In June 27 Issue

Russell County News

“We’re no longer a Christian nation.”  These words were uttered recently in a speech given by our President.  I received a letter on June 11th from former speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich.  Here are the key points of that letter.

You have probably heard about Barack Obama’s speeches in foreign countries lately—and some of the outrageous things he has been saying.  He claimed that the United States has one of the largest Muslim populations among countries in the world; it does not. He stated that America is “no longer a Christian nation”—but it is.  If it concerns you that President Obama is telling Americans that we are “no longer a Christian nation,” I hope you will join me in launching a very special campaign to reclaim our Judeo-Christian heritage. The evidence is clear that our Founding Fathers built our nation on biblical principles. I think you know where I stand. Like President John Adams, I believe that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” But Obama radicals are willfully ignoring the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion. For instance, a legal battle to remove “In God We Trust” from U.S. currency is underway in the courts. Far-left judges are ordering the Ten Commandments out of courthouses. And Obama’s administration is reversing the “Conscience Rule” to protect doctors and nurses who refuse to perform abortions due to religious reasons. That’s not what our Founding Fathers intended by separation of church and state. But don’t take just my word for it. The evidence that our Founding Fathers built America on Judeo-Christian principles is written on nearly every building, memorial and monument in our Nation’s Capital. In my search for proof, I found biblical scripture engraved on some of the most important buildings in Washington, D.C.  For example, did you know that?

“Holiness to the Lord” is engraved into a tribute block of the Washington Monument.

A sculpture of Moses with the Ten Commandments appears over the east portico of the Supreme Court.

“The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1) is engraved on a wall of the Library of Congress.

And a heartfelt prayer from President John Adams is carved into the stone fireplace in the White House State Dining Room: “I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it.”

These are just a few of the many examples of Judeo-Christian imagery you’ll find in our Nation’s Capital. Tourists visiting Washington, D.C. see them every day. Yet Barack Obama lives in the White House... and pretends they aren’t there. In fact, buried inside Obama’s trillion-dollar stimulus package is anti-Christian legislation that will stop churches from using public schools for meeting on Sundays, as well as Boy Scouts and student Bible study groups. Perhaps someone should remind Barack Obama that members of Congress used to hold church services—right in the U.S. Capitol building! My friend, that someone is you and me. Americans of faith need to know what’s at stake. That’s why I founded “Renewing American Leadership”—and why I need you to if you agree that we need to bring the morals of our Founding Fathers back to government. Since I left Congress, I’ve been working to bring moral leadership back to our nation. One way is through my new organization, “Renewing American Leadership”.  By working with pastors across the nation, ReAL is training a new generation of leaders who will bring Christian values with them to Congress. Our Founding Fathers lived by those same values—in fact, they prayed openly for our nation and even declared national days of prayer and fasting. I wrote Rediscovering God in America to prove that our Founding Fathers clearly built this nation on Judeo-Christian values.  Now you and I must tell millions of Americans that the proof is engraved in stone all over our Nation’s Capital! My friend, these are dangerous times for our nation and I’m counting on Americans of faith—like you—to support Renewing American Leadership. Our Founding Fathers weren’t ashamed to declare their faith in public—and we shouldn’t be either!

Your friend,

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich, Republican, served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. During that time he never made use of military air craft. The current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat from California, uses an Air Force plane provided by the Pentagon that is large enough to accommodate her staff, family, supporters, and members of the California delegation when she travels around the country.  Ms. Pelosi also wants routine access to a larger plane. It includes 42 business class seats, a fully-enclosed state room, an entertainment center, a private bed, state-of-the-art communications system, and a crew of 16.  She has “carte blanche access for an aircraft any time,” including weekend trips home to San Francisco. Her Air Force C-32 costs approximately $15,000 an hour or approximately $300,000 per trip home.

At noon on Saturday, July 4th, there will be a “Tea Party” at the State Capitol in Frankfort.  There is also one planned for the same time at the square in Somerset, Kentucky.  If you feel that the current administration is trying to take us down a path that we should not follow, then you may want to attend one of these events.

In closing, the late Billy Graham said it best in a prayer for our nation.  This fine gentleman sure had a good view of what is happening to our country…

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.  We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.  We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.  We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Amen!’

May God bless…

Ron Phillips