Happy Reformation Day

from the American Christian History Institute Eagle's Aerie by James and Barbara Rose

October 31st is the day that Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.  They were protests against the un-Biblical teachings of the Church of his day.  From reading the Scriptures (Romans 1:17), he came to believe that justification by faith - not works - was the way of Salvation through Jesus Christ’s atoning death on the cross.

Whether you celebrate the Reformation or not, it was providentially used in England to bring forth the Bible in English.  “More than one hundred years before Luther, rose the ‘Morning-star of the Reformation,’ John Wycliffe, first in the line of evangelical reformers to whom the Gospel was the precious measure of reform.  . . . An important part of his ministry was to place the Bible in the heart of the individual.  To do this, Wycliffe made one of the earliest translations of the Scriptures from the Latin into English (1382).” (Slater, Rosalie, Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History, the Principle Approach, FACE,  p. 166)  Wycliffe . . . “published certain conclusions . . . that the New Testament or Gospel is a perfect rule of life and manners and ought to be read by the people . . .”  (Hall, Verna, The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America, Christian Self-Government, FACE, p. 28A)

“William Tyndale is the Father of our present English Bible.  . . .  It has been estimated that, (of Tyndale’s Bible—1525) that our Bibles retain at the present day something like eighty per cent in the Old Testament, and ninety per cent in the New.  If this estimate may be accepted no grander tribute could be paid to the industry, scholarship, and genius of the pioneer whose indomitable resolution enabled him to persevere in labors prolonged through twelve long year of exile from the land that in his own words he so ‘loved and longed for’ (England) with the practical certainty of a violent death staring him all the while in the face.” (Hall, CHOC, p.30)  “After a sixteen month imprisonment, an ecclesiastical panel convicted Tyndale of heresy in August, 1536 and turned him over to the secular authority. In October of the same year he was executed, being first strangled and then burned at the stake.”

www.williamtyndale.com 
William Tyndale’s last words were: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

“Myles Coverdale and John "Thomas Matthew" Rogers had remained loyal disciples the last six years of Tyndale's life, and they carried the English Bible project forward and even accelerated it. Coverdale finished translating the Old Testament, and in 1535 he printed the first complete Bible in the English language, making use of Luther's German text and the Latin as sources. Thus, the first complete English Bible was printed on October 4, 1535, and is known as the Coverdale Bible.” . . .

“In 1539, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, hired Myles Coverdale at the bequest of King Henry VIII to publish the "Great Bible". It became the first English Bible authorized for public use, as it was distributed to every church, chained to the pulpit, and a reader was even provided so that the illiterate could hear the Word of God in plain English. It would seem that William Tyndale's last wish had been granted...just three years after his martyrdom.  More

The non-Christian celebration of Halloween on October 31st “can be traced to the Druids, an order of priests in ancient Britain, who believed that on that evening, Samon, the lord of the dead, called forth evil spirits and spirits of the dead.  They lighted great fires for sacrifices and protection.  The sacrifices they required were human sacrifices from locals, with the promise that no harm would come to the household.”  (Researched and compiled by the Challenge of America Ministry)   “Later, ‘trick or treat’ meant begging for food for the village Halloween festivities in the name of their ancient gods.”
(Excerpts from “Christian Worldview, Vol. 4 No. 5, Sept./Oct. 1991)

Themes of the Reformation

SOLA FIDES - Faith alone
“The just shall live by faith.”
(Romans 1:17)

SOLA CHRISTO – Christ alone
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but my me.”
(John 14:6)

SOLA SCRIPTURA – Scripture alone
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
And is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
(II Timothy 3:16)

SOLA GRATIA – Grace alone
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not by works, lest any man should boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8, 9)

For further reading, please see The Story of Our English Bible, available from Jerry's Bookshelf

COLUMBUS DAY: CHRISTOPHER: "CHRIST BEARER"

by James and Barbara Rose, Eagle’s Aerie,
American Christian History Institute,
                                              
The Bible informs us that the earth is “round.”  Isaiah 40:22 "It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth.” In a written statement from Columbus' own hand, he testified that it was from reading the book of Isaiah that he discovered that the world is round.   At a time when some believed that the earth was flat, it was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail west.   He wrote: "It was the Lord who put it into my mind. I could feel His hand upon me . . . there is no question the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures . . .”   (From his diary, in reference to his discovery of "the New World"). 

