"THE CAUSES OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES"- David Barton, http://www1.cbn.com/address-causes-key-national-issues
THESE PRESENT CRISES
David’s co-author James Garlow first publicly laid out four issues that needed to be addressed in our country at an Inaugural Prayer Event on January 19, 2017. Those initial four issues were: racial healing, immigration challenges, a spiritual and intellectual revival among Millennials, and the restoration of a proper relationship between the US and Israel. James’ publisher suggested he partner with David, a renowned history expert, for this project. As the two men began their work, they quickly realized that two more issues were inseparable from the original four: that the Church needed to once again operate by biblical teachings and Americans must rekindle their understanding of America’s distinctly biblical foundation.
RACISM
One of the most heated topics in our culture today is that of racial division. “The issue has become so super-charged and often involves such hypersensitivity that many people simply won’t touch it,” says David. Some believe the racial division to be a political problem with political solutions or an economic problem with economic solutions. David believes racism is a heart problem.
“Because racism is a violation of biblical truth, genuine racial healing will require repentance before God for resentment against those with a different skin color or ethnic culture,” he says. David also points out that the Bible clearly divides humans into 2 significant groups: those who believe Jesus is the son of God and those who don’t. “That’s as simple as it gets,” he says. God doesn’t value an individual based on his or her race. “The cry of our hearts is for the human race to become one great family, as God intended.”
American slavery was part of America’s history for 240 years. “The wounds from slavery are old, and its after-effects are countless and deep, and for many today, those wounds are still gaping,” says David who believes racism is not just a white-on-black problem. “It is true in American history that blacks definitely suffered disproportionate mistreatment, but racism is a sin, and no sin is confined solely to one race or ethnicity.” Regardless of what anyone else may have done, David reminds us that the Bible is clear:
1. No bitterness allowed. Bitterness is a poison that infects not only the one who is offended but those to whom they spew their bitterness;
2. Many whites led anti-slavery efforts in the 1600s. Many of the Founding Fathers did own slaves but as British citizens;
3. America is the only nation in the world where whites on behalf of blacks went to war against other whites in order to end slavery, resulting in the loss of well over a half million white lives. As two white authors, David points out that they may not be qualified to speak to what blacks need to do within their culture. “But we do care deeply about the pain experienced by blacks so each of us should do whatever we can to help any other of God’s children, regardless of their culture or ethnicity.”
IMMIGRATION
This issue has become so polarized in our country. David refers to “illegal aliens” as persons who entered the country illegally or came legally then violated the law by overstaying. “Our immigration system is broken,” he says. Our Founding Fathers implemented a number of immigration principles to strengthen and benefit the nation.
Thomas Jefferson knew immigrants would be arriving from nations with a very different type of government with national practices that are opposite of what they would find here so they addressed and established a residency requirement for becoming a citizen. Early immigration laws required certain things including a good moral character, renouncing of allegiance to any other nations, etc. For generations, America’s immigration policies mirrored many of the principles set forth in the Bible. As the influence of progressives grew in the late 1800s, immigration policies began to reflect these core Progressive beliefs including that man is innately good, immigration should use the salad bowl rather than the melting pot approach (in the 1960s this became multiculturalism), etc.
Today more than 11 million illegal aliens or 2.4% of the population live in the US with an estimated 8 million undocumented persons in the workforce. David and James suggest a three-step solution:
1. Protect the borders. Building a wall is crucial to protect our border for security and protection.
2. Governmental admission. The government has the legal authority to enforce the law and needs to openly acknowledge that it has been the greatest contributor to the immigration problem by not enforcing laws for decades.
3. Those who have come illegally must acknowledge that they have done so. They must go through a process to live here legally but can never be a citizen.
ISRAEL
Israel is constantly presented in a negative light. “Israel is not perfect, nor does she claim to be,” says David. “But neither is she guilty of the absurd charges heaped upon her.” To be pro-Israel doesn’t mean anti-Arab. It means having the view of Israel God sets forth in the Bible, which includes Israel today still playing a key role in the plans of God. The recent battlefront against Israel has its greatest support among universities, liberal churches, and the entertainment industry. Two things must be clear:
1. Palestinians want particular pieces of land for themselves as part of what they envision as a future Palestinian state.
