Author: Thomas Lee Abshier
James Madison, founding father, known as the “chief architect of the Constitution,” on June 20, 1785, wrote in regard to the relationship between religion and civil government.
“Religion is the basis and Foundation of Government…. We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
James Madison said in 1788:
The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the World and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities to be impressed with it.
On March 4, 1809, President James Madison explained in his Inaugural Address:
We have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being, whose power regulates the destiny of nations.
In 1785 James Madison explained:
“It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage…. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.”
Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us. If this freedom be abused, it is an offense against God, not against man: To God, therefore, not to man, must an account of it be rendered.
Religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, unpunished and unrestrained by the magistrate, unless under color of religion any man disturb the peace, the happiness, or safety of society, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity toward each other.
James Madison, who made copious notes in his personal Bible, wrote in Acts Chapter 19:
Believers who are in a State of Grace, have need of the word of God for their Edification and Building up therefore implies a possibility of falling. v. 32. Grace, it is the free gift of God. Luke. 12. 32-v.32. Giver more blessed than the Receiver. v. 35. To neglect the means for our own preservation is to Tempt God: and to trust to them is to neglect him. v. 3 & Ch. 27. v. 31. Humility, the better any man is, the lower thoughts he has of himself. v. 19. Ministers to take heed to themselves & their flock. v. 28. The apostles did greater Miracles than Christ, in the matter, not manner, of them. v. 11
In another place he states:
It is not the talking but the walking and working person that is the true Christian.
James Madison, wrote on November 9, 1772 to William Bradford:
A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest while we are building ideal monuments of Renown and Bliss here we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.
quotes from:
America’s God and Country by William J. Federer
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