Christian educator, Rosalie Slater, observed that “Christopher Columbus’ greatest discovery was not the New World.  As a young boy, Columbus trusted Christ as his Savior and discovered the ways of God.  This little known fact was the reason for his adventurous life. He felt that God wanted him to explore the world and find new land and people so that Christ could be proclaimed. Kings and Queens promised and failed him before he finally got the ships and backing he needed to set sail. He became an excellent sailor and businessman.  He overcame all the problems he faced with God's help, even mutiny and being bound in chains. Here are his remarks from his writings: ‘At this time I both read and studied all kinds of literature: cosmography, histories chronicles, and philosophy and other art , to which our Lord opened my mind unmistakably to the fact that it was possible to navigate from here to the Indies, and He evoked in me the will for the execution of it; and with this fire I came to Your Highnesses.  All those who heard of my plan disregarded it mockingly and with laughter.  All the sciences of which I spoke were of no profit to me nor the authorities in them; only in Your Highnesses my faith, and my stay.  Who would doubt that this light did not come from the Holy Spirit, anyway as far as I am concerned, which comforted with rays of marvelous clarity and with its Holy and Sacred Scriptures.”   In the publication of Columbus’ Book of Prophesies, "the Bible was the principal source of inspiration for the great Columbian enterprise." (Christopher Columbus: His Life and Discovery in the Light of His Prophecies by Kay Brigham. Libros CLIE, Spain, 1990 p. 53)

Teaching God's Providence in the Columbus Story gives us a great opportunity to document, from primary sources, the Hand of God in the history of the Western Hemisphere and the voyage of Columbus.  Christopher Columbus opened up the path to the New World, and those who followed eventually brought with them a people Biblically prepared to plant the Christian idea of God, man and government in America. 

The story of God’s Providence in the life of Columbus is an inspiration for each of us and for our children and grandchildren.  Today, we face challenges like God’s people who have gone before us.  How they overcame them is an example to us and an encouragement. 


     Columbus by Joaquin Miller
BEHIND him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: "Now we must pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?"
"Why, say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!' "
. . . . . . .

They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
"Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dead seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say" --
He said, "Sail on! sail on! and on!"

They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
"This mad sea shows his teeth tonight.
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word:
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"

Then pale and worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck --
A light! a light! at last a light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: "On! sail on!"

HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY: September 17th

by James and Barbara Rose
ADDRESS by JAMES WILSON, July 4, 1788, Philadelphia
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice

A people, free and enlightened, ESTABLISHING and RATIFYING a system of government, which they have previously CONSIDERED, EXAMINED and APPROVED! --- This is the spectacle, which we are assembled to celebrate; and it is the most dignified one that has yet appeared on our globe. .

What is the object exhibited to our contemplation? A WHOLE PEOPLE exercising its first and greatest power --- performing an act of SOVEREIGNTY, ORIGINAL and UNLIMITED. . .

But why --- methinks I hear some one say --- why is so much exultation displayed in celebrating this event? We are prepared to give the reasons of our joy. We rejoice, because, under this constitution, we hope to see just government, and to enjoy the blessings that walk in its train. . .

The Constitution and our manners must mutually support and be supported. Even on the Festivity, it will not be disagreeable or incongruous to review the virtues and manners that both justify and adorn it. FRUGALITY and TEMPERANCE first attract our attention. These simple but powerful virtues are the sole foundation, on which a good government can rest with security. . .

INDUSTRY appears next among the virtues of a good citizen. Idleness is the nurse of villains. The industrious alone constitute a nation's strength. I will not expatiate on this fruitful subject. Let one animating reflection suffice. In a well constituted commonwealth, the industry of every citizen extends beyond himself. A common interest pervades the society. EACH gains from ALL, and ALL gain from EACH. . .

Allow me to direct your attention, in a very particular manner, to a momentous part, which, by this constitution, every citizen will frequently be called to act. All those in places of power and trust will be elected either immediately by the people; or in such a manner that their appointment will depend ultimately on such immediate election. All the derivative movements of government must spring from the original movement of the people at large. If, to this they give a sufficient force and a just direction, all the others will be governed by its controlling power.

To speak without a metaphor; if the people, at their elections, take care to chose none but representatives that are wise and good; their representatives will take care, in their turn, to chose or appoint none but such as are wise and good also. The remark applies to every succeeding election and appointment. . . Of what immense consequence is it, then, that this PRIMARY duty should be faithfully and skillfully discharged? On the faithful and skillful discharge of it the public happiness or infelicity, under this and every other constitution, must, in a very great measure, depend. For, believe me, no government, even the best, can be happily administered by ignorant or vicious men. You will forgive me, I am sure, for endeavoring to impress upon your minds, in the strongest manner, the importance of this great duty. It is the first concoction in politics; and if an error is committed here, it can never be corrected in any subsequent process: The certain consequence must be disease. Let no one say, that he is but a single citizen; and that his ticket will be but one in the box. That one ticket may turn the election. In battle, every soldier should consider the public safety as depending on his single arm. At an election, every citizen should consider the public happiness as depending on his single vote. . .
The commencement of our Government has been eminently glorious: Let our progress in every excellence be proportionally great. It will --- it must be so. What an enrapturing prospect opens on the UNITED STATES!