2. “The Palestinians want Israel’s land and they want the Jewish state of Israel gone completely,” says David. A current objective of Palestinians and American supporters is to turn the next generation against Israel. God chose a specific people in the book of Genesis (the Jews) to live in a specific land (Israel) and to serve as a blessing to all other nations. “God offers encouragement to those who align with this plan and pointedly warns those who stand against it.”
MILLENNIALS
These are individuals who were born between 1981 and 1996. Surveys show their attitudes and behaviors are dramatically different from those of any other generation.They are the first generation to have been born with hand-held technology and smart devices. They have also been educated in a left-leaning secular progressive education system. Words like absolute and moral values are absent from their vocabulary. “We are now living in a post-modern culture,” says David. He cites this as “a culture with a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history or language.” Truth and morality have become subjective. “If truth is subjective, how can you tell anyone his or her behavior is wrong?” he asks. Though many hold poor, impractical and uninformed positions, there is hope. They are the most pro-life generation since Roe vs. Wade because today’s science and technology allow us to know things about an unborn child that we didn’t know in previous generations. They are also anti-human trafficking. Many have found their voice in this modern-day form of slavery.
CHRISTIAN NATION
The Founders affirmed their Christian beliefs which is evidenced in the language of the state constitutions and in legislatures in all three branches of government. Newsweek concluded a generation ago that “historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our Founding document.” If historical truth were actively taught, it would show how strongly Christian most of the Founding Fathers were.
THE CHURCH
The modern Church has betrayed its biblical calling. Though America has seen an explosion of megachurches in the last 10 years and Christian colleges rapidly expanding in size, church attendance is steadily falling (from 41% to 36%). The median size of all churches is 70 congregants. “America is in serious trouble today,” says David. Moral boundaries and sexual limits are disappearing. Murder abounds in our society from abortions to gangs killing each other and innocent bystanders. Though Americans spend more on education than any other country, 19% of high school graduates are illiterate. America is in debt and our nation has lost its conscience. The Church is divided. “This is a precarious moment,” says David. “But it could be the Church’s greatest moment if there is a return to the acceptance of Scriptures and core biblical truth.”
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
David Barton - Founder, WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes with an emphasis on moral, religious and constitutional heritage. Author of numerous best-selling books; his latest: This Precarious Moment, with co-author James L. Garlow, Regnery 2018
"THE CAUSES OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES"- David Barton, http://www1.cbn.com/address-causes-key-national-issues
IMMIGRATION
ISRAEL
MILLENNIALS
CHRISTIAN NATION
THE CHURCH
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
THESE PRESENT CRISES
David’s co-author James Garlow first publicly laid out four issues that needed to be addressed in our country at an Inaugural Prayer Event on January 19, 2017. Those initial four issues were: racial healing, immigration challenges, a spiritual and intellectual revival among Millennials, and the restoration of a proper relationship between the US and Israel. James’ publisher suggested he partner with David, a renowned history expert, for this project. As the two men began their work, they quickly realized that two more issues were inseparable from the original four: that the Church needed to once again operate by biblical teachings and Americans must rekindle their understanding of America’s distinctly biblical foundation.
RACISM
One of the most heated topics in our culture today is that of racial division. “The issue has become so super-charged and often involves such hypersensitivity that many people simply won’t touch it,” says David. Some believe the racial division to be a political problem with political solutions or an economic problem with economic solutions. David believes racism is a heart problem.
“Because racism is a violation of biblical truth, genuine racial healing will require repentance before God for resentment against those with a different skin color or ethnic culture,” he says. David also points out that the Bible clearly divides humans into 2 significant groups: those who believe Jesus is the son of God and those who don’t. “That’s as simple as it gets,” he says. God doesn’t value an individual based on his or her race. “The cry of our hearts is for the human race to become one great family, as God intended.”
American slavery was part of America’s history for 240 years. “The wounds from slavery are old, and its after-effects are countless and deep, and for many today, those wounds are still gaping,” says David who believes racism is not just a white-on-black problem. “It is true in American history that blacks definitely suffered disproportionate mistreatment, but racism is a sin, and no sin is confined solely to one race or ethnicity.” Regardless of what anyone else may have done, David reminds us that the Bible is clear:
1. No bitterness allowed. Bitterness is a poison that infects not only the one who is offended but those to whom they spew their bitterness;
2. Many whites led anti-slavery efforts in the 1600s. Many of the Founding Fathers did own slaves but as British citizens;
3. America is the only nation in the world where whites on behalf of blacks went to war against other whites in order to end slavery, resulting in the loss of well over a half million white lives. As two white authors, David points out that they may not be qualified to speak to what blacks need to do within their culture. “But we do care deeply about the pain experienced by blacks so each of us should do whatever we can to help any other of God’s children, regardless of their culture or ethnicity.”
