Save America Ministries

Chuck Crismier: As Charles Dickens once said back there in ancient times, so to speak, he said it was the best of times, it was the worst of times in his famous book, *A Tale of Two Cities*. Talking about the great revolution that took place in France shortly after America's revolution. The best of times and the worst of times. That was about the same time as America's revolution.

Today on Viewpoint, we're going to see exactly how indeed we dealt with the best of times or the worst of times. Because in fact, it was the worst of times over there in not so jolly old England, which was one of the cities that was compared with Paris in France. London, compared by Charles Dickens with Paris in France at that particular stage of history.

Well, that particular stage of history bred two very radically different viewpoints concerning what should be done in our world with government, with purpose of nations, and so on. France followed one view, and America followed another. At least our earliest founders followed another that began in 1607 and 1620 and 1630.

Today and this year, we are celebrating that event. We're celebrating that particular time, the best of times, the worst of times, by taking a look at and remembering what God did in and through those founders in our country. It was 419 years ago that actually, you could say the birth of the country took place spiritually. It was 250 years ago come July 4th that America was born, shall we say legally, as the institution called the United States of America.

Given the opportunity that we have at 250 years to remember, what are we going to remember? The Bible encourages us continually to remember. Remember, remember the mighty acts of God and so on. Well, our guest today, Cynthia Scott, has a dynamic book that's been made available to us called *Celebrating God Our Founder at America's 250th Birthday*.

Friends, we have been enjoined by God, by scripture to remember. Moses called the children of Israel to remember. When the earlier founders of this country, the spiritual founders of this country, came to these shores, they did so because they were remembering. In fact, from their viewpoint, they were entering into a new, shall we say, Promised Land. The Jewish people had entered into the Promised Land that God had provided, Eretz Israel. These Gentile founders were entering into a new land that they considered analogous to the Jewish Promised Land, what became the United States of America.

Today on Viewpoint, we're going to see how God worked through His mighty hand to bring about a country that right now is at a very distinct crossroads. Our special guest, Cynthia Scott, joining us here on Viewpoint today as we confront the deepest issues of America's heart and home from God's eternal perspective. Cynthia, it's good to have you on the program.

Cynthia Scott: Chuck, thank you so much. It's really a delight to be with you.

Chuck Crismier: Well, you're up there in Pittsburgh, right?

Cynthia Scott: Yes.

Chuck Crismier: Does Andrew Carnegie still run Pittsburgh?

Cynthia Scott: Well, we are not quite as famous for steel as we once were.

Chuck Crismier: But we need to steel ourselves because of the challenges that we're facing here. I'm curious, you've been involved in many of the prayer movements over the past how many years?

Cynthia Scott: Gosh, I've been involved in ministry here, probably since about 2008 really, doing some citywide ministry in Pittsburgh. Then I was involved for several years with the Billy Graham Association reaching out to prayer ministries in advance of Franklin Graham's tours that he did around the country beginning in 2016. That was about five years. That was a powerful time when he went to every state capital. I was at many of those events and reached out to prayer networks in advance to let them know what was happening beforehand and to get them praying.

Chuck Crismier: Well, my involvement with the prayer movement goes all the way back to 1993, 1994. I remember as God had moved upon my heart to leave the practice of law at the height of my career in 1993, we formed Save America Ministries as a voice to the church declaring vision for the nation. God immediately spoke to my heart that we were to up and leave 30 years of business ministry and political investment in Southern California and move to the birthplace of the nation. I said, "Where is that?"

So He led us directly to come to Richmond, Virginia, where the cross of the covenant was first planted on these shores right here at the James River in 1607. So we came here and on the way here, Shirley Dobson, who was then heading up the National Day of Prayer task force and a longtime friend, said, "Would you please take over the National Day of Prayer task force for the Commonwealth of Virginia?" So that began my heavy involvement in prayer for our country back there in 2003, 2004.

There have been so many movements, so much prayer go up for our country over these years that one person actually came out and boldly said there's been so much prayer go up to God that He has to answer our prayers. Well, that to me was a bit of chutzpah trying to command God that He has to answer the prayer the way we want Him to answer it. But the interesting thing is that over those years since 1993, all the prayers that have gone up, National Days of Prayer, National Solemn Assemblies all over the country and I've been to most of them, we still don't have the revival we prayed for. Something's wrong.