With heart felt contentment, INDUSTRY beholds his honest labors flourishing and secure. PEACE walks serene and unalarmed over all the unmolested regions; while LIBERTY, VIRTUE and RELIGION go hand in hand harmoniously, protecting, enlivening and exalting all! HAPPY COUNTRY! MAY THY HAPPINESS BE PERPETUAL!

“As a patriot none was firmer; as a Christian none sincerer; and as a husband, father, neighbor and friend, he was beloved and esteemed in the highest degree.” (B. J. Lossing, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, George F. Cooledge & Brother: New York (1848) p. 129)

“Wise man among wise men: James Wilson was so knowledgeable on the subject of government that he was generally regarded as the most erudite of all the learned Founding Fathers.” Erudite is knowledge gained by study. (Webster’s 1828) “A fellow delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia made the following assessment of James Wilson’s gifts: ‘Government seems to have been his peculiar study, all the political institutions of the world he knows in detail, and can trace the causes and effects of every revolution from the earliest stages of the Grecian commonwealth down to the present time.” (Joe Wolverton II, New American, December 12, 2005)

“Of him, Benjamin Rush said, “An eminent lawyer and a great and enlightened statesman. He had been educated for a clergyman in Scotland, and was a profound and accurate scholar. He spoke often in Congress, and his eloquence was of the most commanding kind. . . His mind while he spoke, was one blaze of light. Not a word ever fell from his lips out of time, or our of place, nor could a word be taken from or added to his speeches without injuring them. He rendered great and essential services to his country in every stage of the Revolution.” Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1976), pages 221-223

Happy Fathers Day, 2008: Father to son: John Quincy Adams to George Washington Adams, September, 1811

from the AMERICAN CHRISTIAN HISTORY INSTITUTE
EAGLE’S AERIE by James and Barbara Rose

Happy Fathers Day, 2008

Father to son: John Quincy Adams to George Washington Adams, September, 1811:

"... so great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated upon, it is of all books in the world that which contributes most to make men good, wise and happy, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it throughout their lives, the more lively and confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful Citizens of their Country, respectable Members of Society, and a real blessing to their Parents...

I have myself for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year... My custom is, to read four - five Chapters of the Bible, every morning immediately after rising from bed. It employs about an hour of my time...

It is essential, my Son, in order that you may go through this life with comfort to yourself and usefulness to your fellow creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles for the Government of your own conduct, and temper... It is in the Bible that you must learn them, and from the Bible how to practice them. Those duties are to God, to your fellow creatures, and to yourself. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thy self." (Luke x.27 / Matt xxii.40 ) "On these two commandments (Jesus Christ expressly says) hang all the law and the prophets" - that is to say that the whole purpose of divine revelation is to inculcate them efficaciously upon the minds of men...

Let us then search the Scriptures...The Bible contains the Revelation of the Will of God, it contains the History of the Creation of the World and of mankind . . . It contains a System of Religion, and Morality, which we may examine upon its own merits, independent of the sanction it receives from being the Word of God..."

(John Quincy Adams in a letter to his son George Washington Adams on 1&8 September 1811)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

AMERICAN CHRISTIAN HISTORY INSTITUTE
EAGLE’S AERIE
James and Barbara Rose

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

John Adams on “The Manners of Women”

(from his Autobiography)

"From all that I had read of History of Government, human life and manners, I have drawn this conclusion, that the manners of women were the most infallible Barometer, to ascertain the degree of Morality and Virtue in a Nation. All that I have since read and all the observations I have made in different Nations, have confirmed me in this opinion. The Manners of Women are the surest Criterion by which to determine whether a Republican Government is practicable, in a Nation or not. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans . . . all lost their public Spirit, their

Republican Principles and habits, and their Republican Forms of Government, when they lost the Modesty and Domestic Virtues of their Women . . .

