Many of our words and phrases today
come from our history, including the Bible.
“Feet of clay” is one such example. In the Book of Daniel, King
Nebuchadnezzar (AD 600) dreams of a magnificent statue with a head of gold, a
chest of silver, and legs of iron, but its feet are made of a fragile mix of
iron and clay. Because the base is weak, the entire statue is easily smashed. The
only one who could tell the king the meaning of the dream was Daniel, God’s
prophet. He was telling the king that
his kingdom would someday topple. Over
time, the phrase evolved to describe an idolized figure (like a leader,
celebrity, or hero) whose hidden flaws are eventually exposed, causing their
respected image to topple. (See Below)
“Virtually all the Founding Fathers went to their graves realizing that slavery, no matter how intractable, would become the largest and most permanent stain on their legacy. And when Abraham Lincoln eventually made the decision that, at terrible cost, ended slavery forever, he did so in the name of the Founders.” (History News Network, December 17, 2007)
Yet another example of our clay
feet: I was riding with a friend in his car as he turned into a store's parking
lot. “You have to be careful when
driving in here. Some people dash across
lanes,” he remarked. Within seconds, he
was dashing across lanes. I learned
where the phrase “white-knuckling” came from! One thing consistent about us is
our inconsistency.
Though our Founding Fathers
disagreed, they were able to come together to form America. What can we do to honor them? We should guard our foundation. The Nebuchadnezzar statue looked mighty, but
it only took smashing the weak feet, or foundation, to make it fall. What comprises
America’s foundation? Some claim that
the United States was formed like Israel. Israel was ruled directly by God,
what we call a theocracy. America is a
democratic republic, governed by the people through elected
representatives. Others claim that
America was and is a Christian nation. Christianity
is not the official religion of America.
The Bill of Rights made sure religion was protected by the First Amendment,
stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
Though America is not a theocracy,
its foundation was, in part, built on Christian principles. Others believe our Founders were greatly
influenced by Enlightenment thinking.
Not totally the case!
Some historians claim the overriding
view of God by the Founders was Deism, that God created man and then stepped
away without any help from Him. If that
is the definition of Deism, then none of the Founding Fathers were deists. For
example, Ben Franklin called upon Congress to pray. Here is part of his speech:
In this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in the room for the divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard and they were graciously answered…or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?... I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs in the affairs of men.” (See https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/why-ben-franklin-called-for-prayer-at-the-constitutional-convention/).
I can get quote after quote on this from
the other leaders, but space and time do not permit.
WHAT, THEN, SHALL WE DO?…to see our
foundation as a nation remains strong? Abide
by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, despite
our differences and our clay feet.
Remember our principles, greatly influenced by the Bible.
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