Cynthia Scott: Something is wrong with our prayers.

Chuck Crismier: Maybe we haven't been celebrating God. What do you think?

Cynthia Scott: Amen.

Chuck Crismier: Maybe we haven't celebrated God by obeying Him. What do you think?

Cynthia Scott: I agree. Maybe we have not been celebrating God by honoring God in all the things that we do.

Chuck Crismier: You quote in your book the words of Samuel, the prophet Samuel, that was quoted by Eric Liddell there in *Chariots of Fire*. I have never forgotten it and it's just such a remarkable thing. He said, "Them that honor me or they that honor me, I will honor." It was a piece of paper that was put in his hands as he got into the starting block at the Olympics by America's sprinter who was competing with him, took this piece of paper with that prophecy from Samuel, put it in Eric Liddell's hand just before the gun went off. "They that honor me, I will honor." Isn't that amazing?

Cynthia Scott: It is. He had a remarkable story.

Chuck Crismier: It's just unbelievable. I think every child in America, certainly every Christian child, should be exposed to that movie, *Chariots of Fire*.

Cynthia Scott: I agree. But may I say something about that scripture? I believe that scripture sums up America and America's founding because we saw at the beginning people who truly honored God and look what God did as a result of that. We call it America.

Chuck Crismier: So what happened? That's the question, what happened?

Cynthia Scott: What so often happens is we fall away from God. There's a cycle, right? You see it in the book of Judges.

Guest (Male): Once upon a time, children could pray and read their Bibles in school. Divorces were practically unknown as was child abuse. In our once great America, virginity and chastity were popular virtues and homosexuality was an abomination. So what happened in just one generation? Hi, I'm Chuck Crismier, and I urge you to join me daily on Viewpoint where we discuss the most challenging issues touching our hearts and homes. Could America's moral slide relate to the fourth commandment? Listen to Viewpoint on this radio station or anytime at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: The Psalmist wrote, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? What were the foundations of our country? As we think back 250 years, this is a big deal, friends. A very, very big deal this year. We need to remember. We need to remember as best that we can. Cynthia Scott is helping us to remember today and I'm so delighted, Cynthia, that you've joined us. You have said in your book, you've quoted Psalm 128, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways." And indeed, the fear of the Lord was the foundation of this country. Whatever happened to the fear of the Lord in America?

Cynthia Scott: Well, we departed from God. We departed from the place where we started. As I was writing these prayers several years ago, Chuck, and this is sort of where the book came from, I got to about the fourth or fifth chapter just going through history, praying out of history. It was for some congregational prayer meetings at our church and I realized that God was the founder. He was the actual founder. It's not just that He inspired them or that they looked to Him. He actually founded the nation.

I was flabbergasted. I had not learned that in school and so many of the facts of God's involvement in our founding were omitted from what we learned. I thought when I got to that and it really dawned on me, it was an epiphany, and I thought He is not getting the credit He deserves. He's not getting the credit. We're not honoring Him. People don't even know the facts of our history, the real facts of our history. What motivated the pilgrims, what motivated the puritans. Speaking of the fear of the Lord, they had the fear of the Lord.

Several years later, which was just this past spring, God opened the door for me to put this book together. I added narrative to it so that people would know, so that they would remember just like you said, the mighty acts of God. It's very exciting to look deep into our history and see God there at every turn.

Chuck Crismier: What people don't realize is that 12 of the original 13 colonies' founding documents declare that their raison d'etre or reason for being was the advancement of the kingdom of God and the Christian faith across the seven seas and seven continents. That was their purpose.

Cynthia Scott: Yes. I like to say that Jesus is in America's DNA and He is. He's right there. You've just proved it.

Chuck Crismier: So we have to ask the question then, what ever happened? Here we have right now, we have how many thousands and thousands of congregations, supposedly Christian congregations, over 2,000 Christian radio stations, hundreds of Christian television stations, all kinds of Christian so-called podcasts, we have a Christian so-called music industry, publishing industry, and yet the fear of the Lord has fallen on hard times. How is that even possible?

