Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Indianapolis
I am currently in Indianapolis for the NCEA (National Catholic Educational Association) convention. This is the 105th annual event and there are 7000 people here who have assembled representing schools from across the globe. While the National Day of Prayer Task Force does not endorse any particular religion or association, we are delighted to share about Drive Thru History America and the need to teach the truth about America's founding to our students. This truth has been diluted and even lost over the years since we abolished the New England Primer and the teachings of God and even prayer from the school system in 1962. Many of our founders were men and women of faith. They were driven - not for exploration - but for freedom to worship and to establish a nation of people who honored God. The Mayflower compact specifically states that their intent was advancement of the Christian faith. The National Day of Prayer has a mission to preserve America's godly heritage. You cannot understand why we as a nation have a "National Day" of prayer if you do not know the original intent of our fore fathers. If you can change the past, you have power over the future. Revisionism is wiping out our identity as a people. We are passionate about making sure the truth is told. We worked for 4 years on the Drive Thru curriculum with David Barton and Dr. Nita Thomason. This is our first opportunity to unveil it to the Catholic School System in hopes that they will adopt this material and implement it in their programs. Please be in prayer that our mission is successful. We will be returning to Colorado Springs next week. While in Indianapolis we intend to greet some of the members of the National Prayer Committee and Prayer Harvest Ministries. That will be a wonderful time of prayer and refreshment. In addition, we will be meeting with the state coordinator to share in his excitement over what God is doing throughout Indiana. We thank you in advance for all your prayers while we are on this trip.
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4 comments:
I would love to add the National Day of Prayer to my blog. Do you have a button I can add to my site that advertises for this and will link folks back to you guys?
Praying for you all.
Jenifer
byhisgraceministry.blogspot.com
John - so glad to hear from Brandi that you are back at NDP! We will be in D.C again this year - maybe we will be able to say hello!
Kelly Smith
smithkl@alltel.net
It's lovely that the pilgrims who came aboard the Mayflower wanted to practice their version of Christianity away from the iron fist of the English monarchy, but the pilgrims weren't the nation's founders. They started one tiny settlement. Most people who settled here came for profit. Trading companies, fur trappers, gold prospectors, land prospectors, junior noblemen who wanted lordships of their own - THAT is how America started. Our actual founding fathers, the ones who united the original thirteen states, created a constitution that doesn't even mention God, and they did it for a reason... so that zealots wouldn't impose their world views on everyone else. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "It neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket if my neighbor believes in one god or twenty." Some of our founding fathers were Christian, some were agnostic, some were Deists, and some were Unitarians. The New England Primer was the only book commonly available in the many communities, and when printed texts became more readily available, it made sense to switch to more academic material.
I'm sure you'd like to see us return to a world where we believe the sun revolves us. But that's how you people work, isn't it?
"m"...thank you for taking the time to read my blog and even comment as it is obvious that you have a deep felt passion to convey your perspectives on the intention of our founders and those who sacrificed greatly for the freedoms we enjoy today. Often when the conversation of original intent occurs and the motivation is to prove that our founders were non-Christian and moving away from religion, our former President Thomas Jefferson is quoted and generally out of context. Thomas Jefferson also stated on March 23, 1801, that "The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they (the clergy) have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind."
Gouverneur Morris, "Penman of the Constitution" said that "Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God."
and one of my favoties, Dr. Benjamin Rush said:
"I believe that the greatest discoveries in science have been made by Christian philosophers, and that there is the most knowledge in those countries where there is the most Christianity. . . . [T]hose Christians, whether parents or schoolmasters, who neglect the religious instruction of their children and pupils, reject and neglect the most effectual means of promoting knowledge in our country."
When you have a chance, I would encourage you to read the work of David Barton, William Federer and David McCullough. I think you will have a greater appreciation for the contributions of Christianity in America's great history.
My friend, Christians are not perfect, only Jesus Christ is. The argument to remove His influence from our history is usually motivated by the purpose of removing His influence on the present - freeing us from the burden of accountability.
If you are thirsty for the truth and longing for purpose, you will find it in Jesus Christ (John 4:13-14).
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