The Sudarium of Oviedo. Additional evidence of the Shroud’s authenticity comes from the recent research on the Sudarium of Oviedo, an ancient bloodstained linen cloth the size of a small towel which is claimed to have covered the head of Jesus after his crucifixion (see John 20:5-7).
Monthly Archives: March 2015
The Rational Basis for Easter – Part 2
The Image of the Man in the Shroud. As for the image of the Man in the Shroud, research likewise indicates it is no hoax. The blood stains are real (type AB) and contain human male DNA. The man was about 5’ 11” and weighed about 170 pounds. The Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), a group of scientists who began researching the Shroud in 1978, stated in its report: “…the actual image was created by a phenomenon (as yet unknown) or a momentous event that caused…a sepia or straw-yellow colored image similar to that of a scorch.”
The Rational Basis for Easter—Part 1
The central belief of Christianity is this: Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, was placed in a tomb, covered with a burial cloth and on Easter rose from death in a resurrected body. Believers celebrate that, taking it on faith. Continue Reading…
America’s Foundation Is Spiritual, Not Political—Part 2
American self-government is based on these eight fundamental ideas which our Founders held:
1. First, the fountainhead of American government and society is God. God is the mighty author of our existence and the moral authority for our laws. Our Founders declared it was “self-evident” truth. The Declaration of Independence contains four references to deity. They are “Nature’s God,” “Creator,” “Supreme Judge of the world” and “Divine Providence.” (John Adams also called God “the Spirit of Liberty.”) These terms make clear that in the political theory expressed by the Founders of America, God, not government, is the source of our freedom, our sovereignty, our equality, our rights, our justice, our human dignity and all else which creates a good society. Therefore we are “one Nation under God.”
2. The second fundamental idea is this: We are made in the image and likeness of God, and by virtue of our spiritual nature, every human being is sacred, sovereign and inviolable. Therefore, as the Declaration of Independence puts it, “all men are created equal.”
3. The third fundamental idea upholding America is this: God’s purpose in granting us freedom is to use it to show forth His glory in our entire existence. Some Founders, such as John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, referred to America as the New Jerusalem and the New Israel. By that they meant not a Jewish nation but rather a God-centered society whose will was to reflect heaven on earth. In that way, our pursuit of happiness would be permanently and abundantly fulfilled.
4. The fourth fundamental idea is this: Because all freedom comes from God, it carries an inherent responsibility to use it properly—that is, morally and lawfully—to fulfill our obligation to our Creator. Freedom and responsibility are therefore intimately related; without responsibility, liberty becomes libertinism or immoral, destructive behavior.
5. Idea number five: Our political experiment in self-government is predicated on each citizen governing himself morally and taking personal responsibility for his or her words and deeds. The more we obey God’s laws, the less need there is for man’s laws. The result is a godly society dedicated to glorifying our Creator. However, an immoral people is incapable of self-government. Any government it may set up will devalue honor, honesty and civility; it will legalize plundering, abridge rights and erode freedom.
6. Idea number six: Government has always been the greatest enemy of freedom, and therefore our Founders wrote a Constitution which established a minimal government for what was deemed necessary at the federal level, leaving all other powers and rights to the states and to the people themselves. The authority of the federal government was delegated by “we the people” and its powers were strictly enumerated and defined. Our Founders wanted freedom from government, not dependence on government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are, in simplest terms, a carefully devised system to govern the government, not the people. They were not written to restrict the citizens of America; they were written to restrict the government and to protect our rights and liberty.
7. Idea number seven: Although God is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence provided the philosophical and metaphysical framework for the system of government established in the Constitution. Moreover, the Founders expected that government officials would conduct themselves in accordance with that moral view of life. The American theory of government reflects the Founders’ understanding that God demands moral behavior of us all as the basis for growth to deeper understanding of our nature and destiny. Elected officials are required to take an oath or to affirm that they will support the Constitution. Obviously, supporting the Constitution means upholding and honoring the fundamental principles it embodies.
8. Last of all, our Founders wisely separated church and state, but not God and state. We have a secular government but a religious society. Our government makes no religious test of civic officials but nevertheless requires moral behavior of them, using moral standards arising from Judeo-Christianity, especially the Ten Commandments which became part of the basis of English—and hence American—civil law. God and nation are one. However, the Creator whom we recognize as the fountainhead of American government and society is not the exclusive property of any denomination. The First Amendment prohibits any denomination from becoming the established, official religion of America; likewise it prohibits government from interfering with religious freedom and thereby allows full public expression of religion according to one’s conscience.
Of all political documents in history, only the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution offer a seamless theory and practice of enlightened government. Together, they address all levels of our existence. From the physical through the mental to the spiritual, from the individual through the local, state and federal government, they declare God as the divine basis of our existence. We are one nation under God. Patriots honor that in word and deed.
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Church and State v. God and State—Part 2
As yet another proof that our Founders recognized God as the ultimate authority for our government and our society, consider the symbolism of the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. It shows a 13-step pyramid representing the 13 original states, placed under what the designer described as “the Eye of Providence.” The Latin words Annuit Coeptis, meaning “He [God] has favored our undertakings,” float above the scene. The seal was approved after six years of deliberation over various designs. Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson reported to the Congress that “The Eye over & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.”
If the doctrine of separation of church and state had been intended by the Founders to keep God and religion out of government, does it seem reasonable that such direct references to deity would have been approved for the official signature of our nation? Of course not!
The assault on religion in general, and especially on Christianity, which is under way today from many quarters—ranging from the ACLU, atheists and liberals to the Obama administration’s hidden war on the military—is ultimately intended to overthrow the religio-spiritual foundation of America. If that happens, hell on earth will follow.
Thomas Jefferson saw that clearly when he wrote in Notes on the State of Virginia, “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?” Likewise James Madison: “The belief in God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the World and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources…” Benjamin Franklin agreed: “Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.”
All were implicitly echoing the statement by William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, a century earlier: “Unless we are governed by God, we will be governed by tyrants.”
Our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, states the fundamental principles on which America rests. There are four references to Deity in it. Taken together, these terms make clear that God, not government, is the source of our freedom, our sovereignty, our equality, our rights, our justice and our human dignity. They are preexisting in us, before there ever was any government. So the Constitution does not grant any of that; it simply guarantees them for us and prevents government from interfering with it.
Therefore it is perfectly legal, constitutional and (in the view of our Founders and Framers) right for citizens to publicly express their religion via prayers and symbols such as the cross, menorah and others. We have a secular federal government, but we are, and always have been, a religious society.
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