GOVT 220
A Wayward Nation
Liberty University
GOVT 220: American Government
A Wayward Nation
The United States of America, the nation known for being built upon the Bible, a nation led by
God and a nation of unity; “In God we Trust” “We the People” being the moto of the U.S. since
1787. Having this firm governmental foundation did not come easily and not everyone always
agreed on how to run this new country. But once God was put at the center of the founding
fathers’ decision making, things started to fall into place and go smoothly. All until the people
started pulling away and wanting to do things for themselves, think for themselves, and define
‘right’ and ‘wrong’ for themselves. This is when issues began to occur such as abortion, gay
marriage, transgender, secular government, the government taking over ‘helping’ the poor
instead of leaving it up to the people, etc. America went from putting the Lord as the leader of
this nation and the Bible as our source of truth, to putting our own interests first and using our
conscience as our foundation of moral rights. We see, especially in the 21st century, what can
happen when a country doesn’t have a firm foundation or a ‘real’ truth to base everything on.
If you take a minute to observe everything around you, it will become evident that everything is
spiraling downhill, but the most devastating part is that not many see how drastically this once
strong government is falling.
A Tough Beginning- the Constitution, 1787
The making of the Constitution was a challenging task and took many different people
with varying opinions to finally decide on what principles should be the backbone of our country.
Another issue was that the 39 signers of this document all had their own definition of political
wisdom and each had an opinion about what they thought was best for leading America and
, establishing a strong government. These men realized that they weren’t getting anywhere and
could hardly agree on anything, so they all concluded to take a break and focus on God, prayer
and meditation. After this three day ‘fast’ from hard thinking of government affairs, all the
members gathered again and miraculously saw that “God governs in the affairs of men”
(Foundation Truths, 2014). This fact became obvious to them because when they all gathered,
decision making was drastically easier, the whole atmosphere was described to be different.
Many of these men exclaimed how God’s hand was the force behind the success of the
Constitution, as it should be. Alexander Hamilton says this “It is impossible for
the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so
frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution” (Lillian
Goldman Law Library, 2008). This quote, along with numerous just like it, reveal that God and
the Bible was the source of America’s government and the making of this document.
God’s Hand in our Nation’s Founding
If the Constitution is carefully studied, it is clear to see how scripture is weaved into the
very fabric of this document. For example: Isaiah 33:22 “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is
our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us” (Bible Gateway). This displays the 3
different aspects of the government, the judges being the Supreme Court, the lawgiver is
Congress, and the King symbolizes the Presidency. A second example is Deuteronomy 17:6, “On
the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to
death on the testimony of only one witness” (Bible Gateway). Daniel Dreisbach says this about
how this verse correlates with our government,
The Article III, § 3, cl. 1 provision that convictions for treason be supported by “the
testimony of two witnesses” conforms to a familiar biblical mandate, asserted in both the
Old and New Testaments, requiring multiple witnesses of malfeasance for conviction and
punishment… The principle was written into early colonial laws, such as Article 47 of the
A Wayward Nation
Liberty University
GOVT 220: American Government
A Wayward Nation
The United States of America, the nation known for being built upon the Bible, a nation led by
God and a nation of unity; “In God we Trust” “We the People” being the moto of the U.S. since
1787. Having this firm governmental foundation did not come easily and not everyone always
agreed on how to run this new country. But once God was put at the center of the founding
fathers’ decision making, things started to fall into place and go smoothly. All until the people
started pulling away and wanting to do things for themselves, think for themselves, and define
‘right’ and ‘wrong’ for themselves. This is when issues began to occur such as abortion, gay
marriage, transgender, secular government, the government taking over ‘helping’ the poor
instead of leaving it up to the people, etc. America went from putting the Lord as the leader of
this nation and the Bible as our source of truth, to putting our own interests first and using our
conscience as our foundation of moral rights. We see, especially in the 21st century, what can
happen when a country doesn’t have a firm foundation or a ‘real’ truth to base everything on.
If you take a minute to observe everything around you, it will become evident that everything is
spiraling downhill, but the most devastating part is that not many see how drastically this once
strong government is falling.
A Tough Beginning- the Constitution, 1787
The making of the Constitution was a challenging task and took many different people
with varying opinions to finally decide on what principles should be the backbone of our country.
Another issue was that the 39 signers of this document all had their own definition of political
wisdom and each had an opinion about what they thought was best for leading America and
, establishing a strong government. These men realized that they weren’t getting anywhere and
could hardly agree on anything, so they all concluded to take a break and focus on God, prayer
and meditation. After this three day ‘fast’ from hard thinking of government affairs, all the
members gathered again and miraculously saw that “God governs in the affairs of men”
(Foundation Truths, 2014). This fact became obvious to them because when they all gathered,
decision making was drastically easier, the whole atmosphere was described to be different.
Many of these men exclaimed how God’s hand was the force behind the success of the
Constitution, as it should be. Alexander Hamilton says this “It is impossible for
the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so
frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution” (Lillian
Goldman Law Library, 2008). This quote, along with numerous just like it, reveal that God and
the Bible was the source of America’s government and the making of this document.
God’s Hand in our Nation’s Founding
If the Constitution is carefully studied, it is clear to see how scripture is weaved into the
very fabric of this document. For example: Isaiah 33:22 “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is
our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us” (Bible Gateway). This displays the 3
different aspects of the government, the judges being the Supreme Court, the lawgiver is
Congress, and the King symbolizes the Presidency. A second example is Deuteronomy 17:6, “On
the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to
death on the testimony of only one witness” (Bible Gateway). Daniel Dreisbach says this about
how this verse correlates with our government,
The Article III, § 3, cl. 1 provision that convictions for treason be supported by “the
testimony of two witnesses” conforms to a familiar biblical mandate, asserted in both the
Old and New Testaments, requiring multiple witnesses of malfeasance for conviction and
punishment… The principle was written into early colonial laws, such as Article 47 of the
