The Birth of Christ and the Birth of America Are Linked

[moonwhim]

The Birth Of Christ And The Birth Of America Are Linked
By Chuck Baldwin
December 23, 2010

Archived column:
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=2601

As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I am reminded of
the words of John Quincy Adams. On July 4, 1837, he spoke these words:

“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world,
your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? …
Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the
nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it
forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is
it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social
compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth. That
it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of
Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of
the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at
the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew
prophets six hundred years before?”

Adams was exactly right: America’s birth is directly linked to the
birth of our Savior. In fact, the United States of America is the only
nation established by Christian people, upon Biblical principles, and
dedicated to the purpose of religious liberty. This truth is easily
observed within America’s earliest history.

America’s forebears first established a written covenant with God
as early as November 11, 1620, when they penned The Mayflower Compact.
It states in part:

“In the name of God, Amen. … Having undertaken, for the Glory of
God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and Honour of our King
and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts
of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the
Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves
together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and
Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue
hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal Laws,
Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as
shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the
Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

The sentiments and statements of America’s founders make it clear
that this nation has enjoyed a love and appreciation for the rights
and freedoms recognized in Natural Law that is unique in the annals of
human history. No other people have such a heritage.

One thing America’s founders could not envision was--after they had
paid so terrible a price to purchase our liberties--that the time
would come when their posterity would be denied the basic freedoms to
publicly express their reverence for God. Never could they have
imagined that the day would come when citizens of the sovereign states
(each with a State constitution protecting religious liberty) would be
denied their right to pray in school, or place Nativity scenes on
public property, or hang copies of the Ten Commandments on courthouse
walls.

I am also confident that America’s founders would be completely
repulsed by the way the United States has jumped headlong into
corporatism, socialism, and globalism. At the national level,
Democrats and Republicans alike have created a central government so
large that it would be unrecognizable to any Founding Father (even
Alexander Hamilton or John Adams). In addition, both Big Business and
Big Religion have sold our great country down the old proverbial
river. Truly, our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their
graves.

Therefore, at this Christmas season, let us remember well the
founding principles of these United States of America. Furthermore,
let us renew with vigor the fight for freedom before our liberties and
our heritage are gone altogether.

From my family to yours: Merry Christmas!

[pjbrownie]

America in many concepts, has always been the inception of Zion, the New Jerusalem. This is not unique to we, the Latter-day Saints, but was lost at the Second Great Awakening and the great disappointments with premillennial prophecies that failed in the 19th century. Christianity is either now too concerned with preparing for the rapture, or creating an amillennial utopia through Christian principles mixed with the New Age. Go back to before the Mormons, and among the pilgrims of Massachusetts, and even Jefferson, believed they were building a Zion.

What I'm hopeful for is the realization of this destiny for America.