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"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.
All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to
us through this book." -- President Abraham Lincoln

We can all pray. We all should pray. We should ask the fulfillment of God’s
will. We should ask for courage, wisdom, for the quietness of soul which
comes alone to them who place their lives in His hands. -- President Harry
Truman

When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people
are poisoned. There is no such thing as a no-man's land between honesty and
dishonesty. Our strength lies in spiritual concepts. It lies in public
sensitiveness to evil. Our greatest danger is not from invasion by foreign
armies. Our dangers are that we may commit suicide from within by
complaisance with evil, or by public tolerance of scandalous
ehavior. --President Herbert Hoover

Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our
fathers, who has so singularly favored the American people in every national
trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments and
walk humbly in His footsteps.
-- President William McKinley

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man &
his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship,
that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions,
I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people
which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus
building a wall of separation between Church and State…
--President Thomas Jefferson

The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life,
the nature of God and spiritual nature and needs of men. It is the only
guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and
salvation. America was born a Christian nation. America was born to
exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived
from the revelations of Holy Scripture.
-- President Woodrow Wilson

In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private
good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my
own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No people
can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the
affairs of men more than the people of the United States.
-- George Washington

There are two prayers that I love to say—the first is the Lord’s Prayer,
and because the Lord taught it; and the other is what seems to be a child’s
prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and I love to say that because it
suits me. I have been repeating it every night for many years past, and
I say it yet, and I expect to say it my last night on earth…
--President John Quincy Adams

Our strength lies in spiritual concepts. It lies in public sensitiveness to
evil. Our greatest danger is not from invasion by foreign armies. Our
dangers are that we may commit suicide from within by complaisance
with evil, or by public tolerance of scandalous behavior.
--President Herbert Hoover

We are all called upon by the highest obligations of duty to renew our
thanks and our devotion to our Heavenly Parent, who has continued to
vouchsafe to us the eminent blessings which surround us and who has so
signally crowned the year with His goodness. If we find ourselves increasing
beyond example in numbers, in strength, in wealth, in knowledge, in
everything which promotes human and social happiness, let us ever remember
our dependence for all these on the protecting and merciful dispensations of
Divine Providence. --President John Tyler, December 7, 1841

Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is
religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which
freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is
pure virtue; and if this cannot be inspired into our people in a greater
measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers and the forms
of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty. They will only
exchange tyrants and tyrannies. --President John Adams

Whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their
dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and
transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine
repentance will lead to mercy and pardon… --Abraham Lincoln

Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot
succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with
me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope
that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your
prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.
--Abraham Lincoln

Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the
conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that
tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening
of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.
If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation
gone under.
--President Ronald Reagan

Mighty God…I yield Thee humble and hearty thanks that thou has preserved
me from the danger of the night past, and brought me to the light of the day,
and the comforts thereof, a day which is consecrated to Thine own service
and for Thine own honor. Let my heart, therefore, Gracious God, be so
affected with the glory and majesty of it, that I may not do mine own works,
but wait on thee, and discharge those weighty duties thou requirest of me.
--George Washington, in his prayer journal

No country has been so much favored, or should acknowledge with deeper
reverence the manifestations of the divine protection. An all wise Creator
directed and guarded us in our infant struggle for freedom and has
constantly watched over our surprising progress until we have become
one of the great nations of the earth. --President James K. Polk

Looking for the guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of
nations and individuals are shaped, I call upon you everywhere, to unite
with me in an earnest effort to secure to our country the blessings, not
only of material prosperity, but of justice, peace and union—a union
depending not upon the constraint of force, but upon the loving devotion
of a free people; and that all things may be so ordered and settled upon the
best and surest foundations that peace and happiness, truth and justice,
religion and piety, may be established among us for all generation.
--President Rutherford B. Hayes

I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being whose
strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look
down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations of His Providence to
bless our beloved country with honors and length of days; may her ways be
pleasantness, and all her paths peace.
--President Martin VanBuren

Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible
are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it
would be literally—I do not mean figuratively, but literally—impossible for
us to figure what that loss would be if these teachings were removed. We
would lose all the standards by which we now judge both public and private
morals; all the standards towards which we, with more or less resolution,
strive to raise ourselves. --President Theodore Roosevelt

The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the
blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which
are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which
they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature
that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is
habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.
--Abraham Lincoln

The men who established this government had faith in God and sublimely
trusted in Him. They besought His counsel and advice in every step of their
progress. And so it has been ever since; American history abounds in
instances of this trait of piety, this sincere reliance on a Higher Power in
all great trials in our national affairs.
--President William McKinley

“Finally, it is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being…that He will so
overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my
fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and
continue forever a united happy people.”
--President Andrew Jackson

"When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a
Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a
Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of
our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love
Jesus." --Abraham Lincoln

Oh! Almighty and Everlasting God, Creator of Heaven, Earth and the Universe:
Help me to be, to think, to act what is right, because it is right; make me
truthful, honest and honorable in all things; make me intellectually honest
for the sake of right and honor and without thought of reward to me. Give me
the ability to be charitable, forgiving and patient with my fellowmen - help
me to understand their motives and their shortcomings -- even as Thou
understandest mine! Amen, Amen, Amen.
--President Harry Truman

"For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill.
The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal
falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and
so cause Him to withdraw! his present help from us, we
shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world."
--John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and
the Bible." - President George Washington

"The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a
power that conquers all that oppose it." - Napoleon

"That Book accounts for the supremacy of England."
- Queen Victoria

"If there is anything in my thought or style to commend ,
the credit is due my parents for instilling in me an early
love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principals taught
in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper;
but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority,
no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and
bury all our glory in profound obscurity." - Daniel Webster (Founding Father)

"The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed."
- Patrick Henry (original member of the Continental Congress)

"The Bible is the anchor of our liberties." - President U.S. Grant

"It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people.
The principals of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom."
- Horace Greeley (Editor)

"That Book is the rock on which our Republic rests." - President Andrew Jackson

"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me
light and strength." - Gen. Robert E. Lee

"Bible reading is an education in itself." - Lord Tennyson (Poet)

"So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin
to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful
citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for
many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year."
- President John Quincy Adams

"The existence of the Bible, as a Book for the people, is the greatest
benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to
belittle it is a crime against humanity." - Immanuel Kant (Philosopher)

"The New Testament is the very best Book that ever or ever will be
known in the world." - Charles Dickens (Author)

"All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of
confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the
Sacred Scriptures." - Sir William Herschel (Astronomer)

"There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in
any profane history." - Sir Isaac Newton (Scientist)

"Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences
progress in even greater extent and depth, and the human
mind widen itself as much as it desires; beyond the elevation
and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels,
it will not go." - Goethe (Author)

"I have known ninety-five of the world's great men in my time,
and of these eight-seven were followers of the Bible. The Bible
is stamped with a Specialty of Origin, and an immeasurable
distance separates it from all competitors."
- W.E. Gladstone (Prime Minister)

"Whatever merit there is in anything that I have written is simply
due to the fact that when I was a chile my mother daily read me
a part of the Bible and daily made me learn a part of it by heart."
- John Ruskin (art critic and social commentator)

"The Bible has been the Magna Charta of the poor and oppressed.
The human race is not in a position to dispense with it." - Thomas
Huxley (Author & Scientist)

"The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever
growing influence of the Bible." - W.H. Seward (Secretary of State)

"America was born a Christian nation. America was born
to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness,
which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scriptures.
Part of the destiny of Americans lies in their daily perusal
of this great book of revelations. That if they would see
America free and pure they will make their own spirits
free and pure by this baptism of the Holy Spirit."
--President Woodrow Wilson

