Happy 4th of July!

Lately I've been pondering the importance of studying history. I took a break from reading history for a while, not intentionally, but it just happened that way for lots of reasons I think, that I might expound on later in another post. Anyway, as I've read other books by Christian authors and have really loved reading the Bible over the last year, I've wondered if it is really worth while at all to read history and want to study again. I LOVE history, so much so that I got a Master's degree in it. Lately, I've sunk my nose deep into a David McCullough book about Teddy Roosevelt, Mornings on Horseback, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. But sometimes I wonder what's the point in the grand scheme of things of God's glory and the advancement of His Kingdom? Is it just for simple pleasure or interest or is there purpose in looking back? I don't want to waste the precious time on earth just pursuing something only for interest and pleasure.

Eric and I have talked about it and it seems studying and reading history does have merit. In the Bible, there is an ever-present looking back at what God has done, for His glory. It points to His love for His people and His rescue of them, for His name sake. What God has done throughout the Old Testament gives context for what is in the New Testament. Though we don't look back on history quite the same way as the Israelites would have there is a definite need to look back and see the hand of God on history, on the rise and fall of kingdoms and rulers. It gives context to the world we live in now and the forces of change we experience. It should be a guide to keep us from going down the same wrong roads individually and as a nation and world.

Here's a quote I came across just today in a very odd place - quoted in a Christian homeschooling book. It is in a chapter about how to teach history and it's importance! I thought it was very fitting for what I've been pondering.

If we look familiarly into the daily life of our fellow-men thousands of years ago, it is to find them toiling at the same problems which perplex us; suffering the same conflict of passion and principle; failing, it may be, for our warning, or winning for our encouragement; in any case, reaching results which ought to prevent our repeating their mistakes. The national questions which fill our newspapers were discussed long ago in the Grove, the Agora, and the Forum... and no man whose vote...may sway in ever so small a degree the destinies of our Republic, can  afford to be ignorant of what has already been so wisely and fully accomplished. Present tasks can only be clearly seen and worthily performed in light of long experience; and that liberal acquaintance with history which, under a monarchical government, might safely be left as an ornament and privilege of the few, is here (in the US) the duty of the many. Preface to Thalmeier's Ancient History

We are citizens of the nations in which we were born or reside, by God's design. We should be good citizens and good stewards of the responsibility we are given to be good citizens, especially in our own country (the US) where its existence stands on the informed vote of its citizens. And much of that hinges on knowing the history, the "long experience" of our nation and of the thousands of years past. "No man... can afford to be ignorant of what has already been so wisely and fully accomplished."

And when the government in which we participate fails morally on an issue, we can be used of God as a light to bring about change, by being well-informed of the past which sheds light on the present wrong. For instance, William Wilberforce, a man who passionately loved the Lord, fought a hard battle to eventually end the long history of the slave trade in the British Empire.

Most importantly,  history points directly at our very definite need for a Savior. Man has tried through the ages, through all kinds of changing philosophies to make his own way and always it is a failure. Even in the US, though our nation has been a great one, and it's founding causes and virtues are noble and good and somewhat founded on the basis of God's law, it was/is still an effort by man to make life better through man's invention. Our satisfaction and hope does not lie in our national freedom and individual political liberty. It comes from freedom in Christ. As followers of Christ, we are free from the burden, not of an empirical monarch, but from our own heavy, tyrannical sin. He has fought the hard battle for us and won, once and for all. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, with Christ and His bride the church.

Some Thoughts on Freedom

Over the last few years I've been reading a lot about the period of the American Revolution. I've been curious how the ideas of freedom as the 'founding fathers' saw it, i.e, the individual rights of man as well as a collective political and social freedom, match with what the Bible says with regard to freedom and our rights.

I've discovered through my reading that many of the founding fathers, even those who were professed atheists or deists, saw the definite need for virtue within a society and on an individual level in order for personal, political and social liberty to succeed within the context of a democratic or republican government. Our freedom cannot stand without a sense of social decency and respect for fellow citizens, otherwise we infringe on their freedom. Our freedom cannot be at the expense of someone else. It is a sacrificial freedom, one that gives sacrificially on an individual level as well as a societal level for the good of all so that liberty is maintained. Complete freedom to do and say as we please on an individual and corporate level will be the undoing of a republic. For a democratic republic to work there must be a give and take of freedom for the good of the whole. It requires responsibility and selflessness. These virtues sometimes limit freedom on an individual level but for the whole, freedom continues.

