HAPPY 4th of July Friends.

I just wanted to wish all of my Garden Stewbies that are celebrating our 4th of July Independence Day holiday here in the US.
We have so many freedoms in this, and other nations. I pray that we never take those freedoms for granted, or miss use them.
God has truly blessed America. I love this nation so very much and the Christian principles it was founded on. Those God give principles that we live by are what truly sets us free to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Hope you have a safe and blessed 4th of July celebration.

 

Please remember that the USA wasn't founded on Christian principles, and isn't a Christian nation. This was made clear by the writings of our founding fathers, and is explicitly stated in the Treaty of Tripoli. The treaty was ratified by a unanimous vote of the US Senate in 1797. The USA was founded on principles that start with the Code of Hammurabi, the ancient Greeks, the Magna Carta, and many others. The founding fathers were, for the most part, Deists, not Christians, and were careful to word the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights to ensure that we would be free to worship as we see fit, but would also be free from religion if we chose to be so. We owe the foundations of our freedoms to those who forged the concepts of a free and open society only limited by laws designed to prevent conflict. We owe our continued freedom to the brave men and women who stand ready to defend it at a moments notice. To limit the scope, and history, of our freedoms to a single faith is, at best, disingenuous. America truly is "The Great Melting Pot." We welcome all who cherish freedom. We are not a Christian nation, we are a nation of people that know the value of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." One faith neither defines us, or drives us. We are driven by the desire for freedom. July 4th is a celebration of that freedom, and homage to those who set us on this path, and a day to honor those who keep that path clear.

 

We didn't do anything this year on the 4th...it was just like any other day for us....mostly gardening and watching the birds. I hope you had a great day ....we see the fireworks when we go to the ball games so we didn't go out and fight the crowds.

 

Ah Roy. This has been debated for centuries and probably will continue to be. I for one can not ignore the way Christian principles are woven throughout our Nation.
Historian Larry Scheveikart notes...."The founding documents of every one of the Thirteen original colonies reveal them to be awash in the concepts of Christianity and God". Our founders disagreed on much, but were nearly unanimous concerning biblical morality.
Even Jefferson and Franklin perceived morality through a biblical prism, but distrusted the trapping's of organized religion. They might have scoffed at the first four biblical commandments of man's duties before God, (Jefferson upon penning the Virginia bill-prescribed harsh penalities for violating the Sabbath) but they absolutely esteemed (even if not always lived) the latter six biblical commandments about loving others. There are many articles that will give reasons why and why not America was founded on Christian principles or not.
Much of our biblical heritage has been distorted, misrepresented, or twisted to fit non biblical reasoning.
I for one believe that God has established this nation upon His divine principles---- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One Nation under God, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. How many of us started each school day proclaiming what America is.