Cynthia Scott: Well, I think it's the nature of man, which is sinful. If we are left to our own devices, if we do not seek the Lord wholeheartedly and humble ourselves before Him and turn from our wicked ways, as we discussed earlier before we started the show, then we are going to be prone to wander. We are going to fall away. You know, those who have fallen away sometimes encourage wrong thinking. What we need is to have the courage to tell the truth about our history and turn back to the God of our history because what He did for them, He will do for us if our hearts are right before Him.

Chuck Crismier: If our hearts are right before Him. For certainly since 1979, I believe, when the Moral Majority was founded, the focus was always on what I call them. It was always on the liberals, slick Willie in the White House, anybody other than God's people. But the interesting thing is that when you read the scriptures, the focus is not on the pagans. The focus is on the Christians. The focus is on God's people. He said, "If my people, which are called by my name."

Years ago in 1993, I believe it was, I was asked by Congressman Moorhead's lead person there in Southern California to speak to a group of conservative Christians there in a large church across from my law office. I said, "Lord, what am I supposed to say to these people?" As I drove down, He said, "Talk about them. Them." So as I stood and spoke for about 30 minutes before this congregation of people, I kept going from Second Chronicles 7:14, "If my people," and then the words of all of the Moral Majority and all of the Christian and conservative political efforts that all focused on them. Always somebody else. Them, they, them, them, they. But if my people, no, but if them.

After about 10 minutes, I saw tears rolling down the eyes of that woman from the Congressman's office. Afterwards, she came up to me and she said, "Chuck, you have finally put your finger on something that we have known was wrong about all of the efforts we're making. It's not about them. It's about us. It's about God's people." But we still haven't got that message even today, I don't think.

Cynthia Scott: Well, if you look at our history, what you say bears up because the puritans, for example, were self-reflective. They looked at their circumstances and they connected it to their relationship to God, to their obedience to God. If they had a calamity or catastrophe, they repented. If they had a wonderful harvest, they rejoiced and gave God the thanks for it. So their connection with God was very sensitive. They were very sensitive to His voice. They were very sensitive to His activity. They had the fear of the Lord. As our friend Henry Blackaby used to love to say, "As goes the church, so goes the nation."

So what you're saying is absolutely right. We as God's people have the incredible opportunity to shape the future of America by doing just what you said: humbling ourselves, repenting, turning from our sins, seeking God's face, and allowing Him to work in amazing ways through a humbled people just the way He worked through our forefathers.

Chuck Crismier: But you know what? The majority of the prayers in America and I've been in these assemblies from coast to coast and from north to south since 1993, almost all the prayers have been against the pagans. What the pagans did to our country, what the liberals did to our country, what the Democrats did to our country, whatever. Very seldom has there ever been any focus on God's people repenting. So the only thing we had to repent of was racism. We have actually hidden from the Holy Spirit of God who would bring us to repentance for things that have actually undermined our country in the church house. It's astounding to me how we can so blatantly miss what God is trying to say.

Cynthia Scott: Well, I think people need to be taught. They need to be shown because many people haven't been taught that repentance is the most positive thing in the scripture. It gives us the opportunity to turn back to God. God says, "Turn to me and I will return to you. Return to me and I will return to you." How positive is that? But people aren't taught that. I think that is changing. I mean, think about your voice on the radio. I think about Henry Blackaby. Repentance is in every prayer in this book. Every chapter is half narrative, half prayer. So we must start there because remember what the word says, your sin has separated me from you and I don't hear your prayers. That's a horrifying thought to me because what is worth God not hearing us?

Chuck Crismier: You have done a masterful job in your book. I really give you great honor, great kudos for what you have done here. Truly this is a book of genuine remembering from God's viewpoint. Viewpoint determines destiny. If we agree with God's viewpoint about remembering, it's going to lead us to repentance. Not repentance for generic sins of the nation as a whole, but repentance for our own sins. Isn't that where repentance begins?

Cynthia Scott: Every time, every time, Chuck. It begins with us, each one of us, as God touches our hearts.

