By: Donna Martin
As Christian parents it is our responsibility to teach our children the Christian values that we believe. One of those values is to teach our children to be good citizens. A good citizen votes. Actions speak louder than words, therefore, even though you are a very busy parent, you need to take time to vote. Much is at stake in this election. Not only are we voting for a new president, but that president will be responsible for selecting one and possibly more Supreme Court Justices. Through the years the Supreme Court has made decisions that have drastically limited the religious freedoms that our parents and grandparents once enjoyed in our country. As a child I remember my sixth grade teacher reading a Bible verse to us every morning. I remember having prayers in class. We would pray before we ate lunch. In high school a student would say a prayer over the intercom as we began our day. In the early days of our country children learned to read and write using the Bible. Our forefathers intended for our country to be a “Christian” nation, as is evident in the statements and writings of the men who signed the Constitution. 52 of the 55 men who signed the Constitution were Evangelical Christians.
Below are a few of the rulings of the Supreme Court in the early days of our country.
In 1844 this decision was stated by the US Supreme Court:
“Why may not the Bible, and especially the New Testament be read and taught as a divine revelation in the school? Where can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament?” Vidal v Girard's Executors, 2 How. 127 (1844)
In 1892 the US Supreme Court made this decision:
“Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It's impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian... This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation... we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.” Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, The United States Supreme Court, 143 U.S. 457, 12 S.Ct. 511, 36 L.Ed. 226 (1892)
Current legislation has done much to corrode the values of our nation. As Christian parents we must teach Christian values to our children. Talk to your children about the freedoms that we still have in our country. Discuss political issues. Encourage older children to read one news article each day and then discuss it at dinner. Pray for our country and for our leaders together as a family. Talk about moral issues like abortion, marriage, divorce, drug and alcohol use and other issues for which your child may be called upon to take a stand.
I would urge you to listen to Pastor Jeffers message “America is a Christian Nation” which was on Pathway to Victory on October 25, 2016. You can listen to it only by going to this website.
http://ptv.org/broadcasts/america-is-a-christian-nation-3/?popup=true
The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations. To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.” They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues. You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.