"The foundations of national Morality must be laid in private Families. In vain are Schools, Academies and universities instituted, if loose Principles and licentious habits are impressed upon Children in their earliest years. The Mothers are the earliest and most important Instructors of youth . . .” (June 2, 1778)

Lydia Sigourney wrote: "Demand of her as a debt the highest excellence which she is capable of attaining. Summon her to abandon selfish motives and inglorious ease. Incite her to those virtues which promote the permanence and health of nations. Make her accountable for the character of the next generation. . . Gird her with the whole armour of education and piety, and see if she be not faithful to her children, to her country, and to her God."

". . . For the strength of a nation, especially of a republican nation, is in the intelligent and well-ordered homes of the people. And in propor- tion as the discipline of families is relaxed, will the happy organization of communities be affected, and national character become vagrant, turbulent, or ripe for revolution." (Letters to Young Ladies, 1851)

PATRICK (380-472): APOSTLE TO IRELAND

Thanks for this essay from James & Barbara Rose of American Christian History Institute:

Patrick, according to his "Confession," was a Briton, from southern Scotland. He was captured at age 16, and carried off by pirates as a slave to Ireland where he was a shepherd for five years. There he reflected upon his Christian training at home and came to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. He was a man of prayer sometimes praying as many as 100 times a day in snow, frost and rain. He also learned the Irish dialect which providentially prepared him to witness to Ireland.

One night, Patrick heard a voice in his sleep, saying: “See, your ship is ready.” (Confession) After five years, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, he escaped to Britain. While back home, he became a thorough student of the Scriptures. He had a vision of a man reading letters and a voice saying: “We pray thee, holy youth, to come and walk again amongst us as before” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 21, p. 933). This call, similar to Paul’s "Macedonian call" (Acts 16:9-10), was a clear vision for Patrick to carry the Gospel to Ireland.

Ireland with its pagan Druid, idol worship and human sacrifices was hungry for the Gospel. Patrick’s first went to the place where he had been held captive to “County Antrim in the northwest . . . While he failed to win his former slave master, he was successful in converting the master’s household.” (Truth Triumphant, p. 85)

For 30 years, Patrick evangelized most of Ireland, baptizing thousands and establishing 365 churches. He had an intimate acquaintance with the Old and New Testaments as noted in his "Confessions." Wherever a group of people became converted to Christianity, Patrick requested that the local chieftain conform the civil law to the Ten Commandments. He compiled Liber ex Moisi (Book of Laws of Moses which contain the Ten Commandments, other Old Testament laws and a manuscript version of the four Gospels).

He was a Bible-reading, Bible-believing, Bible-preaching missionary. He recognized no other authority than that of the word of God. Patrick was never canonized and never went to Rome. He founded Bible schools which later became colleges. “The Christianity which Patrick founded became self-supporting in Ireland. From his missionary labors, the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ went forward from Ireland into the "Dark Ages" of Iona, Scotland, Britain and Central Europe in the 6th and 7th centuries. In 565 A.D., Columba introduced the Bible and Ten Commandments as the foundation of Scottish law. Scottish missionaries brought the Bible and Ten Commandments down the northeast coast of England.” (George C. Rogers, St. Patrick More than a Legend? March-April 2005 Issue, Posted/Updated: 2006-09-14 16:03:04 The Real Truth Magazine)

(From Patrick's Confession) “Who am I, O Lord, and to what hast Thou called me, Thou who didst assist me with such divine power that today I constantly exalt and magnify Thy name among the heathens. . . not only in good days but also in tribulations?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful work — thus imitating somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world. So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond which there lives nobody.

Patrick’s Background and Youth

Thanks for this essay from James & Barbara Rose of American Christian History Institute:

From his short autobiography, Confession, we find that Patrick’s father was named Calpurnius, a deacon in a church of the Christian religion. His grandfather, Potitus, was a presbyter in that same church. Patrick and his ancestors lived in the ancient town of Banavan in the area he called “the Britains.” Some sources place the location of this town near the English/Scottish border, while Neander, in his General History of the Christian Religion and Church, places the location decidedly in southern Scotland, yet reckoned to the province of Britain. The approximate date of his birth was somewhere between A.D. 360 to 380.

Before continuing with what Patrick disclosed in his Confession, one source adds some interesting insight about his family. Patrick’s father was a landowner and a decurion—an official in the provisional Roman government (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 21, p. 933). This meant that Patrick and his ancestors were Roman citizens—a definite badge of nobility. Although his British name was Succat, we will refer to him as Patrick, translated from his Roman name Patricius.