Chuck Crismier: All right. Well, let's go back to the earliest days when the pilgrims came over here in 1620. Before you talk about that, we had an earlier group that came over in 1607 and landed at Jamestown and they self-destructed. They barely, barely survived. They even turned to cannibalism because of their selfishness and their pride and their lack of the fear of the Lord. It was a very destructive situation there in Jamestown as they pursued gold more than God. But then came the pilgrims. Tell us about them.

Cynthia Scott: Wow, they were people after God's own heart. People that had such a love for God and a desire to worship Him and live according to His ways that they were willing to forsake everything: first to go from England to Holland, and then when that was disappointing to them, they really felt called to go find their promised land. That place where they could live as they felt God was calling them to live straight from their scriptures. So they left everything behind, except for some clothing and basic necessities, and boarded that ship. I said in the book they prayed their way to America. I cannot imagine what it was like on that ship. It was dark, it was rank, there were rats, only the children could stand up, it was so small.

They didn't care. They trusted God and I love that about them. They trusted that God was going to honor their desire to worship Him. Then when they got here, they had to form a governing document, the Mayflower Compact, where they were in covenant with God and each other in terms of self-government. That was the beginning of our representative self-government in America. Really that form of government, the more I think about how God created our form of government and our founding documents, I am astonished. Because the Bible says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. They were looking for freedom from the Church of England. They wanted to be free in Christ. The government that God formed in our nation provides freedom for all. It's so God to provide freedom.

Chuck Crismier: And that's why the title of your book is *Celebrating God Our Founder at America's 250th Birthday*. Friends, I want to make this book available to you. You may be the first to be able to get a copy of such an astounding piece of literature for this moment in time. It's a $30 hardbound book. It's yours for $25 on our website, saveus.org. Give us a call, 1-800-SAVE-USA. Write to us at Save America Ministries, P.O. Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia 23255. Write a check and add $6 for postage and handling.

I don't know how long this hardbound book is going to be available until it degenerates into a softcover book. You're going to want to get a copy of this hardbound book. We have a few copies of it and I want you to have a copy of this that you can remember. You can take it to your family, you can use it in small groups to help the people around you remember. Again, *Celebrating God Our Founder*. We have to have thanksgiving, friends. This is about thanksgiving. There's something to give thanks for. There's something to remember and this is so, so critically important right now. Get a copy of the book, $25 on our website, saveus.org. A hardbound book that you're going to treasure and read over and over again.

All right. Now, we talked about the pilgrims and they were called separatists in England, weren't they?

Cynthia Scott: They were. They pulled out of the Church of England.

Chuck Crismier: They wanted to separate themselves because they felt that the Church of England had become so modernized, so corrupt in its theology and practices that it could not be reformed. So they had to separate, right?

Cynthia Scott: That's correct.

Chuck Crismier: So they were perceived in England as rebels.

Cynthia Scott: And persecuted.

Chuck Crismier: And persecuted accordingly. Indeed, Jesus said that in this day and time, and Paul wrote it as well, all who live godly in Christ Jesus are going to suffer persecution. That's true in America too, isn't it?

Cynthia Scott: It is.

Guest (Male): God has marriage on His mind. Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage. First off, a fact sheet on the state of the marital union. A fact sheet on the state of ministry, marriage, and morals. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage. What does the Bible really teach about this? Find all of this at saveus.org. Also, a letter to pastors, the Hosea project. And many more resources to strengthen your marriage. It's all on Chuck's website, saveus.org. Again, you can listen to Chuck's Viewpoint broadcast live and archived on Save America Ministries website at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: Believe it or not, friends, a godly attorney was the leader of the most important group ever to sail to these shores to form the spiritual foundation of this country. Now that may sound strange, but I'll tell you what his name was: John Winthrop. John Winthrop, he came over here with four boatloads of puritans and before they landed, he penned what some have said is the most important document setting forth the future and purpose of America that has ever been written. It's called *A Model of Christian Charity*. Our guest today, Cynthia Scott, with her book, *Celebrating God as Our Founder*. It's a book that calls us to remember. Cynthia, tell us about the puritans.

