A few weeks ago, after my wife Kristie and I had been in Demopolis about a month an older couple who happened to be members at the First Baptist Church of Demopolis came by our house and welcomed us to the community. The couple was Mr. and Mrs. Drew Johnson. I had a wonderful time talking to them and I knew Mr. Johnson and I would become instant friends after he identified himself as a Southerner, a Razorback, a Baptist and a Republican. I am not a Razorback or a Baptist but other than that we had at least two things in common. When he mentioned that he was a Republican, that put sparks in my ear because I am also a Republican and I love politics. I often tell my church members that if God had not called me into the ministry that I would have gone into politics. Anyway, through that conversation we talked about moral issues facing our country and that night I had spent a good bit of time thinking of that brief conversation I had with the neat couple earlier that day.

Going back to the reflection that I had of the conversation I had with the Johnson’s I want to allow my article today to reflect upon what many of our former Presidents have said about the role of God in our nation:

The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests. – Andrew Jackson

It is impossible to govern rightly without God and the Bible. – George Washington

The foundation of our society and our government rests so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country. – Calvin Coolidge

The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. – Abraham Lincoln

The basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a government which does not believe in the rights for anybody except the State! – Harry S. Truman

The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Nations, no less than individuals, are subject to the eternal and immutable laws of justice and morality. – John Quincy Adams

And can 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 of the gift of God? – Thomas Jefferson

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. – John Quincy Adams

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail, in exclusion of religious principle. – George Washington

Freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to all humanity. – George W. Bush

America is great because God has blessed America – Bill Clinton

I want to thank Mr&Mrs. Drew Johnson for coming over to the parsonage and welcoming my wife and I to the community and I thank God for people like them who still believe God has a place in America.

God Bless and GOOOOOO DAWGS,

Marshall Murphy – Pastor, First Christian Church of Demopolis