Thirteen colonies each with its own version of Christianity fought with determination, driven by the fear of government (state) controlled religion, for a constitution that would allow individual freedom of worship. Yes, each and every colony recognized the existence of God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Spirit which indwells the Christian life. The battle was over ecclesiastical accession, which version of Christianity was best. Every state constitution sought the protection and guidance of Almighty God. Not a single one disavowed the existence of one Almighty God and the need for His protection. http://www.usconstitution.net/stateconst.html

A comprise reached for the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” was in large part reached at the insistence of Rhode Island. They recognized that in matters of religion no man can control the thoughts and aspirations of another. Each of God’s human creations must arrive at what he believes on his own. He or she must put aside familial values and social traditions and become accountable for his or her own thoughts and actions for all will eventually stand before the judgment set of God!

This battle of free will, the right of man to think and worship as he pleases is not and cannot be controlled by society. Thomas Jefferson quoted the first amendment to the constitution "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" calling it a “wall of separation between Church & State.” This phrase pulled out of context has been used to totally reverse the meaning of his position on the subject. As a result a plan to allow the free worship of God has now been used to prohibit the worship of God. How shocked would the signers of the Constitution be today? We are on the brink of failure as a nation because we have removed religion from our society. We do not teach Christianity or any moral values to our children. We are in what is perhaps the greatest struggle in the history of mankind between free will and totalitarian Theological control by force?

Jefferson clarified his statement by saying that “Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.”

Social duties require that everyone conforms to the laws and expectations of society and failure to do so results in punishment. Religious laws, man-made laws or the expectations of a society cannot restore to man all his natural rights, those given by God, the struggle started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Man’s free will, “a spirit of liberty and independence” can only be controlled by the internal Holy Spirit. The legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions. “The rights of conscience are, indeed, beyond the just reach of any human power. They are given by God, and cannot be encroached upon by human authority, without a criminal disobedience or, the precepts of natural, as well as revealed religion”, John Locke.

This struggle between free will and law is not new to our society today. An attempt to make it a matter of state policy to hold all Christian religions in utter indifference would have created universal disapprobation, if not universal indignation when the Constitution was signed. The foundation of the nation was on the Judeo / Christian religion where laws were written based on the Ten Commandments to be followed by those who were not controlled internally by the Spirit. Punishment and forgiveness are integral parts of our society as is the desire to help others in ways never before seen on a national basis. We are not a welfare state but rather a state that teaches individual responsibility and potential for individual success beyond compare.

As a Nation we have now reached a critical time that will ultimately determine if we can survive. As Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story said, “It yet remains a problem to be solved in human affairs, whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state in any assignable shape. The future experience of Christendom, and chiefly of the American states, must settle this problem, as yet new in the history of the world, abundant, as it has been, in experiments in the theory of government.” We have come to a decision point.

Do we support the Christian heritage of our foundation that has resulted in the greatest nation in History or succumb to the vile desires of a sea of unrestrained humanity?

There are only two options either we teach the Christian religion upon which we were founded (internal self-control) are we rely upon laws and the people who write them and enforce them to control our society. History has taught us many times over that laws cannot be enforced only obeyed by those who choose to do so. The more laws created by a society the less likely they are to be obeyed and the more difficult it becomes to punish those whose actions do not comply.

We must teach self control and individual responsibility or we will be forced into submission of a powerful dictator or another religion. A democratic society cannot survive without constraints. From the time of Rome and Plato’s “Republic” we have known that and individual given the option of voting for or working for the necessities of life will choose to vote. The result; eventually more people will be living on the largess of the wealthy and a few workers than are working. When that happens less than 1% of the population can determine what happens to the other 99%. It is only a matter of time before a dominate leader from the 1% becomes the dictator of the whole country in order to maintain control. At present “Since financial wealth is what counts as far as the control of income-producing assets, we can say that just 10% of the people own the United States of America.”

The control of another religion may be even more terrifying. From the Bible opened to Deuteronomy 28, the place that George Washington placed his hand as a prayer for his fist inauguration as President of the United States of America, we find all of the Blessings for Obedience in verses 1-14. We have truly received all those blessings as a nation. God has set us high above all the nations in the history of the earth.
The problem is we have stopped following God. We have now moved beyond verse 14 into the land of Disobedience and we will surely be cursed as a result.

“the LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.”