Cynthia Scott: Oh, I love the puritans. Unlike the separatists, they felt as though they could reform the Church of England from within. They too were persecuted. I think they abandoned that thought and they too, 10 years after the pilgrims in 1630, came to America. They were much larger in number, almost 20,000 of them. They were steeped in the Bible. They were steeped in the scriptures. Like the pilgrims, they had a heart after God. They had the fear of the Lord and they valued the scriptures and the teaching of the scriptures and their pastors. During that time, the pastors were really the spiritual thought leaders in America. Many of them educated in England at seminaries and colleges and then came over to lead churches in America.

The messages that they gave were so sound in doctrine. They were sound in doctrine, committed to the Lord. They had the fear of the Lord. They too were willing to repent if they saw their circumstances turning in a bad direction and give God the glory and the credit when they saw wonderful things happening. God also blessed them and shortly after their arrival, because of their high esteem of the word of God, they began colleges because they wanted to train their leaders, their pastors, in the word of God. They also taught their children at home to read so that they could read the scriptures and be educated.

The foundation of America is rooted in that puritan biblical worldview. Our foundation in America of education is rooted in a biblical worldview. 106 of the first 108 colleges were founded on the Christian faith and they believed that God, as the creator of the universe, would lead them to discover all of the miracles of nature. Their foundation, as you mentioned, I don't think anything more important can be said because these biblical principles about life, about government, about the civic life, they shaped America for the next 150 or so years leading up to the Revolution. So what the puritans did really cannot be overstated in importance.

Chuck Crismier: They laid the foundation. In fact, just to reemphasize what you're saying, there was a group of sociologists from Cal Berkeley, a liberal bastion out there in California, they wrote a book called *Habits of the Heart* that actually became a national bestseller. Here's what they said: the puritans and what they did in their foundation was one of the most, if not the most, important thread weaving its way through the fabric of American history and life. Now that was a group of secular sociologists. *Habits of the Heart*. You might want to get a hold of it, somebody out there, because it's so important. But then there was a guy by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville that came over here in 1830. How can you imagine a secular philosopher coming over from France after their revolution that went nowhere and he comes over here to try to figure out what it is that made America great? What did he discover?

Cynthia Scott: He found it in the churches. He found that America was great because she's good. Basically what he found is that you cannot separate the Christian faith from American liberty. It cannot be separated. They are so interwoven together. I think he was quite surprised by it.

Chuck Crismier: He didn't mince any words about it either. He didn't do a milk toast, soft-spoken kind of response to it. He said, "No, this is the first thing that I noticed." It wasn't all America's greatness in her harbors, in her forests, in her natural resources or any of that stuff. It was what I found in her heart. And he said it wasn't until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness that I understood the secret of her genius and power.

Cynthia Scott: Yes. Don't you appreciate that honesty? Even in terms of the book that you just mentioned, these folks from Berkeley who actually gave credit to God and the puritans for America, for our thinking. That's honesty. That's honesty in doing a study. They didn't taint the result. I think we need more of that today. That's part of the reason why I wrote this book is because in addition to giving honor to God, the honor that He deserves—and I loved it when you said "celebrating God" so emphatically because that gives me great joy—I want to see that in every celebration across America, whether it's at the White House or at a tiny little town square this coming summer. We really need to celebrate God. We do because He is the reason that we have the great nation, with our sins, I realize that we've fallen away, we've got a lot to make up for, but He is the reason that America has ever been great. He is the only thing that will ever make America great.

Chuck Crismier: Again, Donald Trump notwithstanding.

Cynthia Scott: Donald Trump is a friend to Christians and I really admire him for that. He speaks the name of Jesus. There was a big portrait painted of Jesus that he auctioned off for $2.75 million. But it was Jesus and that's another way to honor Jesus. He donated the money, it was not a profitable endeavor for him. But God will be honored in a variety of ways probably we can't even begin to imagine them. When the Holy Spirit gets a hold of our hearts in this nation and we understand how great He is and how much we have to be thankful for, I think we'll see Him being honored in many ways. I hope we do.

Chuck Crismier: "Them that honor me I will honor." Those are the words that hover over this broadcast today, coming from the book of Samuel. If we would truly honor the Lord in every way, that has to begin with the word "obey", doesn't it?

Cynthia Scott: It begins with the word "humble ourselves".

Chuck Crismier: But if you humble yourself, you're going to obey what God says.

