Glorious Fourth!

Once again we have the joyful privilege to celebrate our nation’s heritage of independence, freedom, and liberty. Every time I study the events surrounding our nation’s founding, I grow more and more amazed at the wisdom and foresight of our Founders. Instead of establishing yet another monarchy or some such form of intrusive government, they handed the power of government to the citizens of this land. They did this with stern warnings that the government they established could be sustained only to the extent that the citizens honored the foundation upon which they built this Constitutional Republic. That foundation is the moral law of the Judeo-Christian faith. The notion of the kind of “separation of church and state” being promoted in our day was completely foreign to our wise Founders. Referring to the day that the Continental Congress approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote to his wife: “The second day of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”

To a person, our Founders predicted what would happen to this grand republic if the foundation upon which it is laid is removed. As it is dismantled bit by bit, we see the accuracy of their predictions taking place in our own day. I do not suggest that my fellow Americans who are atheist or some form of secular humanist are inherently evil people. Most are great folks with extremely decent character. But they have no basis for moral discernment. They do make moral discernments, but when they do, they must necessarily borrow from the same moral law upon which our Founders built this republic. Even then, however, we continue to see their moral relativism side more and more with the immoralists who seek to dismantle the fabric that has kept us together as a nation that prizes the value of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Still, as long as we have a bit of our foundation left, we are able to commemorate the Fourth of July as a glorious day of deliverance. With this, I wish my fellow patriots a most Glorious Fourth!