For Christians, the life and death of Jesus are the ultimate
expressions of love, and the supreme demonstrations of
God's mercy, faithfulness, and redemption. Since Christ's
miraculous Resurrection on Easter, more than 2,000 years
ago, Christians have expressed joy and gratitude for this
wondrous sacrifice and for God's promise of freedom for
the oppressed, healing for the brokenhearted, and salvation.
--President George W. Bush

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this
great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians;
not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this
very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum,
prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
--Patrick Henry (original member of the Continental Congress)
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I find your comments, which paint Liberals with a rather broad and largely inaccurate brush, to be a bit offensive. Perhaps - as many right-wing/neo-con extremists opine, you would have folks believe in their definition of "liberal"...In point of fact - as I proudly proclaim in my first, February, 2006 post on my blog...
www.mythisandthat47.blogspot.com...I consider myself a "liberal" but within the "actual" definition as opposed to the bastardized, incindiary, right-wing definition...

lib·er·al·ism (lbr--lzm, lbr-) KEY NOUN:

The state or quality of being liberal.
a. A political theory founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring civil and political liberties, government by law with the consent of the governed, and protection from arbitrary authority. b. often Liberalism The tenets or policies of a Liberal party.
An economic theory in favor of laissez-faire, the free market, and the gold standard.
Liberalism
a. A 19th-century Protestant movement that favored free intellectual inquiry, stressed the ethical and humanitarian content of Christianity, and de-emphasized dogmatic theology.
b. A 19th-century Roman Catholic movement that favored political democracy and ecclesiastical reform but was theologically orthodox.

I appreciate the quotes you have cited from many great human beings and believe (for Americans and the American experience) the fifth one (Thos. Jefferson) and the last one (Patrick Henry) are the most instructive and illustrative to promote equality and tolerance in our American political (and religious) debates.
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Christianity and the Triumph of the West

June 29, 2006


When you hear the word "globalization," you probably think of Chinese factories or customer service centers in India. What you probably don't think about is Christianity. Yet globalization and Christianity are linked in ways you may never have imagined.

Globalization is about more than markets and technology. It's also about the spread across national boundaries of ideas and values—in other words, culture. While the spread and exchange of culture flow in many different directions, the ideas and values most associated with globalization are those of the West.

And this is where Christianity comes in. In his marvelous book, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, Rodney Stark writes that "Christianity created Western Civilization." Without Christianity's commitment to "reason, progress, and moral equality, today the entire world would be about where non-European societies were in, say, 1800."

This would be a world "with many astrologers and alchemists but no scientists. A world of despots, lacking universities, banks, factories, eyeglasses, chimneys, and pianos." The "modern world," to which globalization aspires, "arose only in Christian societies. Not in Islam. Not in Asia. Not in a 'secular' society—there having been none."

Needless to say, Stark's conclusions aren't popular with academics and other intellectuals and have been savaged by liberal reviewers. These folks are all-too-happy to blame Christianity for some of the darker episodes in Western history, but they're not about to give the faith credit for the Western success.

No matter. Non-westerners see the connection. For example, Chinese scholars were asked to "look into what accounted for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world." After considering possible military, economic, political and cultural explanations, they concluded that the answer lay in what the Chinese scholars saw as the "heart" of the West's pre-eminent culture: Christianity.

These non-Christian and non-western scholars had "no doubt" that "the Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and the successful transition to democratic politics."

Apparently, many of their countrymen agree. Whereas there were approximately 2 million Christians in China when Mao came to power in 1949, today there are upwards of 100 million. What's more, Christianity is especially popular among the "best-educated" and most modern Chinese.

Why? Because like people everywhere, except, ironically, in the West, they see Christianity as "intrinsic to becoming modern." For them, Christianity is an alternative to a way of life that bred misery and oppression. They understand Christianity's role in the rise of the West, even as Western elites deny the connection.

Of course, this isn't the primary reason that Christianity is "becoming globalized far more rapidly than is democracy, capitalism or modernity." That is due to the proclamation of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Still, it's a powerful reminder of how Christianity transforms not only individual lives but entire societies, as well.




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