Bible Baptist Publications

Introduction

            The purpose of this publication is to promote freedom.  I am just one American man who happens to be very concerned with the present condition of our country.  I have been a student of American history for years, and I have a special interest in the wisdom of our founding fathers.  After about 180 years of trial and error, from the Jamestown and Plymouth settlements to the time of the American Revolution, these men brought all of the great ideas of past writers, such as John Locke, Cicero, and Blackstone, into one setting and framed the greatest legal documents ever produced by men: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

No nation in world history has enjoyed the liberties that we have enjoyed, and no nation has accomplished more good for the world than America.  We have been, by far, the most charitable nation in history.  In addition to evangelizing the world, we have fed the world, educated the world, and we have supplied more aid and relief to the world than most other nations combined.  We have led the world with inventions and discoveries in the fields of medicine, energy, housing, agriculture, transportation and communication.  We have sent our soldiers to fight and die on foreign battlefields so that others might enjoy the same freedoms that we enjoy. Yet, what do we get in return?  We get envy, hatred, and terrorism.  We get liberals, communists and socialists trying to give us the guilt trip for being so prosperous.  No, thanks! We are prosperous because God has blessed us and made us prosperous, and we owe no one an apology for it.  For the better part of our history, we have been good stewards with our God-given prosperity, and I, for one, am not taking the guilt trip.  Neither will you, if you really love your country.  In spite of our present state, we have historically been a great nation, and we still are in many ways.  The world is better because of America, and I refuse to bow to those who want to re-write history and spread their own guilt around to the rest of us. Sure, we have our problems today, and we might not recover from them, but that doesn’t change history.  America has truly been a shining city on a hill, and she can continue to be if we rediscover our founding principles and re-kindle the spirit of freedom.  If we will stop listening to the enemies of freedom and stop voting for them, then there might still be some hope.  If we will personally learn what it means to be an American by acquainting ourselves with our founding documents and the wisdom of men like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, then our best days might not be in our past and our children might enjoy the same America that we have enjoyed.  It’s a long shot, I grant you, for our nation is truly in a mess, but maybe the publication and distribution of this little booklet can make a difference.

Maybe you can make a difference by ordering copies of this booklet for your friends and family members.  As you read through the following pages, please ask the question, “What if every American citizen knew this?”  Then ask what you can do to educate them.  Being an American means more than being free; it means preserving freedom for others.  May this humble booklet inspire you to do your part.

The Twelve Laws of Freedom

“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD

is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king;

he will save us.”  (Isa. 33:22)

            In addition to laying out all three branches of American government (judicial, legislative, and executive), the above verse states that God is our “lawgiver.”  Historically, the verse is speaking of God being the lawgiver of ancient Israel’s written law of Moses, but, in a much broader sense, God is the giver of all natural law, and, as we shall see, His laws must be followed by those who wish to remain free.

            For a very good reason, I’m not going to use a lot of Scripture in this message.  I want to stress the fact that these laws, although in agreement with the Bible, are not only for Bible-believing people.  These laws were all in effect long before the Bible was written because these are laws of nature and, as Jefferson stated, “nature’s God.”  Please bear with me here.  I’m not trying to come across as a deist.  I’m merely stressing the fact that people everywhere want freedom, and they can have it, if they simply follow the general rules of nature that have been tried and proven for thousands of years in various cultures.  The thing that has made America so exceptional is the fact that all of these laws were applied and embraced in one country at the same time.  That has never happened before.  Consequently, there has never been a country like the United States.

Law Number One

All men are created with equal rights under God, but will not prosper apart from living in obedience to His revealed will.

            Logic demands that if there is a Creator, then His creation must be subject unto Him.  All men are created with equal rights, but not with equal things.  One’s material prosperity depends on his desire and ability to acquire adequate knowledge and training and to work towards certain goals, making the right decisions all along the way.  God not only created Adam and Eve; He gave them responsibilities and held them accountable (Gen. 1-3).  Tremendous blessings could have been theirs had they not violated God’s natural law.  This applies to every person ever born, be they Christians, Jews, Muslims, Catholics, atheists, agnostics, or otherwise.  Those who obey the Creator will prosper; those who disobey will fail.