IMMIGRATION
This issue has become so polarized in our country. David refers to “illegal aliens” as persons who entered the country illegally or came legally then violated the law by overstaying. “Our immigration system is broken,” he says. Our Founding Fathers implemented a number of immigration principles to strengthen and benefit the nation.
Thomas Jefferson knew immigrants would be arriving from nations with a very different type of government with national practices that are opposite of what they would find here so they addressed and established a residency requirement for becoming a citizen. Early immigration laws required certain things including a good moral character, renouncing of allegiance to any other nations, etc. For generations, America’s immigration policies mirrored many of the principles set forth in the Bible. As the influence of progressives grew in the late 1800s, immigration policies began to reflect these core Progressive beliefs including that man is innately good, immigration should use the salad bowl rather than the melting pot approach (in the 1960s this became multiculturalism), etc.
Today more than 11 million illegal aliens or 2.4% of the population live in the US with an estimated 8 million undocumented persons in the workforce. David and James suggest a three-step solution:
1. Protect the borders. Building a wall is crucial to protect our border for security and protection.
2. Governmental admission. The government has the legal authority to enforce the law and needs to openly acknowledge that it has been the greatest contributor to the immigration problem by not enforcing laws for decades.
3. Those who have come illegally must acknowledge that they have done so. They must go through a process to live here legally but can never be a citizen.
ISRAEL
Israel is constantly presented in a negative light. “Israel is not perfect, nor does she claim to be,” says David. “But neither is she guilty of the absurd charges heaped upon her.” To be pro-Israel doesn’t mean anti-Arab. It means having the view of Israel God sets forth in the Bible, which includes Israel today still playing a key role in the plans of God. The recent battlefront against Israel has its greatest support among universities, liberal churches, and the entertainment industry. Two things must be clear:
1. Palestinians want particular pieces of land for themselves as part of what they envision as a future Palestinian state.
2. “The Palestinians want Israel’s land and they want the Jewish state of Israel gone completely,” says David. A current objective of Palestinians and American supporters is to turn the next generation against Israel. God chose a specific people in the book of Genesis (the Jews) to live in a specific land (Israel) and to serve as a blessing to all other nations. “God offers encouragement to those who align with this plan and pointedly warns those who stand against it.”
MILLENNIALS
These are individuals who were born between 1981 and 1996. Surveys show their attitudes and behaviors are dramatically different from those of any other generation.They are the first generation to have been born with hand-held technology and smart devices. They have also been educated in a left-leaning secular progressive education system. Words like absolute and moral values are absent from their vocabulary. “We are now living in a post-modern culture,” says David. He cites this as “a culture with a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history or language.” Truth and morality have become subjective. “If truth is subjective, how can you tell anyone his or her behavior is wrong?” he asks. Though many hold poor, impractical and uninformed positions, there is hope. They are the most pro-life generation since Roe vs. Wade because today’s science and technology allow us to know things about an unborn child that we didn’t know in previous generations. They are also anti-human trafficking. Many have found their voice in this modern-day form of slavery.
CHRISTIAN NATION
The Founders affirmed their Christian beliefs which is evidenced in the language of the state constitutions and in legislatures in all three branches of government. Newsweek concluded a generation ago that “historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our Founding document.” If historical truth were actively taught, it would show how strongly Christian most of the Founding Fathers were.
THE CHURCH
The modern Church has betrayed its biblical calling. Though America has seen an explosion of megachurches in the last 10 years and Christian colleges rapidly expanding in size, church attendance is steadily falling (from 41% to 36%). The median size of all churches is 70 congregants. “America is in serious trouble today,” says David. Moral boundaries and sexual limits are disappearing. Murder abounds in our society from abortions to gangs killing each other and innocent bystanders. Though Americans spend more on education than any other country, 19% of high school graduates are illiterate. America is in debt and our nation has lost its conscience. The Church is divided. “This is a precarious moment,” says David. “But it could be the Church’s greatest moment if there is a return to the acceptance of Scriptures and core biblical truth.”
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
David Barton - Founder, WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes with an emphasis on moral, religious and constitutional heritage. Author of numerous best-selling books; his latest: This Precarious Moment, with co-author James L. Garlow, Regnery 2018