In Confession, Patrick explained that he was captured from the farm owned by his ancestors: “I was then almost sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God; and was taken to Ireland in captivity with many thousand men in accordance with our [just] deserts, because we walked at a distance from God and did not observe His commandments.” Patrick had been kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he remained for six to seven years. During this time, he acquired the Irish dialect of the Celtic language. Being able to communicate in the Irish dialect was crucial in regard to his future work in Ireland.

His years in captivity had intensified his desire to seek the truth. Cathcart, in his The Ancient British and Irish Churches, further disclosed that after escaping captivity, he returned home to Scotland, where he remained for about ten years. There, he solidified his convictions by drinking in the words of the Scriptures for which he had thirsted while in slavery.

Patrick’s Beliefs—Celtic Christianity

At this point, it is crucial that the distinction be made pertaining to the religion of Patrick and his ancestors, as opposed to the religion that became dominant in the Roman Empire. He and his relatives were deeply committed to Celtic Christianity. They lived during the late fourth century A.D., when the church at Rome had come of age and was opposing original apostolic Christianity, calling it “Judiazing.”

Celtic Christianity had been taken to the British Isles by some of the original apostles and their associates, as recorded in numerous sources, including Remains of Britain. The Celtic Church in the British Isles had maintained the original teachings of the apostles without compromise. It had been insulated from much of the direct intimidation by the church at Rome, which could call upon the state to force all within the confines of the Roman Empire to conform or face deportation or death. Some pressure had been exerted in England and Wales, while Ireland and Scotland were less impeded in their continuation of apostolic Christianity.

“The Celts believed in a literal interpretation of the Genesis account of the creation of man and the universe. Free moral agency was stressed, salvation could not be forced on anyone. Obedience of the Ten Commandments was a vital requirement for one wishing to obtain salvation, but even so, the Celtic Christian did not believe in salvation by works…Sincere prayer was advocated as vain repetition was not acceptable. There was no invocation of saints, angels or martyrs in the early Celtic Church” (The Incredible History of God’s True Church, Fletcher).

The dying words of Columba, a successor of Patrick, follows: “This day is called the Sabbath, that is, the day of rest, and such will it truly be to me; for it will put an end to my labors” (Lives of the Saints, Butler, vol. 6, p. 139).

Concerning the training given in the Celtic Church during and after the time of Patrick, we read, “The youth in the Culdee [Celtic Church in Scotland about the 6th century] schools clung to the fundamental Christian doctrines, such as the divinity of Christ, baptism, the atonement, inspiration of the Scriptures, the prophecies connected with the last days. They did not accept the doctrines of infallibility, celibacy, transubstantiation, the confessional, the mass, relic worship, image adoration, and the primacy of Peter” (Truth Triumphant, Wilkinson, p.108).

Patrick Returns to Ireland

During those years at home, Patrick was in preparation (by intense study of the Scriptures) for what awaited him in the future. Some distorted accounts recorded hundreds of years later claimed that Patrick, some time after his captivity, had gone to a Catholic monastery in Gaul as preparation for his future commission. Such accounts were mere fabrications, since, in his own account, Patrick never mentioned any connection with the Roman Catholics.

Patrick had a realistic dream in which the Irish were beckoning him to come and teach them as they proclaimed, “We pray thee, holy youth, to come and walk again amongst us as before” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 21, p. 933). Patrick was determined to answer this commission, which he regarded as being “from God.” This is similar to the account recorded in Acts 16:9-10, in which the apostle Paul had a vision or dream of a man from Macedonia bidding him to “come over into Macedonia, and help us.” Patrick readily complied, just as Paul had done.

With a number of helpers, Patrick traveled back to Ireland to teach the Irish the same gospel that some of their ancestors had received from the original apostles three centuries earlier. His first destination in Ireland was the very location where he had been held captive. Notice: “Therefore he proceeded immediately to County Antrim in the northwest, where he had endured slavery. While he failed to win his former slave master, he was successful in converting the master’s household” (Truth Triumphant, p. 85).

For the remaining sixty years of his life, Patrick reinforced apostolic Christianity in Ireland, which took root and flourished for about 700 years. “The training centers he founded, which later grew into colleges and large universities, were all Bible schools” (Ibid.). Probably the most famous student who would emerge from these schools was Columba, an Irishman of the royal family who dedicated his life to service in Scotland. Interestingly enough, Patrick had been a Scotsman who dedicated his life to service in Ireland.

Patrick (380-472 A.D.) had been the founder of the Bible schools and training centers in Ireland, some of which developed into colleges. Under the leadership of Columba (521-600 .D.), these colleges grew, with some developing into universities in both Ireland and Scotland.