            For instance, it is foolish to suggest that Bob and Daniel should have equal things when Bob works part time at a convenience store and Daniel is a certified electrician.  If Bob expects to have equal things to Daniel, then he must stop sleeping until lunch and working only twenty hours per week.  He must view his convenience store job as a temporary job while trying to move on to something better. If he chooses to move on faster by stealing from the cash register, then he has violated God’s law and will not prosper.  While Daniel is wearing nice clothes and taking his family out to dinner, Bob will be wearing the fluorescent orange county pajamas and eating bologna sandwiches with criminals like himself.  He had equal rights, but he forfeited those rights when he made the immoral choices to be lazy and steal from his fellow man.  So it is with all that live in opposition to God’s law.

Law Number Two

Far from being free, freedom is earned and preserved by
 the sacrifices of wise and honorable people.

            Freedom is neither automatic nor perpetual.  Whether it be soldiers fighting on the field of battle, legislators passing laws, educators teaching students, authors writing books and articles, or simply parents teaching their children to stand for our National Anthem, freedom is earned and preserved only by the ongoing labors of learned, respectful, freedom-loving, people.  To enjoy the blessings of freedom and not work to preserve it is to take without giving back, and, ultimately, to lose freedom altogether.  Only ignorant and selfish people live in such dishonor.  Wise people always find ways to fuel the flame of freedom—to earn the liberties that they enjoy and to pass them on to their children.  As Andrew Jackson said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”  The Israelites were told that they would live and prolong their days in the land (in essence, enjoy freedom) when they did something.  Having a free country wasn’t automatic.  It was conditional on their walking in God’s ways.  This meant teaching God’s ways to their children (Deu. 6:7) and cleansing the land of those who sought to teach otherwise (Deu. 18:20-22).  Doing nothing meant bondage, and it still does.

Law Number Three

Governments should be instituted only with the consent of
 the majority of the people to be governed.

            Freedom cannot have it otherwise because freedom concerns mass populations, not ruling elites.  No one is a better judge of freedom than the people enjoying or not enjoying the freedom.  Therefore, the notion that a few can morally prescribe laws for many is a contradiction.  Only the many can truly discern the value of such “freedom.” 

            If our Constitution had been drafted by just a few men in Philadelphia rather than by delegates from the several states, then the document would reflect only the views of a few, and those views would be binding on everyone, regardless of their views.  Human nature, being what it is, would corrupt such a document to the point that only the legislating minority would enjoy true freedom.  This is what we had under British rule.

            Furthermore, a truly representative government cannot have more authority than the people can delegate to it.  For instance, you have a moral right under God to protect your family and property, so it is morally acceptable for you to elect a sheriff to protect your family and property.  However, you do not have the moral right to deduct money from my paycheck and give it to someone else; therefore, it is morally wrong for you to elect men who will.  This constitutes non-representative government, not government based on the consent of the people.  The further we move in this direction the further we move away from the intent of our founders.

            However, we do still enjoy many of the freedoms protected by our Constitution and Bill of Rights because it was with the consent of the people that the founding document came into being.  In other words, the Constitution reflects what the people wanted, not what their leaders thought they should have, thanks to their delegates voicing their desires.  This is especially true of the Bill of Rights that would not have became law if not for John Leland and many Virginian Christians giving their support for James Madison under the condition that he would push for the Bill of Rights after the Constitution had passed.  Madison pushed for the Bill of Rights with the consent of the people, and the representatives of the people made it law.  While other nations have suffered from multiple revolutions over the past two centuries, we have enjoyed freedom because our government was established with the consent of the majority of the people.

            This law is so solid that, even against His own will, God consented to allowing the majority of the people to choose Saul as their king (I Sam. 8).

Law Number Four

Established governments should possess only the powers
 that are specifically stated in a written legal document.

            The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to restrict government.  This is made clear in the first sentence of the First Amendment:  “Congress shall make no law . . .”  The Third Amendment begins with the words “No Soldier shall . . .”  The Fourth Amendment says, “The right of the people . . . shall not be violated . . .”  The Fifth Amendment begins with the words “No person shall be held . . .”  These are restrictive words that imply that government would oppress the people if allowed to do so.  So, we have a written legal document that limits the powers of government.  As Thomas Jefferson said, “In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” The Psalmist agrees in Psalm 118:8:  “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”  Human leaders must be restricted or they will become beasts (Rev. 13; Psa. 49:20).

