The Bible's influence on America

The Bible's influence on America
By George Konig
www.konig.org

With all that's going on in Alabama in the fight over the stone monument of the 10 Commandments, I came across some interesting quotes from some of our most famous statesmen, including some of our most influential presidents and some of the founding fathers of this country.

Some people like to claim that some of the founding fathers of our nation were not Christian, as though that would be reason enough to erase any mention of God from every public place in America. And, very often, the very first example they give is Thomas Jefferson, claiming that although he believed in God, he was not a Christian. Well, no one other than Thomas Jefferson himself, and God himself, really know the full story of his beliefs, but we do have this quote from Jefferson as to what he thought about the Christian Bible:

"I have always said, I always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3rd President of the United States.

And Jefferson wasn't the only early U.S. president who felt this way:

"So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country and respectable members of society."
- John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), 6th President of the United States.

An American legal scholar who was a contemporary of President Adams spoke of the Bible in a similar way, with additional detail:

"The general diffusion of the Bible is the most effectual way to civilize and humanize mankind ; to purify and exalt the general system of public morals ; to give efficacy to the just precepts of international and municipal law ; to enforce the observance of prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude ; and to improve all the relations of social and domestic life."
- James Kent (1763-1847), American legal scholar.

There are many other comments about the Bible's impact on America by past presidents and statesmen. If you wish to learn more about the Bible, consider visiting www.about-jesus.org/bible.htm. Some of our past presidents not only believed that the Bible helped shape the establishment of our country, they also believed that the Bible is needed to guide our future:

"Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties ; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future."
- Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), 18th President of the United States.

The above quotations truly are only a small sampling of similar quotes about the Christian Bible's impact on the United States. If there is any doubt in your mind about the Bible's influence on America, here's one more quote from a U.S. president:

"That Book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests."
- Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), 7th President of the United States.

Copyright © George Konig

By George Konig
www.konig.org
Sept. 7, 2003