Security, and other welfare agencies, set up the State as provider rather than God.
Another corrupting event occurred in 1913. In that year a federal income tax amendment was passed which paved the way for deficit spending, inflation and financing of ungodly nations and causes.
(4) Sovereignty- "He made... every nation... having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation." Our Founder's and all preceding generations of Americans were unified and motivated by this basic truth, but it was neglected in our schools little by little until replaced by a new ideology-Existentialism. Existentialists believe history is meaningless and the future unpredictable and therefore to plan and work for goals is hopeless. Instead their philosphy is "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die." It is totally present-oriented and hedonistic. Marshall Foster warns that:
"Many Christians have subconsciously adopted the existential view of history. They de-emphasize their importance in a God-ordained historical chain of Christianity and see themselves simply as individuals God has plucked out of an evil world who are now just awaiting heaven. Their sense of responsibility for the past and their hope and planning for the building of the future are lost in the "now generation" where they are called to focus on self-improvement. This attitude covers the burden of guilt that lays heavily on the head of American Christians, but it does not alleviate their responsibility for our nations crisis....Until the Christian comes to grips with his historical duties denouncing his existential perspective and reaffirming the providential view of history, the renewal of our nation will be impossible."
"In colonial America the God of the Bible was seen as sovereign over men and their property, reflecting the "Biblical worldview" of the Reformation. But in the past 100 years a disarming doctrine, which sees Satan as the sovereign of this world, has been accepted by many in Christian circles. Many Bible teachers today see Jesus as having the authority and right to rule, but as having given over powers to subjugate the world temporarily to Satan."
"The world-view of the reformers was diametrically opposite to this view. Jesus Christ is the ruler of the earth (1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 2:14) and Satan, a defeated foe (John 12:3, Colossians 2:15)."
"One's attitude toward the sovereignty issue is of paramount importance, because it affects what is done in every area of life. Here is the contrast:
"If you see God ruling the earth:
"1. Your commission is to subdue the earth and build godly nations through evangelizing and discipleship.
"2. You see Christian culture as leavening all areas of life, replenishing the earth, and blessing all mankind.
"3. All of God's world is His and every activity, to be seen as a spiritual work of God.
"4. Reformation is expected if a nation is obedient to God's word.
"If you see Satan ruling the earth:
"1. Your commission is just to concentrate on saving souls from this evil world.
"2. You see Christian culture as a counter- culture, an isolated, persecuted minority in a evil world.
"3. Church activity is primary and spiritual, while worldly pursuits are secular and to be dealt with only as a necessity. "4. Reformation is impossible since things must get worse because Satan is in control.
"The above contrasts illustrate the importance of ideas in determining consequences, because to the degree Christians have abdicated their leadership role and denied the ‘crown rights to Jesus Christ,' to that degree the humanists have filled the void."
What is the remedy for the corruption and neglect of these vital doctrines? It is the Restoration of the New Testament Church in its practical theology and Biblical reasoning and world-view. After the Civil War "liberal" churchmen of the North continued emphasizing social reform but without the Bible as the basis. This is sometimes called the "Social Gospel" today. The more "Fundamental" or Bible-based churchmen of the South, after the military defeat of the South, became fatalistic. They retreated to emphasizing only religious or church concerns and viewed most social movements with suspicion. Two new "Christian" positions developed among these "fundamentalists": (1) an eschatology of defeat and escape, and (2) a "separation of church and state" concept that sanctioned their non-involvement in society.
Neglect of our Institutions
Our corruption in government is largely a result of the church neglecting our educational institutions. In the early 1800's the clergy and church began to gradually cease providing leadership in our public universities and schools. Thus Harvard was taken over by the Unitarians, and as the quality of public education declined, Horace Mann convinced Massachusetts that the answer was to let civil government take charge of it instead of the private sector (families and churches). Rosalie Slater writes that:
"In the years 1837-1848 Horace Mann, whom John Dewey designated as ‘the father of progressive education', made a series of Annual Reports to the Massachusetts Board of Education of which he was Secretary. These reports paved the way gor a state financed, state directed, and ultimately a state controlled education program superseding local control through the demand for "standardization": of school structures, textbooks, curriculum, and teacher training and certification. But even this might not have proved so effective in the "secularization" of education had we not deliberately removed the Bible as the basis of our Christian character and substituted for salvation and regeneration of heart a psychological atheism which found man innately "good" and society "bad".
"There were many alert clergymen of the time of Horace Mann who were aware of this "condition" for the drive to achieve ‘universal public education.' This ‘condition' was that Christianity be neutralized for the larger goal of building, not Christian character and conscience, but humanitarians with benevolent inclinations toward mankind. And for those individuals who wised the schools to teach a patriotism which indicated how great was ‘the faith of our fathers' there was substituted a bland form of non-controversaial democracy and ‘citizenship in the state.' Thus the public school was able to accomplish that which the hired European mercenaries of England never could – namely to separate our patriotism from our Christian conviction."
The clergy, who began to neglect the preaching of political sermons in weekday classes and in Election Sermons, had also neglected the Sabbath. Deuteronomy 5:15 reveals that the purpose of the Sabbath was to remember God's hand in history. This once was a regular practice in Sunday Schools as well as sabbath day traditions in the home. The parents and grandparents would tell stories to their children on Sunday about how God's hand was seen in their home, church and nation. This is in serious neglect today in America. Economic institutions are also in neglect. Marshall Foster says:
"In the early days of our nation, the tithe supported not only churches but church schools and colleges, and provided for a variety of other social needs. In Rushdoony's ‘Revolt Against Maturity' he discusses how one New England town coped with radical population changes wholly by the use of the tithe. Salem, Massachusetts, saw a population boom between 1795 and 1845, doubling its population several times over until it had grown from a village into a city. There was a flood of foreign immigrants and one would think that the town's character would have been completely changed and that the burden of such an influx of people would have caused a complete dislocation of its social fabric. But, as a matter of fact, the needs of the immigrants-as well as of the town's own citizens-were met through a variety of tithing agencies that cared for the poor, provided education, job-training, children's education, Bible courses, and taught the immigrants English. Salem shows what conscientious tithing Christians can accomplish in the field of social welfare, as Powell and Rushdoony point out: ‘Conscientious and intelligently administered tithing by even a small minority can do much to reconstruct a land."
In the Bible, God commanded Israel to provide for the poor through their tithe (Duet. 14:27-29). The use of the tithe (and charitable organizations) was how every social need was met in America for 300 years before the "New Deal" turned it over to the civil government just 50 years ago. If Christians today would tithe and give special offerings for the poor, to distribute individually or pool together with other Christians in their church, great things could happen. This must be done if we are ever going to disestablish the unbiblical welfare system today. Church-going Christians only give about 2% of their income to the church. In 1983, only 32% of Christians in America tithed. No wonder there is a problem. If every church in America took responsibility for just 3 families, there would be no need for welfare!
So the remedy for our neglect of Christian institutions is the Reformation of Society. As Christians commit themselves once again to being the "salt of the earth," corruption shall subside, "the righteous will be in authority," and "the people will rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). "Righteousness exalts a nation." (Proverbs 14:34).
Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell, Chapter 17 in America's Providential History. Charlottesville, VA ( www.providencefoundation.com ) Permission was granted to reprint this article.
As the author of a previous article has said, I also pray that not only will Christian schools and colleges separate from the rot of secularism and construct a truly distinctive curricular that includes America's Christian history, but that unbelievers might come to realize that if it wasn't for "Christianity" and "Americas Christian God," their would be "no America!"
By Bill Haymin, copyright 2006.
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