Tag Archives: Civil Rights Leaders

The Impact of the Bible

Ten years ago I began to see how high school textbooks were being scrubbed of all biblical references.  The revisionist history of the founding of the United States is nearly complete now with many Christians unaware of this radical plot to erase Christ from history books.  To make matters worse time is now defined as Before Common Era and the Common Era.  Before Christ and After Christ’s Death, BC and AD, isn’t even used at the new Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.  Nonetheless, the impact of the Bible on America and throughout the world can not be hidden from those who seek the truth about the history of this world.

“I cannot tell you how much I sometimes long for the Bible.  I read it daily, but I would really like to know it by heart and to see life in the light of that phrase, Your word is a light for my path and a lamp for my feet,”. Vincent van Gogh wrote this in a 1877 letter referencing Psalm 119:105.

During my first visit to the new Bible Museum, the second floor, Level 2, contains the most fascinating exhibits.  Entitled the Impact of the Bible, you can’t go 25 feet without seeing or reading quotes from civil rights leaders, presidents and scientists about the Bible.  Walking from one display to the next, my wife and I did not recognize several of the names of these influential spiritual leaders.  At one point I turned to my wife Leanne to reply, “I wish I would have read about these people in high school or college.”  I counted 7 presidents who I don’t consider to be religious, referring to the Bible as a vital source to education.

“No study is more important to the child than the study of the Bible and of the truths which it teaches,” Woodrow Wilson 1913.

The quote above is from the founder of the Progressive Movement in America.  Despite all of Wilson’s progressive policies, including the eventual formation of the Federal Reserve Bank, this president boldly professed how essential the Bible is within education.  Unfortunately, just as most colleges on the east coast were Christian based initially, liberal, progressive and social ideas have expelled the Bible from most campuses today.  During his life long ministry, Billy Graham stated, “the Bible will always be the center of controversy.”  In this politically correct age, anything offensive is attacked, targeted or completely banned.  While the impact of the Bible is currently fading in America, God always raises up a remnant of believers somewhere on earth to pass the Living Word of God to the next generation.

by Jay Mankus

The Sermons of John Wise

John Wise is one of those individuals who has been forgotten by history.  A reverend at the Congregational Church in Ipswich, Massachusetts, Wise blazed a trial which the founding fathers of America emulated.  Until yesterday, I never realized that the Declaration of Independence was based upon by a sermon series John Wise preached in 1687.  These messages were inspired by a tax levied by royal Governor Andros without the representation of a legislative body.  Wise was one of the first civil rights leader, going to jail for his opposition, a pioneer who used his pulpit to preach liberty and justice for all.

John Wise devoted his entire life to the ministry, serving from the time of his ordination to his death in 1725.  Prior to his passing, Wise completed his most famous work,   A Vindication of the Government of New England Churches in 1717.  This compilation became a blue print that was adopted in 1776 during the Continental Congress, known as the Declaration of Independence.  When reverend Wise spoke to his community, he didn’t see black, red or white skin.  Rather, Wise developed an expression saying, “there are only 2 kinds of races, those who believe in God and those who don’t!”  This is just a glimpse of the sermons of John Wise.  These inspired words are simply Supernatural as DC Talk once sang.

There is much to learn from this second generation Pilgrim leader.  First, a preacher should not be muzzled by the government.  Church should be a place of refuge where worshipers can experience heaven on earth before going back into the world like disciples for the next 6 days.  Second, the Bible is a blue print for life, liberty and the American way.   Allowing atheists to silence the spiritual foundation of this country is like spitting the reverend Wise in the face.  Finally, history is like a true National Treasure, full of mentors, stars and visionaries who have made America a great nation.  Go to a local library today to examine diamonds in the rough, lost over the course of time, by a media ashamed of God.  If you want to know more about John Wise, David Barton has written books about his impact on American History.

by Jay Mankus

 

In the Business of Solutions; Not Assigning Blame

If you read the title of professions such as Civil Rights Leader, Community Organizer and Man of the Cloth, common sense would lead you to believe each is in the business of solutions.  In fact, when working together in unison, these positions play a vital role in dictating the environment that exists in their own cities across America.  Unfortunately, when the cameras of the media show up in town, rogue individuals often lose sight of the goal by assigning blame.

Ratings, selfish ambition and talking points do just the opposite as negative words incite relational forest fires, placing classes, races and political ideologies against one another.  Ferguson, Missouri is the latest epicenter, as citizens searching for justice and revenge did not receive the verdict from the Darren Wilson Grand Jury as they had hoped.  Despite the collaborating accounts of eyewitnesses, the media has withheld key facts from this investigation to encourage outrage.  Instead of wanting the truth like Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men, they have chosen to assign blame.

I’m not an expert on the media, but it appears they are suppressing the news rather than presenting it.  What this nation and every country needs are people hungry for developing solutions.  When placed in charge, the United States government has a history of failure.  As the number of individuals on Food Stamps and Unemployment continue to grow, who will get behind visionaries like Glenn Beck to start solving problems one community at a time.  While Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream, unless neighbors put aside their petty differences, this dream will never become a reality.

by Jay Mankus