Some historians claim that these schools were monasteries as existed under the Roman church. Others who referred to these schools as monasteries clearly recognized them as being radically different from all forms of Catholic monasteries. For example, the Celtic Church had always advocated stable close-knit families and permitted the clergy to marry, just as it opposed the practice of celibacy.

To Patrick, the churches and schools were inseparable. Neither could exist for long without the other, because true salvation had always been a process of education. He knew that without the underpinnings of a sound education, people could be easily deceived and led into error by false religion.

Concerning the range of subjects studied in these Celtic schools, notice: “The monastery was, in fact, a college where all the branches of learning then known were diligently cultivated; where astronomy was studied; where Greek as well as Latin literature entered into the curriculum; where the sons of kings and nobles received tuition; and where pious and promising youths were training up for the sacred office…But theology was the subject with which the attention of the teachers of the monastery was chiefly occupied; the Bible was their daily textbook; their pupils were required to commit much of it to memory” (Ibid., p. 108).

Celtic Christianity flourished in Ireland since it was regarded as a wilderness by Rome. Patrick’s commission to this island was greatly enhanced by this fact. He truly had led a portion of “the church in the wilderness” (Rev. 12:6) in his lifetime.

After seven centuries of relative freedom, Ireland finally came under the subjugation of the Roman church. The many schools, colleges and universities were taken over. So powerful had been the contribution of Patrick and his successors that it became necessary to invent a fictitious Patrick—one loyal to the church of Rome. In the course of mankind’s struggles and wars, “the victors always rewrite history,” and the church of Rome was no different.

Rome Obscures Patrick’s Work

It is crucial to understand Patrick’s rejection of emissaries from Rome: “He [Patrick] never mentions either Rome or the pope or hints that he was in any way connected with the ecclesiastical capital of Italy. He recognizes no other authority than that of the word of God…When Palladius arrived in the country, it was not to be expected that he would receive a very hearty welcome from the Irish [servant of God]. If he was sent by [Pope] Celestine to the native Christians to be their primate or archbishop, no wonder that stouthearted Patrick refused to bow his neck to any such yoke of bondage” (Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, Killen, vol. 1, pp. 12-15, as quoted in Truth Triumphant, p. 37).

Here are excerpts from an extensive summary of Rome’s attempt to cloud the issues: “They [medieval biographers] wrote of his [Patrick’s] studying with St. Germain, and of his attending a monastery near the Mediterranean, and finally of his going to Rome and receiving ordination from the pope. All these are mere inventions, and were not put forth till more than five hundred years after St. Patrick’s death and all of them are presented without a shadow of proof…In the establishment of his Church, St. Patrick in no instance ever appealed to any foreign Church, pope or bishop. In his Epistle to Coroticus (sect. 1), he simply announces himself as bishop: ‘I, Patrick, an unlearned man, to wit, a bishop constituted in Ireland: what I am I have received from God’…These well authenticated statements of St. Patrick concerning himself are wholly at variance with those of Probus and Joscelyn, who, for the first time, put forth their fabrications full five hundred years after his death. In regard to his studying with St. Germain as Tours, and of his going to Rome for ordination, all these stories were invented in the 10th or 12th century (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, McClintock and Strong, Vol. 7, pp. 774-775).

Another attempt to connect Patrick with Rome involved an account of legendary proportions: “Sleep came over the inhabitants of Rome, so that Patrick brought away as much as he wanted of the relics. Afterward those relics were taken to Armagh [the location of Patrick’s largest school in northern Ireland]…What was brought then was three hundred and threescore and five relics, together with the relics of Paul and Peter and Lawrence and Steven, and many others. And a sheet was there with Christ’s blood [thereon] and with the hair of Mary the Virgin” (Truth Triumphant, p. 87). Of this mythical theft, one papal writer rebuked Patrick: “O wondrous deed! O rare theft of a vast treasure of holy things, committed without sacrilege, the plunder of the most holy place in the world” (Ibid., p. 82).

Many other attributes were ascribed to Patrick in order to obscure his works. They include such accounts as his luring all the snakes out of Ireland, his illustrating the shamrock to teach the trinity (a doctrine that he never believed) and shamrocks sprouting from his body at the time of his death.

The fictitious St. Patrick has served well to hide the true identity of Patrick from the masses of humanity for many centuries. In spite of all these misleading legends, the truth about “St. Patrick” is far more fascinating than fiction. (BY GEORGE C. ROGERS)

Legend tells the story that inorder to help the Druids understand the Concept of the trinity, Patrick pulled up a shamrock leaf from the ground expalining how god could be three in one.