Cynthia Scott: Obedience brings blessing.

Chuck Crismier: If Jesus is King, He has to be King over subjects that obey Him. If we don't obey Him, we're rebels, aren't we?

Cynthia Scott: Yes, we are. Why would we want to be a rebel against the great and almighty God of the universe who loves us? He wants our good. These are the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a hope and a future. He did that for our forefathers.

Chuck Crismier: Cynthia, one of the things that I noted rather quickly about your book and about your spirit is that you are not coming to us today with the traditional God-and-country kind of message. This is not about, oh, how wonderful that God was part of us and now we're so great and all of that. No, that's not what you're saying. You're saying we have only one reason to exist as we are or have been, and that is that God is God and when we followed Him, He blessed us, and when we don't, it ain't going to be so good, right?

Cynthia Scott: And we've been through those seasons too in our history and we're going to go through them again if we don't get the message straight. I think we're in one of those seasons.

Chuck Crismier: I do agree with you wholeheartedly. So that brings up this word "obey". Over the past five years, I have interviewed many a pastor and para-church leader on this program and every single one but one agreed that the word "obey" is the most hated word in the church today. Consider that.

Cynthia Scott: Well, I think it is hated in the whole culture.

Chuck Crismier: Well, that's true because we're a bunch of rebels.

Cynthia Scott: That's right. But it is a shame that it would be maligned in any church setting because Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey me." He made it very clear how we are to show our love for Him. He's not a mean-spirited ogre type of God. That is not who God is. He is not a God who demands submission. He does command us to obey Him, of course He does, but not out of mean-spiritedness. He does it out of love. He is a God of love.

Chuck Crismier: It's as a father. A father expects his children to hear his word and to obey it for their good.

Cynthia Scott: Exactly. And that's the heart of God.

Chuck Crismier: That was the heart of John Winthrop's *Model of Christian Charity* that is so important as that document. I included it in the appendix of my book *Renewing the Soul of America* and also in a book called *The Power of Hospitality*. Because it connects your true trust and belief in God and remember who He really is with our practical life. John Winthrop, as the godly attorney, said we must never forget, we must remember that and I really cannot urge people more than to read that *Model of Christian Charity*. It is so critically important to the future of our country.

Cynthia Scott: You know, he wrote that before they even disembarked. Knowing that when they got here, there were already a couple of settlements that were not going well and he was very much concerned about them not having a governing document because they were out of the jurisdiction.

Guest (Male): Have you ever considered what the early church was like? Many people are developing a heart longing for a greater fulfillment in our practices as Christians. A recent study showed 53,000 people a week are leaving the back door of America's churches in frustration. What is going on? Why has there not been even a 1% gain among followers of Christ in the last 250 years? Could it be that God is seeking to restore first-century Christianity for the 21st century? Jesus said, "I'll build my church." Is Christ, by His Spirit, stirring to prepare the church for the 21st century? The early church prayed together and broke bread from house to house. They were family and it was said by all who observed, "Behold how they love one another." Incredible. But the same can be found right now. Go to saveus.org and click "Cell Church". We can revive first-century Christianity for the 21st century. It's about people, not programs. It's about a body, not a building. That's saveus.org. Click "Cell Church".

Chuck Crismier: Again, I welcome you back to Viewpoint where we're talking with Cynthia Scott here today concerning her wonderful book, *Celebrating God*, who is the father and founder of our country really. The consensus of Christian faith as the foundation of America and its greatness is replete in virtually every fiber of the original fabric of this nation. All 13 of the original state constitutions refer to almighty God as the author of liberty or declare reliance upon the hand and mercy of providence.

George Washington said of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion—he was talking about Christianity—and morality are indispensable supports. We know some of those quotes, but the problem is we don't apply them and we need to take them seriously. That's why our guest today says we need to remember. We need to celebrate God as our founder. We cannot do that if we don't remember. So we're being called to remember here today and during these next months as we lead up to July 4th and our national holiday celebrating the political birth of our country.

