Why work toward restoring America?
 

  We are often asked why it is so important for Christians to work to restore America.  The truth is that this nation only became strong, prosperous and free because of the Christian ideals that undergird our culture and government.  Our Declaration of Independence was the first document in history to boldly declare that man’s rights come from God, not from government.   They then developed a system of self government based on biblical laws and directives.

   The founders explained that maintaining a free republic would have two requirements:

• The power of government must rest on the people, and
• The people must be virtuous – they must be moral.

John Adams

We see evidence of this in the founder’s statements and speeches . . .

“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 for the government of any other.”

James Madison

“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 of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves . . . according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
                                                             

   
They also showed us where that source of morality could best be found . . .

George Washington

“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.  Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds . . . reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle . . . Let it simply be asked, ‘Where is the security for life, for reputation, and for property, if the sense of religious obligation desert?’”

Robert Winthrop

“All societies of men must be governed in some way or other.  The less they have of stringent state government, the more the must have of individual self-government.  The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint.   Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or a power without them; either by the word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.
                                                                                                    

  The founders used the words “religion” and “denomination” interchangeably.  When John Adams and George Washington used the term “religion” or “religious” in the quotes above, they were referring to Christianity and the guidance of biblical precepts.  They knew that the only pure source of morality that could sustain a free people was the word of God as expressed in the Bible.  We must once again bring the teachings of Christianity to the forefront of our culture if we are to remain a free people.

   Our goal at Arise America Ministries is to educate those in the church and prepare them to once again be that influence on the culture – to be the salt and light Jesus commanded us to be in Matthew 5:13-16. 

   Arise America Ministries offers a vast number of reports, quotes and other resources to help you learn about the importance of the influence of Christianity on the American founding.  Understanding our heritage and the need for godly leadership will encourage the church to once again become the moral agent needed to maintain our freedom.