400 years later

Earlier this week we visited Jamestown settlement, a replica of the original settlement in 1607, the first permanent settlement in the American colonies 400 years ago.

Here is a replica of the Susan Constant, one of the three original ships that brought over the settlers. The other picture is of our son Wade checking out the well inside the fort.

10,000th visitor

Riddle: They call it a library, it looks like a barn, but its really a museum. What is it?

It's the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C. While on our vacation, we decided to spend Thursday morning visiting the Billy Graham Library. When we arrived, they told Mary that she was the 10,000th visitor since it opened on June 5, 2007. They took several pictures of us, and gave us a gift bag with books by Billy Graham and Ruth Bell Graham, and a souvenir mug, t-shirt and cap.

We really enjoyed our visit. Everything is free. We first saw the Graham family homeplace where Billy Graham grew up, and got a picture of our family with Billy's picture in the home. Then we visited the library itself (a museum that looks like a barn in honor of the Graham's farm home). The main feature in the library is an hour-long interactive theater program. You move from room to room as you watch videos and see displays remembering the ministry of the man who has preached the gospel to more people than any other human in history. While honoring Graham, the library's focus is upon Christ. More than anything else, it is a celebration of how God worked through one man to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. I took the picture from the inside of the library looking out through the cross-shaped glass entrance. Through the cross you can see the family home.

It is well worth a trip to Charlotte to see the Billy Graham Library. We're glad we went!

Shenandoah

I'm on vacation with my family, and my daughter took this picture of me at Jones Run Falls in Shenandoah State Park in Virginia. I took the picture of Mary and the kids looking at Moorman's River Overlook and the wildflowers at Rockytop Overlook. The beauty of God's creation was stunning.

Is America a Christian nation?

I just finished reading The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America, by Frank Lambert, professor of history at Purdue University.

Lambert does a good job of answering the question, "Was America founded as a Christian nation?"

Basically, his answer is "yes and no." He shows how America was first settled for religious reasons, whether it was Puritans in Massachusetts, Anglicans in Virginia, Baptists in Rhode Island, or Quakers in Pennsylvania. These early settlers clearly wanted to make America a model Christian nation.

However, Lambert says that the Founding Fathers decided it would be more practical to keep church and state separate in the new government, since there were many different religious groups and there was no way that one denomination could become the established state church.

Men like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, who were influenced by the Enlightenment, felt that men should be free to use their own reason in matters of religion. The Baptists and others who benefitted from the rapid growth of "free" churches in the Great Awakening were persecuted by established churches and wished to have no established church, so they joined with men like Jefferson in calling for separation of church and state.

Lambert shows that there was great division over these issues, and gives interesting anecdotes and quotations from both sides. He quotes frequently from religious leaders on both sides of the issue. However, near the end of the book he spends much more time quoting Republicans like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and gives little space to Federalists like George Washington and John Adams. At one point, on page 161, Lambert implies that John Adams was a deist, even though biographies of Adams have shown him to be a devout Christian with a Puritan heritage.

Lambert shows his view in his conclusion, as he criticizes accomodationists such as Judge William Rehnquist and "religious right" preachers like Pat Robertson. While Lambert gives both sides of the argument, he clearly leads the reader to his own separationist interpretation. Because the book is so full of useful information, I highly recommend it as a textbook on the subject, but let the reader understand that Lambert has his own bias, too.

Lambert's book is full of interesting quotes. Here are a few that I found fascinating:

"Christ Jesus never called for the sword of steel to help the sword of the Spirit." -- Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island

"Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad." -- William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania

"I believe, that to defend the Christian religion is one thing, and to knock a man in the head for being of a different, is another thing." -- William Livingstone, New York lawyer

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people, that these liberties are the gift of God?" -- Thomas Jefferson

"If government can answer for individuals at the day of judgment, let men be controlled by it in religious matters; otherwise, let men be free." -- John Leland, Baptist minister

Texas Baptists post sex-offenders

The Baptist General Convention of Texas has decided to publicize the names of ministers who formerly or currently served in affiliated churches who are registered sex offenders. The names of convicted sex offenders is posted on their website. They also maintain a site, called "Broken Trust," that gives helpful guidance in handling sexual abuse issues in a church.
They also have a private list of ministers who have not been convicted of a crime but have confessed to adultery or problems with pornography or homosexuality. They have declined to release the names of those on the latter list, however.
I am glad that our church, First Baptist Church of Rincon, requires a background check on all persons who work with minors, including our ministers, Sunday school teachers, Vacation Bible School workers, etc.
I would agree that this information needs to be available to churches seeking a minister. What do you think, readers?

Lauren is home!

Lauren is home from her mission trip to Paris, France.

She says she had a great time and enjoyed sharing her faith with French college students.

One story she tells is that on her last day there, she was able to share the entire gospel with two French girls. One was Buddhist, which considered her "philosophy" more than her religion. The other was a Protestant who didn't go to church. Lauren said both girls were "sweet" and very interested in hearing the gospel, and they all exchanged email addresses to keep in touch.

Pray for the seed that was planted to take root and blossom. Here is a picture of the mission team in front of the University of Paris; Lauren is in the middle front. Also here is a picture of Lauren with the Eiffel Tower in the background.