I've been reading through I Corinthians via the Scripture Storyline and have discovered the very same principles laid out by Paul. There was a debate about whether it was permissible as believers to eat the meat sacrificed to idols. In summary, Paul agrees that we have the freedom in Christ to eat whatever meat or to drink what we desire but we must ask ourselves if it is beneficial or helpful to the rest of the body of Christ? Will someone else in the body be bound and strangled by your freedom? The goal is not to do as you please now that you are in Christ but to help the body of Christ to grow in maturity and unity and love and to draw others to Christ. We must be careful with the freedom given to us through grace. We must be willing to give up what we think is permissible for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ. Paul had experienced immense hardship for the sake of the body of Christ and so that some might be saved. Think of what Christ gave up for our sakes! Our focus should not be on ourselves and what we are free to do in Christ but on Christ Himself and be willing to lay down our rights and freedoms so that someone else may be free in Christ and grow to maturity unhindered.

So whether it be for the sake of a nation or for the sake of the body of Christ and a person's salvation, we must be careful and selfless with our freedom. It is not to be taken lightly and not to be had at the expense of someone else's liberty.

Constitution Week

This week marks the 222nd anniversary of our Constitution.

Here are some quotes to commemorate it.

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” Patrick Henry

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. Thomas Jefferson

Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.

John Adams

The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries. John Adams

We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. John Adams

Happy Late 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!! Umm, well, maybe this is a little late! I actually started writing this on the 4th. Does that count? :)

Over this past year or so I have been reading about the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution. I have been enamored with it for some reason. As I watched the fireworks this year, I almost teared up as I recalled the sacrifices these men made to bring about the birth of a new nation. Did you remember that by writing and signing the Declaration of Independence they were making themselves known as traitors? They were committing an open act of treason against one of the longest running and most powerful empires in existence at that time. If any of them were caught they would have been hanged. Many of them lost their fortunes and their health as a result of their revolutionary endeavors to break away and form a government with roots in philosophical, "enlightenment" ideas many of them had been raised on and dreamed about. Sometimes I think we don't ponder these things enough.

Something to ponder. We may not like the "other party", whichever side that may be, but we should be thankful that we can have safe political dialogue. And elections, though sometimes the outcomes are highly contested or very disappointing, do not erupt in violence in the streets or even the threat of it. And not only should we be thankful, we should pray for those nations that do not enjoy the political freedoms that we do, that they will be ruled in peace and justice.

As a tribute to this holiday is an excerpt from the introduction of a book I am currently reading, Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis. It is very fitting for the recent celebration.

What distinguishes the American Revolutions from most, if not all, subsequent revolutions worthy of the name is that in the battle for supremacy, for the "true meaning" of the revolution, neither side completely triumphed. Here I do not just mean that the American Revoltuion did not "devour its own children" and lead to blood-soaked scenes at the guillotine or the firing-squad wall, though that is true enough. Instead, I mean that the revolutionary generation found a way to contain the explosive energies of the debate in the form of an ongoing argument or dialogue that was eventually institutionalized and rendered safe by the creation of political parties. The source of the disagreement... involv[es] conflicting attitudes toward government itself, competing versions of citizenship, differing postures toward the twin goals of freedom and equality.

But the key point is that the debate was not resolved so much as built into the fabric of the national identity... Why is it that there is a core of truth to the distinctive iconography of the American Revolution, which does not depict dramatic scenes of mass slaughter, but, instead, a gallery of well-dressed personalities in classical poses?

First, the achievement of the revolutionary generation was a collective enterprise that succeeded because of the diversity of personalities and ideologies present in the mix. [It is] not because any of them was perfect or infallible, but because their mutual imperfections and fallibilities, as well as their eccentricities and excesses, checked each other...

Second, they all knew one another personally, meaning they broke bread together, sat together at countless meetings, corresponded with one another about private as well as public matters. Politics...remained a face-to-face affair.

Third, they managed to take the most threatening and divisive issue off the political agenda. That issue, of course, was slavery, which was clearly incompatible with the principles of the American Revolution, no matter what version once championed. (Could they have tried to abolish slavery and manage to keep the nation? ) ... The revolutionary generation decided that the risks outweighed the prospects for succes; they quite self-consciously chose to defer the slavery question by placing any discussion of it out-of-bounds at both the national and federal level.

Fourth, they developed a keen sense of their historical significance even while they were making the history on which their reputations would rest...If they sometimes behaved like actors in a historical drama, that is often how they regarded themselves. ..We are the audience for which they were performing; knowing we would be watching helped to keep them on their best behavior.

Blog Highlight: Personal Responsibility

Hi All,

Here is a blog written by our pastor in Norman, OK on the personal responsibility required for a government of democracy vs the entitlement that is now often demanded. I thought this would be a good follow up to the John Adams entry. Mr. Adams would whole-heartedly agree!