The book again, *Celebrating God Our Founder*. It's a $30 hardbound book, but it's yours for $25 on our website today. We have several copies of it. Don't miss out this opportunity. Call us at 1-800-SAVE-USA. Write to us at Save America Ministries, P.O. Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia 23255, and add $6 for postage and handling. Go to the website saveus.org. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. That's exactly the foundation of those earliest Puritans and Pilgrims. And now we ask a very interesting question. Why is it people will say, well, if God was really the founder of the country, then why isn't Jesus Christ mentioned in the Constitution? The word God is not mentioned in the Constitution, and it's only, shall we say, almost parenthetically mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. So why God not in those or why Jesus not in those documents? What say you, Cynthia?

Cynthia Scott: Well, I say that He is because when the Declaration of Independence was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, He wasn't in those documents and several of the other founders wanted Him. So they do refer to God in our Declaration of Independence and that our rights come directly from Him, which is so big. If people only understood how huge that is in the history of the world because government wants to tell you that your rights come from them. That means they can take them away. We see that in communist nations, we see that in all sorts of nations, and that is not what our Declaration of Independence says. Our Declaration of Independence gives credit to God and says that our rights come from Him and our Constitution is linked to that document. So the Declaration and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are all linked together, all predicated on that statement that our rights come directly from God. That is something that is rare in the history of the world.

Chuck Crismier: Well, it's not just rare. It's exclusive other than perhaps for Israel itself.

Cynthia Scott: It is. Other countries though that have had constitutions—I mean, our Constitution has lasted. Here we celebrate 250 years as a nation and our Constitution has lasted because it is founded on the bedrock of God and His principles. That's why it's lasted. As long as we do not move off that foundation, as long as we do not let people say it's a living document and try to change it, then we will continue to have those rights and freedoms. God alone is the author of freedom. You know this, Chuck, and I'm sure many of your listeners do. We need to remember that. We need to remember that when there are these debates online and in the media and even in Congress. Who has given us our rights? If it's God, then no man or government can take them away.

Chuck Crismier: All right. Here's how I would put it: God is our founding father. Our fathers' God to Thee, author of liberty, to Thee we sing. God is our founding father. If we understand it that way, I as a father with children, I govern my household according to the ways of my household. So if I'm to write a document for my family, I don't have to mention God and Jesus over and over again because that's the foundation of our family. From there on, the family understands that this is our family. I am the father and as the father, my word is the leading word to set the tone for the family and the direction for the family. So I don't have to repeat it over and over again, right? That's the foundation.

Cynthia Scott: You are absolutely right. People understood that. They lived in a much different worldview than we live in in America today. They lived in a biblical worldview. So you are entirely right. For example, the phrase divine providence, they understood that to mean the hand of God Himself or God Himself. Their understanding, even when our founders said that our form of government was unsuitable for anybody but a moral and religious people, they meant Christians. That was the religion of the day in America. That was the worldview of the day in America.

Chuck Crismier: That's what Alexis de Tocqueville noted. He said it's not as if everyone in the country is a professing Christian, but that the authority of the Bible as the word of God prevails without objection everywhere in the country.

Cynthia Scott: That is correct. Even those of our founders who weren't born-again Christians acknowledged the Bible as the foundation of morality and governance in the nation.

Chuck Crismier: Well, there's a reason why the word of God is contained emblazoned in stark relief on many of the official buildings in Washington, D.C. There's a reason why the Ten Commandments are engraved over the Supreme Court dais. It would be a very dramatic thing to try to cover that up or get rid of it and people have tried to do that. They wanted to get rid of it, but it's there engraved so that we have to remember and we can't escape it.

Cynthia Scott: And you know what really amazes me is they want to get rid of the very thing, the very person that has given them their freedom in this nation. I would say to any atheist, you are free to be an atheist in America because of God. Because of His way of creating a nation. You're free to be an atheist. You're free to have any kind of a worldview in America. It's really remarkable and that's just who God is.

I am astonished. I become increasingly astonished at the heart of God. The ways of God are good and right in governing a nation. They're the best in governing a nation. We've seen the fruit of that in America, not just in our freedoms and our representative self-government, but in our prosperity and exceptionalism. We truly are exceptional and we have been incredibly prosperous and I give God the credit for that too.

Chuck Crismier: And that's not a cause for pride, but a great humility because it's because of God and because of our founders. Our fathers' God to Thee, author of liberty, we sing.