The Bulletproof George Washington

Thank you to James Rose, American Christian History Institute, for this article (book available from David Barton's Wallbuilder) about The Bulletproof George Washington:

The Bulletproof George Washington

George Washington's part in the July 9th, 1755, battle during the French and Indian War is indisputably one of the most significant events of his early years: his life literally hung in the balance for over two hours. This dramatic event helped shape his character and confirm God's call on him.

During the two-hour battle, the 23 year-old Colonel Washington had ridden to and fro on the battlefield, delivering the general's orders to other officers and troops. The officers had been a special target for the Indians. Of the eighty-six British and American officers, sixty-three were casualties. Washington was the only officer on horseback not shot down.

Following the battle, Washington wrote a letter to his brother in which he readily and openly acknowledged:

"By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet [I] escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!"

Fifteen years later, an old, respected Indian chief sought out Washington. The chief, explaining that he had led the Indians against them in the battle fifteen years earlier, revealed to Washington what had occurred behind the scenes during the conflict:

"I called to my young men and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior [Washington]? ...Himself is alone exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss--'twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded you. Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you...I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle."

This account of God's miraculous care of Washington and of Washington's open gratitude for God's Divine intervention could be found in virtually all student textbooks until 1934; today, few have ever heard it. Through The Bulletproof George Washington some of our lost history is being returned to the forefront where it belongs! (This work includes many of the original illustrations used in the early texts).

After reading this account you will have a greater appreciation for the Father of our Country and a profound awe of the manner in which God sovereignly preserved him for the important task of helping bring forth, guide, and establish this great nation. May this account once again become widely celebrated throughout America!

(Barton, Charles David, The Bulletproof George Washington, Wallbuilder Press, Aug. 1990).

Rose, Barbara: HOMESCHOOLING: STAYING THE COURSE

by Barbara Rose
American Christian History Institute

Mr. Rose and I have a burden for home schooling parents in this day and age. It is easy just to drop out of our public schools for negative reasons, but the perseverance and character it takes to home school requires more than negative reasons.

Homeschooling is answering God’s command in
Deut. 6:7: “You shall teach (God’s principles) diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (NASV)

In Eph. 6:4 Scripture commands fathers “to bring up (their children) in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”{NASV)

And in Jeremiah 10:2 (KJV) God commanded the Hebrews to “learn not the ways of the heathen…” These commands constitute the heart-beat of Christian homeschooling.

I recommend that every home schooling parent read the history of the 20th century battle to home school entitled Home School Heroes, the Struggle and Triumph of Home Schooling in America by Christopher Klicka of HSLDA, a home schooling father of seven.

“Home School Heroes is a book of stories of God’s faithfulness in answering the prayers of brave fathers and mothers, obeying His call to teach their children, while facing very intense and difficult legal opposition in the 1980’s and 90’s. This book tells the stories of God’s miraculous deliverance of these homeschooling parents in the courts and in the legislatures, while explaining what to do when faced with social workers, police, and truant officers at their door.” (Christopher J. Klicka)

In the early 1980s it was legal to home school in only 5 states. Mr. Klicka gives one example of extreme adversity in “North Dakota where nearly every home educator who was discovered by state officials was taken to criminal court, . . .” “Many families set up escape routes so that their children could run out the back door and hop over a fence if a truant officer came to the door.” (p. 9) “Homeschooling was hard in those early days. It took a person under great conviction from the Lord to take this big step to challenge the authorities and teach their children at home.” “This book is about families who, hearing the call of God, stood firm.” (p. 10)

Homeschooling in America goes back to the founding of our country and through the colonial period. HOLD UP THE “T” SHIRT: I Am Home Schooled and so were”—George Washington Martha Washington, Patrick Henry, James Madison, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, Jonathan Edwards, John Paul Jones, Abraham Lincoln—to name a few.

Mr. Klicka states that as “public schools were formed and compulsory attendance laws were passed throughout the country in the early 1900s, homeschooling almost died out. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the home school movement was reborn.” (p. 12)

Do our children belong to society? Senator Hillary Clinton once said: “it takes a village” to produce anything. But God says that our children are His gift and that “the responsibility and the authority to teach and raise the children (is delegated) to the parents first.” “Parents can delegate the authority” to someone else (ie. private or public school) “but they can never delegate the responsibility to teach their children to anyone else. God will always hold parents responsible…” (Klicka, pp. 15-16) To whom much is given, much is required. The Scriptures confirm that we can have “no greater joy than . . . to hear of (our) children walking in the truth.” (III Jh. 1:4)

You have this conviction or else you would not have chosen to home school. But there are parents who only home school as an alternative to public education but not out of submission to God’s command.