Once Blessed, Now Entitled

John Adams

I have just finished, finally, the biography of John Adams by David McCullough for which McCullough won a Pulitzer Prize. I highly recommend this book! After reading a couple of other books on the American Revolution, I became intrigued with John Adams and decided to read more about him. Born in 1735, a native and life-long resident of Braintree/Quincy, Massachusetts, just 5 miles from Boston, Adams was a master of words, was highly educated, a graduate of Harvard and a lawyer, a thinker, and a political philosopher. His ideas are woven throughout the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. He collected books and read prolifically.

On the other hand, he loved farming, being outdoors, and enjoying nature on horse back or by walking from 5-10 miles a day, even 3 miles a day in his late 80’s. He had a great sense of humor but was prone to melancholy at times, although not surprisingly given the struggles in his life. He was highly opinionated and prided himself in his opinions, often quite stubbornly. And he dearly loved his wife, well documented by the thousands of letters that passed between them during their courtship and marriage.

In addition, he loved the Lord. He delighted in reading the Bible and worshiping on Sundays. He was mocked for his faith at times as President, especially when he called for a day of prayer and fasting with regard to the brewing unrest and uncertainty between France and the U.S. Adams was lauded all of his day for his consistent integrity and devotion to public and private virtue as pillars of democracy. He not only extoled the belief that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, he lived it out. He abhorred slavery and longed to see its end. He was one of the few original founding fathers who did not own slaves. He hired men out to work his farms instead. He was also financially wise and careful. Though he never considered himself a rich man, he was worth over $100,000 at the time of his death in 1826, at the age of 91.

His many accomplishments include service as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress, nominated George Washington as Commander of the Continental Army, served on the Revolutionary War Board among many other boards, served as a diplomat to France and Holland during the war as well as minister (ambassador) to the Court of St. James, wrote the Massachusetts constitution (“the oldest functioning written constitution in the world” p. 225), the first Vice President of the United States for two terms under George Washington and the second President of the United States. As president, amidst great controversy and opposition from his own party and others, he managed to keep the country out of war with France. He is also advocated for decades the need to create a defense of “wooden walls,” a navy, and under his administration, the Department of the Navy was established.

However, he is most remembered for the part he played in our country’s independence. Thomas Jefferson should most definitely be remembered for his gifted contribution to Declaration of Independence, but don’t forget John Adams. Jefferson came into the circle of revolution and independence only months before that July of 1776; Adams had been speaking and writing about it passionately for years. He was fervently devoted to the Revolutionary Cause, independence, self-government and the republic and remained so until his death. It has been said that although Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Adams was the voice for independence in his lengthy speeches and in his writings long before and up to the drafting of the Declaration. He was part of the “Committee of Five” chosen to draft the document. After discussing what would be put in the document, Jefferson was chosen to actually write it, undoubtedly for his undeniable talents with the quill. However, you’ll notice in the painting by John Trumball that depicted the signing of the Declaration, Adams is in the center, and I think, rightly so.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other...”The “turbulent maneuvers” of factions, he now wrote privately, could “tie the hands and destroy the influence” of every honest man with a desire to serve the public good. There was “division of sentiments over everything,” he told his son-in-law William Smith. “How few aim at the good of the whole, without aiming too much at the prosperity of the parts.” P 422.

So much had happened in John Adam’s life - he had done so much, taken such risks, given so much of himself heart and soul in the cause of his country - that he seems not to have viewed the presidency as an ultimate career objective or crowning life achievement. He was not one given to seeing life as a climb to the top of a ladder or mountain, but more as a journey or adventure, even a “kind of romance which a little embellished with fiction or exaggeration or only poetical ornament, would equal anything in the days of chivalry or knight errantry...” Pg. 476

About the French Revolution, Adams said, “Mankind will in time discover that unbridled majorities are as tyrannical and cruel as unlimited despots,” and he lamented that so much more blood would have to flow before the lesson was learned. P. 443-444

“There must be, however,” Adams responded, “more employment for the press in favor of the government than there has been, or the sour, angry, peevish, fretful, lying paragraphs which assail it on every side will make an impression on many weak and ignorant people.” P. 441

“Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially for the lower classes of people, are so extremely wise and useful that to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant.” Pg. 103

In correspondence to James Otis Warren on independence, Adams wrote, “All great changes are irksome to the human mind, especially those which are attended with great dangers and uncertain effects. No man living can foresee the consequences of such a measure...We may please ourselves with the prospect of free and popular governments. But there is great danger that those governments will not make us happy. God grant that they may. But I fear that in every assembly, members will obtain an influence by noise not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls... There is one thing, my dear sir, that must be attempted and most sacredly observed or we are all undone. There must be decency and respect, and veneration introduced for persons of authority of every rank, or we are undone. In a popular government, this is our only way. P. 104

In a letter to his granddaughter in his last days he wrote, “The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the more anxiously I inquire, the less I seem to know...Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. (Micah 6:8) This is enough... “