One Nation Under God, Chapter 5

 A recent article in FOXNEWS stated that a survey of Harvard University graduates found that only 6.4% have a conservative leaning after attending the elite Ivy League institution.

That’s a good segue into chapter 5 of One Nation Under God, which states The education of the settlers and founders of America was uniquely Christian and Bible-based. It mentions that the early colonial education used the Bible as their chief textbook. The education for the primary grades was based on the New England Primer which taught the ABC’s using wisdom from the Bible. Later, the first United States Congress meeting under the new Constitution in 1789 passed a law directing that each additional state and territory to be added to the new nation should be committed to promoting religion, morality, and knowledge by building schools.

America’s first colleges, such as Princeton, Yale, and Harvard were all Christian in their beginnings. For example, here is a quote written in stone in a Harvard building:

After God had carried us safe to New England, and we had built our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God’s worship, and settled the civil government, one of the next things we longed for and looked after was to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity: dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust.”

Another school, William and Mary in Virginia had these three goals (summarized): 

1. Youth of Virginia should be well educated to learning and good morals
2. Churches of America, and especially Virginia, should be supplied with good ministers…
3. The Indians of America should be instructed in the Christian religion…

Yale had this to say:

“Where there is no religion, there is no morality… With the loss of religion… the ultimate foundation of confidence is blown up; and the security of life, liberty, and property are buried in ruins. (Timothy Dwight, President of Yale, 1798)

Columbia University

“Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals of mankind. (Benjamin Rush, Signer of Declaration of Independence)

Quote from President of Columbia College at one of its graduation ceremonies:

“Remember, too, that you are redeemed of the Lord, that you are bought with a price, even the inestimable price of the precious blood of the Son of God. Adore Jehovah, therefore, as your God and your Judge. Love, fear, and serve Him as your Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Acquaint yourselves with Him in His word and holy ordinances.”

Obviously, today’s “progressive” movement is not leading us forward, but is one of entropy where mankind is reverting backward to a time that our founders feared might happen. Look at today’s headlines to see that where there is no life-changing, Bible-based “religion”, our security of life, liberty, and property are buried in ruins,” as Timothy Dwight said.