Cynthia Scott: Yes, absolutely. It's a reason to be thankful. It's a reason for gratitude. God said, Jesus said, "I have come to give you life and give it to you abundantly." Now I know that is spiritually primarily, but God is a God of abundance. I am not talking about a prosperity gospel here, Chuck. I am just talking about the generous nature of our God.

Chuck Crismier: Well, He said in Deuteronomy chapter 8, "Look, when you have eaten and built goodly houses and dwelt therein, and where your silver and your gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, do not forget the Lord your God for it is He who gives you power or authority to get wealth, that He might fulfill His covenant which He swore unto our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." God knew, He told His people, He intended for them to prosper, but they had to do it under His authority and in humility, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Cynthia Scott: Yes. And He knew we would, otherwise He wouldn't have given that warning in Deuteronomy. He knows us better than we know ourselves. That leads me to a couple of other things covered in this book: the First and Second Great Awakenings. The first Great Awakening before the Revolution and the second Great Awakening before the Emancipation Proclamation. God even caused us to return to Him. He is so good. That was critical to our founding.

Chuck Crismier: Well, the first Great Awakening prepared the way for the American Revolution and the establishment of the government. Then we fell away and became very liberal and godless in the early years of the 1800s until Alexis de Tocqueville came over here and there was a religious awakening, a second Great Awakening that prepared the way to strengthen us through the Civil War.

Cynthia Scott: Yes. Isn't God so gracious to see our backsliding and love us so much that He stirs us? George Whitefield was the primary preacher, as you know, of the first Great Awakening and he united Christians before the colonies were ever united. So God actually moved through His preachers to unite His people and that gave us unity in Christ first and then we had unity as Americans. Exactly. Well stated, Cynthia.

Now, you've mentioned the word worldview several times. I have a feeling that the reason we have a problem with our worldview is because we have a bigger problem with our God-view. We don't have a proper God-view. So you're bringing it back to focus on the Lord our God and *Celebrating God Our Founder at America's 250th Birthday*. Friends, it's not so much a celebration of America, it's a celebration of God. You see, because if we're just celebrating America, then that engenders pride. No, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. So let's humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us again in due season, casting all our care upon Him for He cares for us. Let's be sober and vigilant for our adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion is walking about seeking whom he may devour, yes, even a whole country. But we'll resist him steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as we know that our labor is not in vain in Him. Cynthia, pray quickly for our country here and for all of us.

Cynthia Scott: Father, we are so grateful for what You did in the founding, the establishment of this nation, which is great, Lord, because of You. We truly are great only because of You. We humble ourselves today and we give You the honor that You deserve. Perhaps our greatest national sin is not giving You that honor. So today we honor You, Lord, we thank You. We ask You to move again in America on the hearts of our people. Turn our hearts back to You that we might once again honor You in a way that You deserve in Jesus' name. Amen.

Chuck Crismier: In Jesus' name, amen. Everybody believes in God. Even the devil believes in God and trembles. But Jesus is ultimately our founding father. It was the worship of Jesus as the savior of the world that actually was at the root of the pilgrims and the puritans and those that followed in the first Great Awakening, the second Great Awakening. Some would say there had been a third Great Awakening, but we certainly need to wake up now. *Celebrating God Our Founder*. Get a copy of this hardbound book. You're going to be blessed by it, friend. Encourage yourself. Set the stage now for what's going to be happening this year all over the country.

It's a $30 hardbound book, yours for $25. We just have a few copies. I hope you'll be able to get your hands on one of these hardbound copies. It'll be a treasure for you on our website saveus.org. Call us at 1-800-SAVE-USA. Write to us at Save America Ministries, P.O. Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia 23255. Write a check and add $6 for postage and handling and take seriously, friends, becoming a partner. Things are getting more and more challenging. The need for the message that we've been delivered here through this program is more and more necessary, even not in the context just of the 250th anniversary of our country, but also in the context that Jesus is returning soon. God bless you and keep you.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Viewpoint with Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is supported by the faithful gifts of our listeners. Let me urge you to become a partner with Chuck as a voice to the church declaring vision for the nation. Join us again next time on Viewpoint as we confront the issues of America's heart and home.