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Almost every State of our Union has a Preamble. The word Preamble means “a preliminary or preparatory statement; and introduction.” And if they don’t have a formal preamble, they spell out where their rights come from.
We have established in this blog series that our Country’s foundation was cemented in Christianity and Christian principles. Our schoolbooks were dripping in Christianity, the Bible was the most important book in the land, and our Founding Fathers were backing it up in their speeches…so much so that they talked about how dangerous it would be if we ever abandoned it.
Now again, what gets lost in all of this is the very nature of our God and Christianity. As Christians, we should never force our beliefs on anyone. God does not do this. He wants a relationship with YOU, but if you reject that and do not want a relationship with Him, He will leave you with what you desire. Unfortunately, the sad reality is… because we are a broken people, full of a sinful nature… without God, our destiny is brutal and eternally damning. But the point of my coming back to this thought that Christianity would never force itself on anyone is that it cracks the door open for those to argue that America was never a Christian Nation. The argument is quite simple and seems bullet-proof… if the Founding Fathers didn’t force Christianity to be the religion of the land, that proves we were not a Christian Nation. Unfortunately, for those who want to hang their hat on that, you are doing that on something that Christianity is not, never was, and never will be. So, there is no reason the Founding Fathers would have done that either. It’s that simple. And with some logic, common sense, and honesty, it should be quite easy to understand.
With that being said, let’s get back to a very interesting thing when we look at every State’s Preamble, or their Bill of Rights or Constitutions.
Well… how about we just let them speak for themselves:
Alabama 1901…”invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God…”
Alaska 1956…”grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.”
Arizona 1911…”grateful to Almighty God for our liberties…”
Arkansas 1874… “grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government;”
California 1879…“grateful to Almighty God for our freedom.”
Colorado 1876...”with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.”
Connecticut 1818…”acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God…”
Delaware 1897…”Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.
Florida 1885…”grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty…”
Georgia 1777…”relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God…”
Hawaii 1959…”Grateful for Divine Guidance…”
Idaho 1889…”grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…”
Illinois 1870…”grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.”
Indiana 1851…”grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.”
Iowa 1857…”grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed…”
Kansas 1861…”grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges…”
Kentucky 1891…”grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties…”
Louisiana 1921…”grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberties we enjoy.”
Maine 1820…”acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity…And imploring His aid and direction.”
Maryland 1776…”grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty…”
Massachusetts 1780…”acknowledge with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe…In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction…”
Michigan 1908…”grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution.”
Minnesota 1857…”grateful to God of our civil and religious liberty…”
Mississippi 1890…”grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work…”
Missouri 1845…”with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness…”
Montana 1889…”grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty…”
Nebraska 1875…”grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…”
Nevada 1864…”grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…”
New Hampshire 1792…”every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.”
New Jersey 1844…”grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.”
New Mexico 1911…”grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty…”
New York 1846…”grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.”
North Carolina 1868…”grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those…”
North Dakota 1889…”grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty…”
Ohio 1852…”grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…”
Oklahoma 1907…”Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty…”
Oregon 1857…”All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences…”
Pennsylvania 1776…”grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance…”
Rhode Island 1842…”grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing…”
South Carolina 1778…”grateful to God for our liberties…”
South Dakota 1889…”grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties…”
Tennessee 1796…”that all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience…”
Texas 1845…”We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the Grace and Beneficence of God.”
Utah 1896…”grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty…”
Vermont 1777…”Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man…”
Virginia 1776…”the duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other.”
Washington 1889…”grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties…”
West Virginia 1872…”Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the People of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God…”
Wisconsin 1848…”We, the People of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility…”
Wyoming 1890…”We, the People of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties…”
I would venture to guess that you didn’t have to read every single state to get the idea, so why did I take the time to spell out each one? I did this for a couple of reasons. One, if you are like me at all, and you are reading this, I am guessing you went right to the state you live in to see the words they used to acknowledge God. But the other reason I did this was that I felt it was worthy and vitally important to show that every single state does, in fact, acknowledge God.
Now, those who want to reject our Christian heritage will jump on the idea that acknowledging God doesn’t mean the Christian God. However, the evidence I have laid out in previous blogs points directly to the only God they were talking about. Yes, the God of the Bible, the Christian God.
This brings me to another very interesting tidbit of information in this deep dive of our Nation’s history: If you Google search “When was the Bible removed from public schools?” you will find that the Supreme Court decision in Abington School District v. Schempp in 1963 removed School-sanctioned Bible reading and mandatory prayer in public schools. This came off the back of a 1962 Supreme Court ruling in Engel v. Vitale, which made the mandatory recitation of an official state prayer in public schools unlawful. Two things scream at me as I do this research:
The first one being how interesting it is that these rulings came a few years after ALL 50 states were now in place in our Union as the United States of America, having acknowledged, given credit to, and depending on God for our liberties (Hawaii being the last one in 1959).
The second one is that we declared our independence as a nation back in 1776. The Bible, prayer, and the Christian God only became a problem in this country as of 1963! So, for the first 187 years, God and the Bible were the centerpiece and foundation for who we were as a country, but over the last 63 years, we have turned away from His Guidance and turned our back on Him. And yet, we have the audacity to wonder why our schools are so unsafe.
This brought me to Google search the following: “Who was on the Supreme Court in 1962-1963?” And here is what popped up in the AI Overview: “This specific lineup became one of the most famously active and influential liberal courts in U.S. History, often referred to as the “Warren Court.” I was definitely not shocked to find this answer as it popped onto my screen.
To finish this blog, I will point out this. In a courtroom, there is Direct Evidence, and there is Circumstantial Evidence. These evidences put people in prison for life or even the death penalty, depending on the crime. Direct Evidence proves a fact outright, for example, an eyewitness account or a video showing the crime. Circumstantial Evidence proves a series of facts that point to a conclusion. Since none of us lived during the founding of our nation, you may argue that there is no Direct Evidence available to us that we were a Christian Nation. I would argue there are historical books written in our Nation’s history that I would consider as Direct Evidence. However, if I can’t get you to agree on that, there is no way one can look at the overwhelming pieces of Circumstantial Evidence laced all over our Nation’s history and deny it all points to one conclusion: We are a Nation built on Christian principles with a Christian Heritage.
God, I pray you give our country wisdom, to reverse the course of the last 60+ years of our Nation so that we can return to the greatness that we had when we found shelter under your wings, to which all our freedoms and liberties we owe! I pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Have Character!
J. Noah Russell
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