Happy Sunday and welcome to Lance’s Weekly Walk! Today we will jump right on into Part 2 of our “Christianity’s Role In America” series, but I’ve got a couple of quick announcements to make. I’ve gotten more involved with my Twitter account lately. Over 650 followers in just over a week. It’s been a pleasure meeting so many of you. If you haven’t yet, be sure to follow me at: www.twitter.com/lancejponline. My Facebook page is also getting more attention with my new custom address: www.facebook.com/lancepisowicz. Also, a reminder to check out Lance Pisowicz Online (www.wix.comlancejp/online). From there you can access my Facebook and Twitter page, my Youtube channel, and everything to do with my blogs. You can also fill out a prayer request there by clicking on the “Media” tab at the top of your page. I hope you enjoy Lance’s Weekly Walk and everything there for you at Lance Pisowicz Online.
As I just said we are continuing our series on “Christianity’s Role in America” with our second installment regarding how faith in God survived and thrived throughout the 19th and 20th century.
Last week we established the fact that our nation was founded by godly men with godly principles, but the question remains: How long did it take for Christianity to become distilled in America, or did it become distilled at all?
Let’s take a brief look back in our nation’s history. If you’ve studied American history you are aware of the term “Great Awakening.” The Great Awakening was a revival of Christian faith that swept the entire nation. In fact there were two of them, the first one occurring in the 1730s and 1740s, and the second beginning in the early 1800s and lasting well into the second half of that century. So what was the impact of these revivals? Were they truly morally changing or were they just acts?
Well there is sufficient evidence to say that both Great Awakenings were legitimate successes. Preachers like George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards used their God given abilities to impact the lives of many Americans. A significantly large percentage of the population experienced the effects of the First Great Awakening and began going to church again as a result. Even though church does not provide salvation in itself, it opened the door for thousands of people to come back to Christ.
But since I have set aside today to discuss the 19th and 20th centuries, we will focus on the Second Great Awakening. Many historians would argue that this revival had even more of an impact on American society for several reasons.
To begin with, its duration was more than a ten to twenty year period. In fact, some experts would say it lasted as many as seventy years. For many it brought about a better opinion of women, inspired a more family-based household, and it moved many abolitionists to seek an end to the injustice of slavery. The Second Great Awakening truly brought about a great revival for our nation. But the story does not stop there.
No, our nation was far from being through with the Christian faith. Even in the Guilded Age and the years preceding World War I, America, millions of her people, and many of her leaders were still trusting in God. The solutions to societal problems that previous generations had brought but had not enacted, moved some of the nation’s most powerful men and women to take action. Here’s the ending of a 1912 campaign speech by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Whether this was just a promotional maneuver or a genuine statement by Teddy Roosevelt may never be known. To me, “TR” was a pretty sincere guy, so I guess we need to take that statement to heart. Armageddon may not have come in his time, but I am confident that the end times are in our time.
If that were not enough to proven America’s still earnest devotion to God, then the adding of these lines to the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950s by President Eisenhower truly do:
“One nation, under God.” - United States Pledge of Allegiance
The addition of these lines stemmed from an effort to ward off the possibility of an atheist-communist state, such as the Soviet Union.
Our idea of freedom comes from God. He gave us the free will to choose to submit to sin or to follow Him and be saved by His mercy and grace. The United States did not want to become like the Soviet Union for that very reason. We wanted to preserve freedom.
That is why Christianity has been the backbone of American ideals since the start. It has been present in every generation and every situation.
Next week we will conclude our series on “Christianity’s Role in America” with our Third Part regarding where Christianity is in America today. I hope you’ll join me for that.
That is all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining me again today. I hope you have enjoyed your time here, and I invite you to join me on Lance Pisowicz Online (www.wix.com/lancejp/online). Also be sure to go to our online form if you wish to share your thoughts on this show or What’s Wrong With Washington” (www.lponline.wufoo.com/forms/z7x3k7/). Be sure to join me later on this week for “What’s Wrong With Washington” and next Sunday as we continue with third part of this new series. Thanks again. God bless you all and enjoy the rest of your day!
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