In this compelling episode, we take a deep dive into the founding principles of the United States and how they resonate—or fail to resonate—in today’s society. From the hot and tumultuous summer days when the Declaration of Independence was crafted to the erasure of religious expressions from public life, we explore the lasting impact of America’s Christian foundations. With historical anecdotes and modern legal battles, this episode blends history with the present, asking probing questions about America’s identity as a city set on a hill. As international relations continue to evolve, we discuss burgeoning anti-American sentiments abroad juxtaposed with
If we were to look at all of these buildings, and I’m just really scratching the surface. I mean, there’s so much more that time doesn’t afford me the opportunity to go into any more than this. But I think you get the idea that our nation, our Christian foundation, was set on a hill that cannot be hid. If we look at the Declaration of Independence, that started the whole thing. That was the very first thing that birthed our nation. we would find that as this group of men gathered together on hot summer days, and remember they didn’t have air conditioning, and there they sat in their white powder wigs, and their ruffled collars up to here and down to here, and their tights on, and there they sat in those hot, un-air-conditioned buildings, and they had come together for their convention so that they could put together their official document that would become the Declaration of Independence. They labored for three hot, sweaty weeks and got nowhere. They looked at all the forms of government throughout Europe, looking for a model, some model that would speak to them, after which they could model this government of the United States. But they couldn’t find anything They found nothing that was what they felt that God wanted for this nation. So after three sweaty, long, miserable weeks, a short, stocky, bespeckled man stood up by the name of Benjamin Franklin, and he said, and I quote, I have lived a long time, and the longer I live… the more convincing proofs I see of the truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, it is probable that no empire can rise without his aid. We have been assured, sirs, in the sacred writings, in case you don’t know what that is, that’s the Bible, that except the Lord build a house, They labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.” Because a city set on a hill cannot be hid. They were not out to build a babel. They were out to build a city of righteousness that cannot be hid. And so they penned the Declaration that has given us the legacy of our freedom, and I guess its most recognizable, famous words of the entire Declaration are these. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. And at the end of the Declaration, and for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. Because America was going to be like unto a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. And isn’t it sad today that in our public schools they cannot teach creationism? Our very Declaration says these truths are self-evident. All men are created, not all men evolve. equally, but are created equally. And they had a designer and a creator. And they had been endowed with certain rights of that creator. That’s our declaration. That’s what started this nation. That’s what birthed this nation. That’s where this nation was conceived. And today, it’s illegal. to teach creationism in our public schools. What has become of that city set on a hill that cannot be hid? Today, our pledge to the flag, one nation under God. Now, you know, a lot was going on prior to September 11th, little by little by little. I shouldn’t say little by little. I should say lot by lot by lot. Our Christian influences were being erased. Baltimore has the dubious distinction of being the city where Madeline Murray O’Hare lived and brought the lawsuit that allowed prayers to be taken out of school. And as we approached September 11, more and more of these things were happening, but we thought that post-September 11, there would be a change. And there was, but the devil doesn’t lay down and play possum. And it was only a matter of two weeks after the terrible tragedy when all around on marquees from McDonald’s to public schools, to wherever you went, to signs and windows of stores, God bless America, God bless America, everywhere you turn, God bless America. You could buy everything from pins to tie tacks to coffee mugs with God bless America. And an elementary school out in California, had, God bless America, on their marquee, and a parent sued to have that removed. So you see, the devil is still busy, and we have got to still be busy. And now, just recently, just recently, California, a father in California sued, and the case went to the federal court of the 9th District that takes in that part of California where he is. He sued to have, under God, taken out of the Pledge. How many know that story? And the thing about it was it was splashed all over the news when that first came to be. Every news channel carried this story. But only the Christian news channels, a few days later, bothered to tell the story that he said he wanted that taken out of the pledge because his little eight-year-old daughter would be offended, should she have to say, under God. But it turned out, and no one reported this but only the news of Christian stations, that his little eight-year-old daughter doesn’t even live with him. His little eight-year-old daughter lives with her mother. They’re not married anymore. They are Christians. They go to a Pentecostal church, and she doesn’t have a problem with staying under God. She didn’t have anything to do with it. But of course he couldn’t bring that lawsuit on his own behalf. He had to make, don’t you think the way that news reporters usually dig up, they dig up dirt where there is none. They got super vacuum cleaners to get in all the corners. They dig up all the dirt because the first law of any decent news reporter is to check your sources. Make sure your story is correct the best that you possibly can they couldn’t even try to check the story because the girls didn’t even live with their father and And she lives with her mother. She’s a Christian and goes to a Pentecostal church. That reporter that started that, that lawyer who took the case, what kind of lawyer? Doesn’t check. Didn’t he think it was going to come out and come to light? But it shows you the fanaticism. It shows you that it’s almost, they’re so fanatical, they’re like rabid dogs to jump on something. How many say amen? But in this case, it backfired. because now there’s a stay and it’s got to go to the higher court appeals, but I think having all this brought to light, I don’t see where he’s got a leg to stand on. But do you know that didn’t discourage him? This man is just so, I guess he’s just got a demon sitting on his shoulder. Now he wants to bring a lawsuit to us. Fourth, how many know that the Senate and the Congress both have their own chaplains? They have had them since day one. Since George Washington took the first office in the first Senate and the first Congress, they have had a chaplain. Each one has their own chaplain. And they pray, and if a senator or a congressman wants to, on his own volition, he can go to his chaplain and get counsel or get prayer or whatever he needs. And this same man who wanted to get under God taken out of the pledge, now he’s suing to have it forced that they can no longer have those chaplains because they’re being paid for with taxpayer money. So what I want you to see is, I hope that you see, that we’re supposed to be a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. But if we’re not careful… And if we think that everything is just smooth, we’ve got to be just as zealous, just as fervent. How many say amen? And we’ve got to stand up for our liberties. If we don’t, we’re not going to have them. I want to show you that the warfare, the demonic warfare that’s at work in the spiritual places against America is both internal and external. I cannot believe after… What has happened to our nation? And the pictures flashed around the world of that horrible scene in New York and Washington and such. And the stories, at first, everybody, all the nations and all of the rulers were sending their sympathies and their regrets and saying, we stand with you, we’re against terrorism, no matter what their political views are. We just abhor this terrible act. Now, Europe hates America. They’ve got signs up. They hate George Bush. They’ve got all these signs up. They say that America is so selfish. All she cares about is getting more power. Now, I want you to know, how many know the nation that gave us the Statue of Liberty? France. It was a gift from France. Because there were certain people in France that so admired France our form of government. They so admired what had taken place in this tiny little nation. And how many know that during the Revolutionary War, it was the French with Lafayette and others that helped when George Washington, in some cases, they were going to lose, and the French came in and helped them. Now, at that point, they were doing it for a selfish reason, because they wanted to be able to control the fur trade and such and such, and it was a big war between England and France, even in Europe, so of course the French came in partly as a selfish thing. But that Statue of Liberty that was given to us, that was given to us 100 years later. And it was because they admired our form of government, and they gave it as a symbol of the freedom of this nation. And today, one of the most vicious nations that are standing against America is France. They hate America. They have gone so far as to say that one of their authors just released a book in 10 languages, 10 languages, called 9-11, The Big Lie. And they accuse America and people within the government and people, you know, they don’t name who they are, but that we staged this whole thing. We staged that horrible, terrible thing so that it would allow us and give us an excuse to rise up and retaliate and increase our power. I mean, what kind of people would we be? I mean, what kind of people would stage such a thing to kill their own people? But this is the kind of sentiment that is taking place around America. They hate us. They hate everything about us. They say we’re warmongers, we only care about ourselves, we only care about our needs. Do you know they even destroyed, I don’t know what this good it does, but it’s just the idea. It shows you the rabid mentality. They destroyed a McDonald’s over there in one of the towns or cities, I forget where it was, in France, just to show they’re anti-America. This is France who gave us the Statue of Liberty. Saints, we’ve got to be praying. We can’t just think, oh, well, I’ll just let everybody up there in Washington take care of it and I’ll worry about my own self. Because We’re the only ones standing with Israel, and I believe that most of the blessings that are upon us is because we’re standing with Israel. But now all these nations are turning against us, and they’re tightening the screws against us. How long will America stand for her principles? Will she bow? If she does, we’re in big trouble. It’s bad enough when you got the devil after you. It’s bad enough when you got Al-Qaeda after you. It’s bad enough when you got a bunch of crazy people after you. It’s bad enough when all the nations of the world are against you. But don’t get God mad at you. And if we turn on Israel, we are going to cause God to pull the hedge back even more. You see, it’s not so much that God is not blessing us, it’s that he’s pulled the hedge of protection back and let us see what would happen if we don’t have the hedge around us. So it was the France that gave us that Statue of Liberty. And of course you know that engraved on the bottom of that beautiful statue is this poem by Emma Lazarus. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these homeless tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. Because America is not only a city set on a hill that cannot be hid, but America is a golden door for all of those who yearn for liberty and freedom and to serve God in liberty and in truth. I want to talk about the golden door. I want to take you first to 1 Corinthians 16, 9. I’ll read this, and then we’ll turn to other verses. If you want to turn to it, you can.
