COGWA Members App
Feast App
ROKU AppCould Washington or Lincoln Be Elected Today?
Written by Ralph Levy
The U.S. election cycle is highlighting once again the loss of a national consensus on morality and on the importance of God and the Bible. What does God say?
It was “Super Tuesday” (March 6) here in the United States. I sat at my computer, struggling against writer’s block and periodically checking CNN.com for the results of the primary elections.
Like many, I’ve found the quality of the political debate so far this year to be disappointing. Barbara Bush, wife of former President George H.W. Bush, is quoted as calling this “the worst campaign I’ve ever seen in my life” (David Flick, Dallas Morning News, March 5, 2012).
The 2008 Republican nominee, John McCain, similarly expressed disenchantment with the tone of the campaign: “I am concerned about that. And I think there is reason to be concerned about it. … I don’t think I have seen one that was as personal and as characterized by so many attacks as these are.”
Despite his support for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, McCain went on to lament, “I think it’s a very tough campaign and I understand that, but the fact is that these debates and these kinds of negative campaigns have driven the disapproval ratings of all of the members up” (“This Week,” ABC News, Feb. 19, 2012).
Mud-slinging, harsh criticism of opponents, shallow “sound-bite” duels. Does this make for good aspiring leadership?
Could the great presidents of the past be elected today?
Yet there’s another angle that strikes me about the functioning of the political system in this, still the world’s only, superpower. What of the changes in fundamental values held within the nation now, in 2012, contrasted with those in earlier years?
Even if the debate were of a higher quality, the cultural backdrop has changed so drastically since the founding of the nation, one has to wonder if it would even be possible to elect any of the great U.S. presidents today, under 2012 constraints. Previous presidents sounded so—well—religious. They frequently talked about God in their public proclamations.
Consider some statements made by some of the great presidents down through history.
George Washington famously declared, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor” (Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789).
Even at the time of the Civil War and the 16th president, the role of our Creator and the Bible was still appealed to by President Abraham Lincoln: “In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it” (Sept. 7, 1864).
Interestingly, President Lincoln appeared unconcerned that such mention of God in public declarations might violate the First Amendment.
More recent examples of respect for the Bible
Even in the 20th century, President Jimmy Carter quoted a passage from the prophet Micah as he took office in 1977: “Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President, in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible my mother gave me a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah: ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God’ [Micah 6:8]” (Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1977).
In 1983 President Ronald Reagan, still unashamed of appealing to the words of the Creator, declared that year to be the “national year of the Bible.”
Notice his words: “Many of our greatest national leaders—among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson—have recognized the influence of the Bible on our country’s development. The plainspoken Andrew Jackson referred to the Bible as no less than ‘the rock on which our Republic rests.’ Today our beloved America and, indeed, the world, is facing a decade of enormous challenge. As a people we may well be tested as we have seldom, if ever, been tested before. We will need resources of spirit even more than resources of technology, education, and armaments. There could be no more fitting moment than now to reflect with gratitude, humility, and urgency upon the wisdom revealed to us in the writing that Abraham Lincoln called ‘the best gift God has ever given to man.’ …
“Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message” (Proclamation 5018, Feb. 3, 1983).
Loss of a national consensus
Appealing to the will of God expressed in Scripture for guidance in national affairs was a matter of agreement till recent times. It was the underpinning of national consensus on matters of morality; the sanctity of marriage and protection of the family; disdain for divorce; opposition to abortion and nontraditional unions; and respect for virtues such as truthfulness, integrity, honesty, hard work and humility.
Have we lost the awareness of the hand of God, and the need for His Word, in our public discourse? Today we ban school prayer, force the removal of Ten Commandments plaques in courthouses, and make little mention of the Bible in much public discourse. There is still talk of religion and “spirituality”—but less common acknowledgment of the Creator as the Source of our blessings and our need to humble ourselves before Him.
God’s warning
Millennia ago, God warned though His servant Moses: “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, and when … all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. …
“Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 19).
It’s a warning to heed now, in the year 2012! May God have mercy on us, and may we be led back to Him.
Ralph Levy is a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, who grew up in England and now lives in the United States. Dr. Levy enjoys reading, travel and foreign languages. He has a Ph.D. in biblical studies and has worked in foreign language and religious education for much of his life.
For more about how God views the United States today, see:
