Giving Thanks this Week

Well, I'm glad to be home from my trip the Evangelical Theological Society's sixty-first annual conference. The shortage of blogs last week was due to poor internet access at the premier hotel hosting the event. I tried twice to post blogs only to have them get lost in cyber-space and gave up.

So I'm thankful that I was kept safe and brought home from the trip. There are so many things to be thankful for during this week when we will celebrate national Thanksgiving Day. Among the things to be thankful for is that we live in a nation that was established on what could broadly be termed Christian principles, though those have fallen by the wayside in the last fifty plus years. Take notice, for instance, of this quote from President Washington's Inaugural Address of 1789: "we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained" (A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789--1897, vol. 1, 53). In his first Inaugural Address, Washington noted throughout the hand of Divine Providence in establishing the United States. Let us not forget during this week of food, football, and hunting, that the original intent of this celebration was to show gratitude to God for his blessings on this nation and our lives. Let us also be mindful of the need to support and maintain biblical morality in the public square and our private lives.

Bearing in mind Washington's comments on the "eternal rules of order and right" I would refer the reader at this critical point in our nation's history to the Manhattan Declaration (http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/) as an affirmation of commitment to maintain Christian standards of conduct in the face of a government now gone astray from its roots. Be thankful you still have the right to protest and stand for what is right.