A Time to be Thankful - A Time for Concern

Published in the November 26, 2010 edition of the Lynchburg Ledger 

By Bill Wheaton

Press Media Group, LLC

On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office and became the first President of the United States.  Six months later, President Washington proclaimed the nation’s first national Day of Thanksgiving.

His proclamation said in part:  “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…”   The proclamation continued, “…that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions…” the proclamation ended, “Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3^rd of October, A.D. 1789.”  Thus began the official observance of Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims, who are credited for holding the first Thanksgiving, although the colony at Jamestown was actually first, briefly experimented with socialism.  They established a collective farm and everyone was to benefit regardless of effort expended.  Although they were deeply religious, they were also human.  Having nearly starved after the first year, they quickly abandoned the collective farm and allocated plots to individual families who could plant what they wished. 

After adopting the capitalistic system, they never went hungry again.  Although socialism fails every time it is tried, still today we see Obama and the Democrats embracing socialism as Europe is casting off its shackles.

The freedom of religion we enjoy today, although increasingly under attack from the liberal left, has not always been an entitlement. There was much religious persecution in colonial America.

Roger Williams came to Puritan Salem, Massachusetts in 1631.  As a Baptist, he shared the same basic Christian doctrine with the Puritans, but differed on practices, particularly baptism.  The Puritans tried and condemned Williams, and he fled in the winter of 1635-36, eventually founding the colony of Rhode Island.

Just as Roger Williams was leaving, Robert Wheaton, also a Baptist, was arriving.  He refused to take the Puritan oath, and being judged a “pestilential fellow,” was expelled from Salem in 1638.  He later founded the town of Swansea in Massachusetts.  (I have yet to determine if I am related.)

But as bad as it was in Salem, Virginia was worse.  The Anglican Church was the official tax-supported state religion, and controlled all religious activity. 

The first recorded imprisonment of Baptist preachers in Virginia, charged with preaching the gospel without a license, was on June 4, 1768 in Fredericksburg.  In the years that followed, Baptist preachers were threatened, arrested and some beaten.  From Chantilly to Tappahannock and from Berryville to Culpeper, Baptist preachers were routinely persecuted. 

However, in Fredericksburg on October 16, 1777, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, and Thomas Ludwell Lee, deliberating for hours, produced the first draft of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, which became the foundation of our religious freedom today.  It is also one of the founding documents Virginia students are to study in depth and is incorporated into the Constitution of Virginia.

The founders never intended to prohibit the federal government from promoting and supporting religious beliefs. Congress hired chaplains for itself and the military and appropriated funds to print Bibles. Washington said, “Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”

But today many atheists, agnostics, and other pagans who are in rebellion against God’s authority, simply ignore history.

The founders realized for them to have religious freedom, all must have religious freedom, Christian and non-Christian alike.  Jews, Muslims, Hindu’s, Buddhists and Sikhs all enjoy equal protection.

Unfortunately, this mutual respect is not reciprocated in Muslim nations where there is open hostility to Christianity.  Just try to bring a Bible into Saudi Arabia and see what happens.

Christianity is not only under attack in Muslim counties, but also right here at home.

On some American college campuses, Christian groups and ministries are threatened by the “politically correct” virtue of tolerance.  When homosexuals are denied leadership positions in Christian organizations, the organizations are branded as intolerant and come under attack.

Many of our public schools continue to show open hostility to Christianity.  This is evident around this time of year when our nation celebrates two federal holidays of Christian origin, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

So during this Thanksgiving, we should be thankful for the blessings and freedom we still have and reflect on our nation’s future.  The recent election demonstrated the people are not ready to embrace the liberal agenda.  However, much of the damage has already been done.

The nuclear family, the foundation of our nation, is under attack.  In a recent survey, 40 percent stated marriage is becoming obsolete.  In the black community, we see up to 70 percent of children born out of wedlock, a direct result of the liberals “war on poverty:” from the 1960’s.  Poverty has won.

The homosexual agenda continues its assault on our national morality by demanding same-sex marriage.  Whenever the people have an opportunity to voice their opinion, the homosexual agenda fails.  It is the unelected judges in our courts forcing the homosexual agenda down out throats.

The question we need to ask ourselves this Thanksgiving is will we once again put ourselves under subjection to God’s authority and reap the blessings; or will we follow the advice of the self-proclaimed experts and remain in rebellion to God’s authority and reap the consequences?