"It is hoped that by God's assistance, some of the continents in the Ocean will be discovered....for the Glory of God." Christopher Columbus
Beginnings.......
"It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies.... There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures.... I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied.... No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of Our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service. The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will, even though He gives advice. He lacks nothing that is in the power of men to give Him. Oh, what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible day and night, moment by moment, everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to Him." Christopher Columbus
Jamestown (The Virginia Company's Charter): (Excerpt from preamble)"...Propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages, living in these parts, to human civility and to a settled and quiet government" King James I of England
The first act of the Jamestown Landing Party was to erect a magnificent
cross representing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The second act of the Colonists was to kneel down and commemorate the Last Supper together. Jamestown was the site of the first Protestant Church in America, and Robert Hunt laid down his life for this cause. Upon the base of the tallest and most conspicuous monument in Jamestown reads: "... Make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God...."
"All persons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the One Almighty and Eternal God to be the Creator, Upholder, and Ruler of the world, and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no wise be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion or practice, in matters of faith and worship; nor shall they be compelled at any time to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever." April 25, 1662- William Penn signed this to establish religious liberty in the new provence of (Pennsylvania).
"Everyone appointed to public office must say, "I do profess faith in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost. In God who is blessed forevermore I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures and the Old and New Testaments which are given by divine inspiration." Delaware Constitution of 1776
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations. The battle is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, ALMIGHTY GOD! Give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry of the Constitutional Convention
"A general dissolution of Principles and Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader . . . If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security." Samuel Adams, 1779