Ben Franklin Rebukes the Constitutional Convention

As an historian and a Christian, I am dumbfounded when I hear the founding fathers were NOT Christians, men of faith or that the United States were not founded on Judaeo-Christian values. People will go to any length to hide from the truth.  As Winston Churchill once quipped "Truth is so powerful, it is surrounded by a bodyguard of lies."  How prescient and wise that comment was in his time and still is today.

However, I wanted to write today, June 28, as it was on this day in 1787 when Ben Franklin delivered the longest speech he gave to the Constitutional Convention.

Since 1754 when he was the first person to utter "United States" he had a dream of UNITING the colonies into a single, harmonious nation. No small feat at the time when we were but fledgling colonies and still had a royal yoke upon us and a revolutionary war to fight against the mightiest Army and Navy at the time.

Fast forward to June 28, 1787. The Constitutional Convention was starting to fall apart as each colony had their own vision of what we should be and how to effect those ends (none felt uniting was the smart plan). After days of bickering, the common thread started to unravel and the hopes of a United States of America began to dim in the eyes of a seasoned and very mature Ben Franklin. At 81, he was easily the oldest, and you might argue the wisest, among a crowd of very smart and focused leaders. Which may explain why the his "long" speech was so concise yet so compelling and rooted in the Word.

Mr Franklin rose from his chair and and delivered the following speech to his colleagues:

"In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were, in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights, to illuminate our understanding?

"In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers were heard, and they were graciously answered.

"All of us engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending power Providence in our favor. And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend?  Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God governs the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it'. I firmly believe this; and I also believe without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel, and we shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages.

Franklin is seen here in grey seated center, with a cane.

"I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business."

14 sentences quoting 14 Biblical verses.

Considering Franklin was not one of the most spiritual of the founding fathers, I find it rather amazing that HE would invoke the Almighty to call the delegates to stop acting like idiots, remind them WHO got them to where they were in the first place, and seek His guidance in following the advice given in the Bible to have a republican form of government. (Exodus 18:21)

The Constitutional Convention suspended deliberation for 3 days of prayer and reflection. When they reconvened, egos and myopic agenda were left in the street and what was previously hailed as preposterous was now greeted with eager embracement by all delegates. Thus, the birth of our Constitutional Republic as we know it today.

The danger we as a nation face today, is as we allow egg-head academicians and people wise only in the world tell us how history "really" was when they have been educated with revisionist history, we move further and further from truth.  Our children are inheriting a nation of liberty we are not able to adequately explain to them without the Bible and consequently have to apologize for.

As we permit this to happen, we fail to grasp the rarity and how unique our nation's foundation and the longevity of our Constitution is as we have celebrated 200+ years of a Constitutional Republic. We forget how this nation grew from a rag-tag group of farmers and business people to a super-power defeating foe in two consecutive world wars in only 150 years. Today, there are many people, even many proclaiming to be Christians, who decry the moniker of the U.S. being an exceptional nation for their understanding of the term has been grotesquely misconstrued and history taught to them with half-truths in the hopes of establishing social justice.

Ironically the Bible itself tells us about being servants to others, having social justice and how to run a nation all in the same pages.

*This article was inspired by David Barton, Founder of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built

School - God - Prayer = teenage immorality & sex

Tyra Banks is shocked at what our teenagers are telling us. Why? Why is this such a surprise when we take God and prayer out of school? Why is this such a surprise when we put condoms in school and teach birth control vs. abstinence? Why is this such a surprise when we fawn over Jamie Spears for having a child out of wedlock, and are constantly exposed to sex in everything from gym socks to cigarettes during prime time t.v.?

Yeah- its a real mystery to me too! Some startling facts:

• On average, girls are losing their virginity at 15 years of age.
• 14 percent of teens who are having sex say they’re doing it at school.
• 52 percent of survey respondents say they do not use protection when having sex.
• One in three says she fears having a sexually transmitted disease.
• 24 percent of teens with STDs say they still have unprotected sex.
• One in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom.
• About 50 percent acknowledge that they’ve hit someone.
• One out of three teens has tried drugs.

What say you? Are you tired of our children being exploited and exposed to the worst we have to offer? Is it any wonder the Muslims find us and our entertainment habits reprehensible? We pipe this garbage onto the airwaves make celebrities out of people who were not able to finish their education because they were called to acting or whatever lame excuse they use for not finishing their education.

One in 5 girls wants to be a mom. Wow. If they had any clue how much it takes to be a MOTHER, they would run for the hills. But again, we are lauding Jamie Spears for her pregnancy and showing it CAN work. Yeah- if you are wealthy and can afford a nanny! But that isn't real life! Most of us know how difficult it is when someone is TOTALLY dependent on you for survival. I think if we were to take away the mobile phones of these wanna be mommies and ensure they stay home Friday and Saturday nights for a while, the novelty would wear off. Perhaps we should look at it as at least 1 in 5 is not wanting to get pregnant to have an abortion.

I am all for freedom. In fact, if I think might want to watch something of poor moral character, I should have the right to make that decision. But I should also have the right to ensure my children are exposed to the proper influences while they are at school, and in my opinion, there is no better influence than that of God, and for making people accountable for their decisions.