It may be argued whether the United States of America in our time is a "Christian nation;" however there is no doubt that the USA began as a Christian nation, and still benefits from its Christian heritage. American Christians ought to plan and work and pray that Biblical Christianity be restored as the backbone and substance of American life and government. The following quotations, which are largely unknown to even Christian citizens, serve to illustrate the pervasiveness and adherence to the Christian Faith in early America.

1. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506). From his Book of Prophecies:

"It was the Lord who put into my mind -- I could feel His hand upon me -- the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies...All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me...There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures...For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied...No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His Holy service...the fact that the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time -- this is what convinces me."

2. The Mayflower Compact of the Pilgrims, who came to the New World to found the first colony (1620):

"In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France & Ireland king, defender of the faith, &c., haveing undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advancemente of the Christian faith, and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to plant the first colonie in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves togeather info a civill body politick, for our better ordering & preservation & furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just & equall lawes, ordinances, acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete & convenient for the generall good of the Colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness wherof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd the 11. of November, in the year of the raigne of our souveraigne lord, King Jarnes, of England, France, & Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fiftie fourth. Anno: Dom. 1620."

William Bradford (1590-1657), once governor of Plymouth Plantation, wrote:

"A great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto, for the propagating and advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world..."

3. The Constitutions of most of the thirteen colonies were explicitly Christian. For example:

"In 1643, a confederation between the colonies of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven was formed, in which it is affirmed that 'we all came into these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties thereof with purity and peace, and for preserving and propagating the truth and liberties of the gospel'".

4. The charter granted to Massachusetts, in 1640, by Charles I: "The colonies are enjoined by 'their good life and orderly conversation to win and invite the natives of the country to a knowledge of the only true God and Savior of mankind, and the Christian faith, which, in our royal intention and adverturer's free possession, is the principal end of this plantation'".

5. The North Carolina Constitution (until 1876): "That no person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State."

6. On September 7, 1777, after reading the 85th Psalm, the first prayer in Congress was offered by the Rev. Duche, an Episcopal clergyman, at the request of Congress:

"Be Thou present O God of Wisdom, and direct the council of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle all things on the best and surest foundations; that the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored; and truth and justice, religion and piety prevail and flourish among the people. Preserve the health of their bodies, and the vigor of their minds; shower down on them, and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Saviour, Amen."

7. Benjamin Franklin's address to the Constitutional Convention of 1787:

"All rulers and citizens must be aware that the establishment of authority and power among rulers and nations is the result of God's sovereign decree, according to His good pleasure. No civil government can claim that it has risen by its own strength and wisdom; to do so is to bring the wrath and judgment of God upon the whole nation." and in another place, "He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of a primitive Christianity, will change the face of the world."

8. Thomas Jefferson.

"The reason that Christianity is the best friend of Governmeet is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart." And in a letter to William Canby, 1813: "Of all systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to be so pure as that of Jesus."

9. John Adams.

"The highest story of the American Revolution is this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."

10. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court:

"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest, of a Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

11. Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), a physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence:

"Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education. The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools."

12. John Quincy Adams:

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were...the general principles of Christianity."

13. Noah Webster (1758-1843), author of the great "American Dictionary" of 1828. He knew 26 languages. According to Collier's Encyclopedia, "the American language owes its consistency from coast to coast more to Noah Webster than to any other single person." He wrote:

"The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government..."

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."

14. The United States Supreme Court, 1844:

"Why may not the Bible, and especially the New Testament be read and taught as a divine revelation in the school? Where can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament?"

15. Abraham Lincoln: From the Emancipation Proclamation:

"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." Lincoln also wrote: "The only assurance of our nation's safety is to lay our foundation in morality and religion...Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."

These quotations, and many more could be brought forth, show conclusively that the United States of America began as a Christian nation, and truly was a Christian nation for at least a hundred years. It has now, in our time, become a pluralistic secular nation, though it retains much of the flavor of Christianity, and continues to benefit from its Christian heritage.

Let us pray that God in His sovereign mercy and kindness would once again make America a Christian nation, in which Jesus Christ would be exalted over all, and where His gracious Word would be gladly accepted by all as our law.