July 4, 2024, marks America’s 248th birthday. Many Americans will celebrate with family gatherings, good food, and some fireworks.
But in 1776, the 56 congressional delegates from 13 colonies who signed the Declaration of Independence did so with a solemn awareness of the cost of liberty.
A costly course
Stephen McDowell – historian, founder, and president of Providence Foundation – described that solemnity: “After the announcement of the vote, silence moved over the Congress as the men contemplated the magnitude of what they had just done. Some wept openly, while others bowed in prayer.”
McDowell characterized those Continental Congressmen as some of America’s wealthiest men, also having bright minds, great talents, and beloved families.
“They all knew,” declared McDowell, “they would be identified above all others by the British as the leaders of the ‘rebellion,’ and consequently, those most likely to suffer retribution.”
One delegate, Dr. Benjamin Rush from Pennsylvania, became the Continental Army’s surgeon general and helped ratify the U.S. Constitution. An outspoken Christian, Rush was a founding member of America’s first Bible society and a lifelong advocate for the Bible’s use as a public school textbook. He wrote to fellow founder John Adams that philosophers who renounce the Bible forgo “the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published.”
Examining history
Sadly, as Americans celebrate Independence Day 2024, it is evident this nation has strayed from that map.
In February 2024, Pew Research Center (PRC) conducted a survey on religion’s role in public life. Of the survey’s 12,693 respondents, over 80% said religion’s role in American life is shrinking, and 49% viewed that decline negatively.
Americans cannot travel back in time to reverse that decline, but they can retrace the footsteps of the nation’s founders, who mapped out a timeless plan for liberty based on God’s providential guidance.
Washington, D.C., is a logical place to begin since its government buildings, monuments, and memorials paint an illuminating portrait of America’s Christian heritage.
In the book titled In God We Trust Tour Guide, co-authors McDowell and Mark Beliles explore the rich religious history represented within 12 national landmarks. Six of those sites are highlighted here: National Archives Museum, Supreme Court Building, Library of Congress, U.S. Capitol, Jefferson Memorial, and Washington Monument.
Of these six landmarks, the National Archives Museum keeps the government’s most valuable records, plus billions of documents, photographs, films, and recordings that tell America’s story. The original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution with the Bill of Rights are displayed there.
According to McDowell, Thomas Jefferson’s beautifully crafted words of the Declaration indicate America’s providential birth as a Christian nation. It references the Bible four times, with one reference added by the document’s draft committee and two more added by the entire Continental Congress.
“These were the only major additions to Jefferson’s original draft,” McDowell explained. “Through these additions, the Congress wanted the world to know their trust and reliance was upon God.”
That biblical truth is reiterated in murals gracing the Archives’ rotunda and in a copy of the Ten Commandments at its entry. For anyone willing to search, countless papers and records of America’s forefathers attest to the nation’s religious history.
But for those eager to move on, the nation’s Supreme Court Building and Library of Congress provide clues to America’s past, with Christian symbols abounding.
Referencing truth
Moses, the biblical lawgiver, is a central figure in the highest court’s artwork, and the Ten Commandments are referenced repeatedly, including a nod to God’s 10 laws with Roman numerals I through X engraved on the massive oak doors of the Supreme Court chambers.
McDowell described another Christian allusion: “Above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, these words are engraved: Equal Justice Under Law. This is a biblical idea. It was first seen in the system of government given by God through Moses to the children of Israel.”
In addition to the Supreme Court’s visual treasure trove of history, the Library of Congress contains more than 175 million items, including over 1,470 rare Bibles. Comprising the Thomas Jefferson Building, the John Adams Building, and the James Madison Memorial Building, the Library of Congress houses one of only three existing copies of the Gutenberg Bible printed on vellum.
“It is only fitting for these Bibles to be displayed in this public building,” McDowell stated, “because the Bible is the foundation of the United States of America. The religious, social, educational, and political life of America was primarily shaped by the Bible.”
The Library of Congress was created as a resource for legislators, so it is located near the U.S. Capitol. In the Capitol, there are at least two paintings of religious scenes. In addition, a stained-glass window shows President Washington in prayer and references Psalm 16:1. America’s national motto, “In God We Trust,” is displayed.
Visitors looking closely at the design and décor of the Capitol will find both subtle and stark reminders of America’s religious heritage.
“Inside the Rotunda are eight large paintings,” McDowell explained. “Each of these 14-by-20-foot paintings reveals the hand of God in the founding of the United States. In fact, two of them show prayer meetings, and one, a baptism.”
Prayer meetings and even church services have been a routine part of the Capitol since its construction in the late 1790s. Chaplains for both the House and the Senate have routinely led daily prayers for the legislators, as have visiting pastors. Unfortunately, since the early 1990s, guests have been invited and permitted to pray to multiple deities.
Memorials dedicated to two early American leaders speak to how our founding fathers might view these pagan prayers. For example, interior walls of the Jefferson Memorial contain four engraved examples of Jefferson’s own words about the subject, including an inscription from the Declaration of Independence.
Another powerful quote from the Declaration’s author and the nation’s third president reads in part: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
Likewise, the Washington Monument, possibly the world’s tallest masonry structure, affirms America’s Christian faith. As the most notable feature of the D.C. skyline, this 555.5-foot building contains 190 carved blocks, given in tribute by states, countries, individuals, and groups worldwide, many citing Bible verses and references to God.
On the Washington Monument’s 24th landing, Pennsylvania Sunday school children donated Block 158 on Independence Day 1853. This tribute stone advises visitors to “Search the Scriptures” and quotes Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
That stone testifies to a nation founded on God’s Word and a nation revering that foundation for almost 100 years.
But now, as that foundation crumbles, the children’s engraved message rings truer than ever. May Americans heed their words and follow the Founding Fathers back to the way we should go – the way of the Cross.
(Digital Editor's Note: This article was published first in the July 2024 print edition of The Stand. Click HERE for a free six-month subscription to The Stand magazine.)
