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On Thursday, President Donald Trump celebrated the annual U.S. National Prayer Breakfast. The significance of the event must never be overlooked.
In a time where protesters swarmed a Minneapolis-area church and not only interrupted a church service but also brought fear to women, children, and congregants, it serves Americans well to think deeply about the precious rights found within the First Amendment.
Has chaos ensued, attacking the very church that helped form the nation?
Admittedly, the nation is separated by church and state. The brilliance of such a safeguard has protected all religions since its formation and has inarguably assisted in the development of some of the largest Protestant bodies of Christianity. In return, Americans since the nation’s founding have played a crucial role in the Great Commission, sharing the Gospel to all who will ‘hear’ across the land and the globe.
While the separation remains distinct, it is also important to remember the Christian foundations of the nation. Most signers of the Declaration were indeed Protestant Christians. The language of not only the Declaration but also the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution acknowledges a Creator and links Scriptural teachings of freedom from bondage—emulating the teachings of Christ—to governance and to its rights, purpose, role, and responsibility.
Whether it’s Gallup polls or simple observations of an American city, suburb, or rural town, it doesn’t take long to realize that America has a morality problem. The Founders knew that Christian teachings were intrinsically connected to law and order and to societal standards. As soon as you remove biblical standards, which have long helped govern the societies of most great civilizations in history, mere humans are left as the moral teachers and idea-makers.
The Church has changed, with a notable decline in men leaving church positions or even attending altogether. In the age of COVID, one can easily choose not to attend church and instead tune in to an online sermon. A common argument heard is “Jesus is in your heart, religion and denominations separate too much.” While perhaps not harmful at first glance, such logic has made the problem increasingly worse.
Faith was never meant to exist apart from Christ’s Word, His Church, and the life they form.
The Church has always had a responsibility to be involved in societal matters. The Puritans knew this regarding education. The Roman Catholic Church understood this and shaped culture, law, and moral formation, impacting generations for centuries. Similarly, Martin Luther taught that education shaped both faith and society.
It was Zacharias Ursinus, under the direction of Frederick III, who created the Heidelberg Catechism during the Reformation. What was the purpose? It was simple: to teach the population not only to know God and His standards, but also to carry those ideas into life and practice. It is no coincidence that catechizing often centered on youth and those completely unfamiliar with the Christian faith.
It would do American Christians well to remember Frederick III’s ideas. Frederick recognized that as his society or subjects went, so did his standing and blessings in God’s eyes.
A world without Christ is chaos, remarked David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War I.
The United States has been home to two Great Awakenings, revivals centered on mass crowds, and home to hundreds, if not thousands, of denominations. The foundation is there, but it is the people who must be formed, taught, and disciplined in whether they will follow Christ or the ways of the world.
It has long been the question of every generation, since the life of Christ: Are you living as a member of Christ’s body, the Church?
Where is your hope, morality, and salvation found?
The future of the United States does not revolve around how powerful the military is, how economically prosperous the nation is, or how technologically developed it is, but rather how faithful to Jesus Christ the people are.
The Patriots understood this; the Greatest Generation did; and the current generation would do well to follow in history’s right steps.
