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Will America Remain, or Regain
The Status of "A Christian Nation?"
If so, there will be a price
The Status of "A Christian Nation?"
If so, there will be a price
to pay.
The old hymn writer, Isaac Watts wrote,
"Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?"
Have you ever wondered what happened to those fifty-six men who
signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured
before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two
lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons
captured. Nine fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the
Revolutionary War.
What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation
owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration
of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if
they were captured.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their
sacred honor.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his
ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and
properties to pay his debts and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was
forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the
Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His
possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer,
Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the
British General Cornwallis, had taken over the Nelson home for his
headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to
open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died
bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy
jailed his wife and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and gristmill were
laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves,
returning home after the war to find his wife dead, his children
vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken
heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.
These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. These were soft-
spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they
valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight and unwavering, they
pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other,
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
They gave us an independent America. Can we keep it? -copied
Click here to view an entire section of books on patriotism.
Prepare For Your Next Mission Conference:
Some of the greatest books with a mission emphasis in print can
The packet of thirty-four mission posters have been very popular,
and the books by Dr. Charles Keen are among the very best, but
regardless of which ones are your favorites they are all written to
inform, challenge, and encourage the fulfilling of the great commission
of our Lord.
Thank you for your prayers
and support for VBP.
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