| From
the Church on the Hill
by G. Eric Williams Pastor, Cottonwood Community Church In last week's article we saw that members of the primeval Church married apostate women and bore children who had the advantages of a godly heritage without the moral sense; children who "spoke the language of heathens" and cared not for the things of God (Neh. 13:24). These unholy offspring (known as The Fallen), utilized the superior accomplishments of their fathers to gain power and terrorize their fellows. It should be obvious that we are in a similar situation today. To begin with, (as any astute student of history knows), this nation was established as a Christian commonwealth by men who espoused Christian doctrine. For instance, the Massachusetts constitution of 1780 reads in chapter VI, article I that; "Any person chosen governor, lieutenant-governor, councillor, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall, before he proceed to execute the duties of his place or office, make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: 'I, (NAME), do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth.'" The New Jersey and North Carolina constitutions of 1776 restricted public office to all but professing Christians as well. The Delaware Constitution demanded an acceptance of the Trinity for public servants as did the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Maryland Constitution - all of 1776. The Georgia Constitution of 1777 restricted elected office to professing Christians. The Vermont state charter of 1777, the South Carolina constitution of 1778 and the New Hampshire Constitution of 1784 also required an acceptance of the Trinity in order to hold public office. Moreover, this self conscious attempt to maintain the Christian character of the nation cannot be attributed to simple revolutionary fervor. The Tennessee Constitution of 1796 states that "no person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State." Only Virginia and New York did not have Christian requirements during this time period. Yet, as it was in the days of Seth, the "sons of God" mingled with the "daughters of men" insofar as the succeeding generations began to succumb to the siren song of the world and abandon their Christian heritage. What began as niggling compromises with liberal scholars over "nonessential" issues of theology soon became a wholesale retreat from truth for much of the Church. Bible believing Christians adjusted by adopting a fortress mentality and withdrawing from the public square in the hope that the end was soon at hand. Unfortunately this left the wealth of the "sons of God" in the hands of the "Fallen Ones." And, just as in the days of Seth, they used the attainments of their forefathers to wreak havoc on their fellow man. The results are plain to see: the tremendous blessings of medical science and technology are used to destroy life in the womb, tinker with the genetic apparatus of humanity and alter the natural operations of life. Philosophical perceptivity and scientific discovery have been bent from their rightful course in glorifying God and used to install Man as deity instead. The actualization of self government under God through representative rule has been perverted to mean license and self indulgence on one hand and creeping suppression of our liberty on the other. Everywhere we turn, we see the fruits of our godly heritage used to destroy the very foundations this nation rests upon. However, there will be no cataclysm sent by God to fix the problem this time around. Our forefathers understood something that we need to remember; God has given us everything we need to establish and maintain a Christian society. Indeed, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). I'll be posting additional installments to this series on the Church web site at www.cottonwoodcommunitychurch.org (also at www.comwriter.com), and inviting your comments. Join me there if you wish. |
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