God Bless America Again?

Noah_W

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The Tex Ritter lyrics include the following words:

"God, I sure do wish you'd bless America again, You know, the way you did back when it all began"

Why was America blessed back when it all began?

Luke 11:28 "But he [Jesus] said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

Man-centered religion since our founding has invented new measures and so-called sins not found stated in the word of God, therefore is man more just than his Creator? Man thinks himself wiser than God so creates the government school system, which under our Constitution must be secular! Yet God in a true education cannot be left out: Prov 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

We can't cry about God, Bible and prayer being removed from government schools now, when the church was clearly warned about it in the 19th century. From Presbyterian theologian A. A. Hodge -

"I am as sure as I am of the fact of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social, and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen."
A.A. Hodge – Public Schools are the "Engine" of Atheism — TEACH DILIGENTLY

We often hear 2 Chron. 7:14 quoted, but is the following more accurate in the state of the USA today:

Ezek 14:12-14 12 "The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD."

Reading Isaiah 3 about judgment upon Israel, a similar thought is expressed: Isa 3:10-11 10 "Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him."

Has America crossed the line of no return? Has God's gift of repentance now been removed from a possibility? Have we Christians sinned away any idea of a true revival of the Holy Spirit in our churches? I'm far from innocent in this matter so I'm not finger pointing.
 
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Aussie Pete

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The Tex Ritter lyrics include the following words:

"God, I sure do wish you'd bless America again, You know, the way you did back when it all began"

Why was America blessed back when it all began?

Luke 11:28 "But he [Jesus] said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

Man-centered religion since our founding has invented new measures and so-called sins not found stated in the word of God, therefore is man more just than his Creator? Man thinks himself wiser than God so creates the government school system, which under our Constitution must be secular! Yet God in a true education cannot be left out: Prov 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

We can't cry about God, Bible and prayer being removed from government schools now, when the church was clearly warned about it in the 19th century. From Presbyterian theologian A. A. Hodge -

"I am as sure as I am of the fact of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social, and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen."
A.A. Hodge – Public Schools are the "Engine" of Atheism — TEACH DILIGENTLY

We often hear 2 Chron. 7:14 quoted, but is the following more accurate in the state of the USA today:

Ezek 14:12-14 12 "The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD."

Reading Isaiah 3 about judgment upon Israel, a similar thought is expressed: Isa 3:10-11 10 "Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him."

Has America crossed the line of no return? Has God's gift of repentance now been removed from a possibility? Have we Christians sinned away any idea of a true revival of the Holy Spirit in our churches? I'm far from innocent in this matter so I'm not finger pointing.
Great question. Derek Prince said that the Church is salt and light. Salt is a preservative. It won't change what is there but will stop the rot. Light is spiritual truth from God's perspective. No light, no truth, no freedom. I am not convinced that the church generally has been convicted sufficiently. That you see the truth is a great thing.

I'm glad you said "true" revival. There was a phony in the 1990's It was called the Toronto Blessing. Some influential Christians are predicting another revival. I wish. From what I can discern, it will be a rerun of the TB.

I wondered about these kinds of issues. I remembered the 7 churches in the book of revelation. They were all in what is now Turkey. None exist now. It's sobering to say the least.
 
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Norbert L

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Has America crossed the line of no return?
The U.S. Constitution is a type of message whereby the expression, give a man enough rope and he'll hang himself, is a reality, but in this case it's about a nation. It's all more or less about the freedom to preach the Gospel. Where it is progressively being restricted and attacked because the USA has never been God's kingdom here on Earth. It's a foreign nation that once allowed more latitude to Christianity into state run school systems but now the spiritual wickedness in high places has largely increased its' influence whereby it's far more hostile to the Gospel.

There's also a long time condition found in politics where they have the same fear of king Saul being more worried about what the people think rather than doing the right thing. Another historical quote from the USA I ran across does lay bare this soft underbelly of any democracy.

"This [the U.S. Constitution] is likely to be administered for a course of years and then end in despotism... when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other." Benjamin Franklin
 
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Noah_W

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The U.S. Constitution is a type of message whereby the expression, give a man enough rope and he'll hang himself, is a reality, but in this case it's about a nation. It's all more or less about the freedom to preach the Gospel. Where it is progressively being restricted and attacked because the USA has never been God's kingdom here on Earth. It's a foreign nation that once allowed more latitude to Christianity into state run school systems but now the spiritual wickedness in high places has largely increased its' influence whereby it's far more hostile to the Gospel.

There's also a long time condition found in politics where they have the same fear of king Saul being more worried about what the people think rather than doing the right thing. Another historical quote from the USA I ran across does lay bare this soft underbelly of any democracy.

"This [the U.S. Constitution] is likely to be administered for a course of years and then end in despotism... when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other." Benjamin Franklin

I would strongly agree that the USA has never been God's kingdom. But, the people of God on earth who are God's kingdom are the light of the world and as the church goes, there will go the nation. Our founders did recognize our Creator God in our founding, and I believe it is true that our Founding Documents will only work for a godly people, so if the church fails, the nation fails. Sadly, I see the Republic being destroyed as Marxism is making such strong inroads.

Matt 5:14-16 14 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
 
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iarwain

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Certainly I agree that our problems are the result of the people abandoning God, rather than God abandoning the people.