The battle to home school had been won by men like Michael Smith, Michael Ferris and Christopher Klicka of HSLDA and others. Today, homeschooling is legal in every state but not without challenges.

So, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour: But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (I Pe. 5:8-9)

Using Noah Webster’s definition of education embraced nearly 200 years ago, let me remind you of the four minimal goals of Christian education: to “enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents . . . who neglect these duties.” (Webster, Noah, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828)

Now consider the following excerpt from Rosalie Slater’s book: The Family and the Nation: Biblical Childhood, FACE, 2002
“As American Christians, our accountability includes the trust God gave us in our liberty—to use it for His glory, to honor Him in its practice. We must instruct our children in the art of self-government. . . In God’s providence, we have a peculiar calling among nations-- . . . that includes both the propagation of the Gospel and the keeping of the torch of Christian civil liberty for all.” (Slater, p. 135)

Consider the example of the Hebrew home. In her study of Biblical childhood, Miss Rosalie Slater observed that the Hebrew home was not only deeply religious but that “central in the . . . home was the observance of providential events in the history of Israel in which the children took part.” Fathers would relate “in language which a young child could understand, the ‘whole national history of Israel, from the calling of Abraham down to the deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the law.’” “The more fully this account was given and the better it was explained, the greater impression it made upon the memory of each child present. So from the time of babyhood were the young of each new generation made aware of details of their unique history of liberty.’” . . . “The nurturing Hebrew home has affected history extraordinarily. The Prophet Samuel faced the very conditions of spiritual decline and calamity that we face in America today by giving an answer that is a challenge to every Christian leader of this generation. . . . Because Samuel learned to hear and obey God at a young age, he became an instrument of reform in his nation.” (Slater,
p. 136)

“Samuel’s ministry to the homes of Israel convinced him that the educational level of the nation had plunged during its years of failed leadership from the priesthood. ‘In his long wanderings up and down among the people, during his toil in the course of his vast labor of religious restoration, he had seen how deep was the ignorance of the children of Israel. . . .” (Ibid)

“Samuel’s great work began with revival, repentance, and restoration—and it began in the families of the nation. It was a direct outcome of his own family life and preparation that sprang from the prayers of his mother, Hannah, and the faithfulness of his father, Elkanah. Samuel’s first work, too, with the Schools of the Prophets allowed the nation to build back the ability to become a GOD-REMEMBERING people.” (Slater, p. 137)

Can we do anything less? God, in His Providence, gave Americans a Christian history of liberty and self-government. Remembering our Christian history and repeating it to the next generation could be one of the great instruments of revival and reform in our nation just as it was in Samuel’s time!

In Nehemiah 4:13 we learn how the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. “. . . on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary explains that the people made their prayers unto God. “The instruction Christ has given us in our spiritual warfare agree with this example, Mt. 26:41 ‘Watch and pray.’ . . . he set them after their families, that mutual relation might engage them to mutual assistance.”

Just so, the walls of our country have to be restored—walls of Biblical truth, family, church, morality, America’s Christian history and self-government—the old paths—paths of blessing, truth, responsibility, and obedience to the Word.

What was God’s plan for rebuilding the wall? People were set as families with their swords, their spears, and their trowels. With the Word of God and our hearts and minds renewed for a capacity for Christian self-government, we can make our families instruments of healing in our communities, state and nation.

“Come, says he, be not afraid—behave yourselves valiantly.” We are in a battle not only for our families, but for our nation. Matthew Henry concludes: “Whom do you fight for? You cannot have a better cause; you fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters. All that is dear to you in their world lies at stake; therefore behave yourselves valiantly.”

I trust that you are not homeschooling just to get your children out of the perversion of the public school but in obedience to God who can restore us as “one nation under God”.

As Mr. Klicka reminds us: “The average of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency back into bondage. Homeschoolers need to be careful they are not undermined from within. We need to depend on God rather than government or we will return to bondage.” (Klicka, p. 293)

Stay the course. If God sustained homeschoolers in the past, “He will sustain you with the grace sufficient to handle your trouble” today. “He will work all things ‘together for good to those who love (Him) to those who are called according to His purpose.’ ” (Ro. 8:28) God will not give (you) more than you can bear . . .” (Klicka, p. 304)

You want to continue to have the liberty to home school? Then, in the words of Isa. 58:12: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places (restore America’s Christian history and Christian self-government to your children): Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”