People are substituting their own judgement of what is moral, for God's. Classic case, really. And unfortunately. We live in a very secular humanist society, under very secular humanist principles.
 
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miamited

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Hi @Noah_W

As a believer in the truth of the word of God, I'm not sold on the idea of christianity being taught in schools. As someone has already mentioned, who would determine the theological doctrine being taught? What if someone like John Spong were the teacher? Today, as a believer, I can visit a worship service and decide whether or not the teacher is teaching according to what the Scriptures say. If I don't think so, then I can go visit another worship service. I can continue visiting various fellowships until I find one that I believe is teaching the truth.

I can just imagine some high up Catholic being in charge of school religion curriculum and I wouldn't want my child indoctrinated into that belief system. Or some Episcopalian like Spong being in charge of determining curriculum. No, for me, I want to follow what the Scriptures say is the way to teach our children about Him. Mothers and Fathers talk about Him when they rise up and when they lie down. When they travel along the roads and byways and when they are working side by side. I want to be in charge of what the sponge of my children's mind is going to be filled with about the truth of God.

I was sharing with someone on these boards just the last couple of days who denies that Jesus blinded Saul as he traveled on the roadway. Do I want someone who believes that only 'some' of the accounts of the Scriptures are true? No! Not me! It's bad enough now that most parents abdicate the godly training of their children to merely a Sunday youth group. If we really, as believers, want to take up the challenge of making America a more God-fearing nation...then let's get back to doing what God says we should be doing in the training of our children that the next generation will have a bit stronger faith, and the next a bit more, and the next a bit more and so on. Rather than turning the training of our children over to some fellowship group or the school, let's try it God's way.

I think, in these discussions about how much worse the nation or the world is in following God, that it isn't A. A. Hodge that we need to listen to, but G. O. D. A mere glance through the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans should confirm for us that the world is going exactly the way that the prophecies of God have told us it would be going since the first days of Jesus' ministry.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.


Some of our fellowships are teaching evolutionary theory instead of God's special and immediate creation account. Some of our fellowships are teaching that most of the miracles accounted for in the Scriptures didn't really happen in real life and real time, but are rather like Grimm's fairy tales to make some salient point. Some of our fellowships are teaching that the creation is millions/billions of years in existence. Are we going to be able to keep any of that Scriptural 'truth' out of any public school curriculum?

God bless,
Ted
 
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iarwain

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Some of our fellowships are teaching evolutionary theory instead of God's special and immediate creation account. Some of our fellowships are teaching that most of the miracles accounted for in the Scriptures didn't really happen in real life and real time, but are rather like Grimm's fairy tales to make some salient point. Some of our fellowships are teaching that the creation is millions/billions of years in existence. Are we going to be able to keep any of that Scriptural 'truth' out of any public school curriculum?
You have a valid reason to be concerned about what brand of Christianity would be taught. But what students are being taught now is to worship themselves and the humanistic "morals" that the woke and the government approve of. They are basically being taught to worship the church of humanity, instead of the church of God. They are being taught man's judgements, not God's.

At one time, the kids at least would say the Declaration of Independence, which would at least admit that we are "under God", before the atheists had that removed. So now they're basically being taught atheism. The reasons fellowships teach that stuff you mentioned is because that is what is being taught in the schools. They took God out of the schools, did you think the church would be far behind?
 
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miamited

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You have a valid reason to be concerned about what brand of Christianity would be taught. But what students are being taught now is to worship themselves and the humanistic "morals" that the woke and the government approve of. They are basically being taught to worship the church of humanity, instead of the church of God. They are being taught man's judgements, not God's.

At one time, the kids at least would say the Declaration of Independence, which would at least admit that we are "under God", before the atheists had that removed. So now they're basically being taught atheism. The reasons fellowships teach that stuff you mentioned is because that is what is being taught in the schools. They took God out of the schools, did you think the church would be far behind?

Hi @iarwain

That's exactly why I teach my children about God at home. No, I don't teach them the 'pledge of allegiance'. I'm really not one to be particularly sold on pledging allegiance to a nation. That's what they do in N. Korea, too. I'm assuming you meant to write 'pledge of allegiance' rather than 'declaration of independence'. I don't think the declaration of independence actually says anything about being 'under God', but it does mention that we have certain inalienable rights given by our Creator.

That's also why I reserve the right to worship with a fellowship of my choosing. They haven't taken God out of all fellowships. God will never be removed from the church. It is after all His Son's church. Of course, you and I probably define 'church' differently.

True story: My son, when he was getting ready to enter his senior year of HS was short one science credit and it had to be biology. He and I talked and I warned him about some of the stuff they might try to teach him as truth, such as evolutionary theory. So, about 2 weeks before the start of school we attended the 'meet your teacher' day and my son had done very well in his chemistry class.

The chemistry teacher caught up with us and as we talked and my son mentioned that he didn't have enough credits for the science and therefore wouldn't be able to take the chem 2 class, the teacher stopped him and said, "Look, if you'll take chem 2, I'll get you out of the biology requirement." I was sure it was an answer to prayer.

I've always taught him that the Scriptures are true in all that they tell us about God, His creation, His Son, His word and His Spirit. So, evolutionary theory and billion years old universe don't fit in that.

God bless,
Ted
 
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