Law Number Five

A free people may enjoy their freedom only as long as they remain
 a moral people and elect wise and morally strong leaders.

     The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville probably stated it best in his Democracy in America that was written after his visit to America in the mid 1800’s.  De Tocqueville wrote that “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

     For instance, why do modern Americans elect socialist leaders who despise our founding fathers and our founding documents?   Why do we keep electing leaders who take us further down the road to ruin?  Is it not because we as a people have forsaken the moral principles that built our great nation?  Today, millions of people vote only for the political candidates that promise to give them things that other people have (health care, welfare, home ownership, grants, educational benefits, tax deductions, retirement benefits, etc).  Since such candidates have nothing to give of themselves, they must give it from the public treasury, which amounts to taking from other Americans. So, the voters covet what other Americans have and then elect leaders to steal it for them.  This is just as immoral as hiring a thief to steal a car.  To blame only the leaders for this injustice is like blaming a thief for stealing a car that you hired him to steal.  Both are immoral and both are responsible.

    Abortion is legal only because we elected immoral leaders.  Prayer, Bible reading, and the Ten Commandments are missing from our schools because we elected immoral leaders.  The national debt is over fourteen trillion dollars (2011) because we elected immoral leaders.  Homosexual marriages are being legalized in some states because we have elected immoral leaders.  Take a look at the following list and ask yourself how many American leaders qualify:

                  1. Able men

                  2. Men that fear God

                  3. Men of truth

                  4. Men who hate covetousness

Those are the Biblical qualifications for elected leaders, according to Exodus 18:21.  Did you keep that in mind when you last visited the voting booth?  It’s very simple: we have become an immoral people. Until that changes, our freedoms will continue to fade away.

Law Number Six

All government should be as localized as possible with centralization
 being viewed as a general menace to the public good.

            Leaders are easier to watch when they are living and working in your own hometown and county and they are more aware of the legitimate needs of the people.  It is when we send career politicians to represent us hundreds and thousands of miles away that they lose touch with reality and become servants of special interest rather than servants of the majority of the people.  The least government should be national, and the most government should be organized at the state and local levels.  As Ronald Reagan used to say, “Government isn’t the answer to the problem; government is the problem.”  That wouldn’t be the case if the federal government had been kept small and local communities and states were mostly left to govern themselves.

            Again, the Bible sheds light for those who will receive it.  Wise men were elected to be

            1. Rulers of thousands

            2. Rulers of hundreds

            3. Rulers of fifties

            4. Rulers of tens

            Only the greatest matters were brought to Moses (Exo. 18:21-22).  Everything else was governed by these localized leaders.  Warnings were even given against concentrating too much power into one man.  It seems that taking from people was as common then as it is now:   “And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.”(I Sam. 8:11-17) 

Law Number Seven

The majority of any people reserve the right to alter or abolish
 any form of government that threatens the freedoms endowed to them by God.

            In our Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that “governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.”  He then went on to point out that England’s “long train of abuses and usurpations” were not light.  These were major abuses that threatened to reduce us “under absolute despotism.”  In such cases, Jefferson wrote, it is our right and our duty to “throw off such government, and to provide new guards” for our future security.

            The men that voted for the Declaration of Independence were not some insignificant, grumbling, minority.  They were delegates from the thirteen colonies which consisted of well over two million people, and less than twenty percent of the colonists were Tories (Loyalists, supporters of the British Crown).  Some colonists remained neutral, but the majority supported the Patriot cause and the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the document that legally abolished England’s rule over the colonies.  So, America was established by a consenting majority, and is still structured so that majority opinion rules.

            In Acts 15:22-29, the Holy Spirit emphasizes that the people were “assembled with one accord” (vs. 25) when the decision was made “to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things” (vs. 28-29).  The church government was altered and the teaching to keep the law was abolished, but only with the approval of a consenting majority.

Law Number Eight

To prevent the abuse of power, governments should
 be instituted with a system of checks and balances.

          The events of I Samuel chapter eight come to mind again.  The corrupt sons of Samuel were not good leaders, so the people stepped in and demanded a king.  Now, we know that they took too large of a step and ended up with a bad king, but the principle of checks and balances was still at work and God honored it.  The same was true with the issue in Acts chapter fifteen when the apostles and elders stepped in to correct a false teaching.

          It was understood by the founders that men possess a sinful nature and tend to be corrupted by power.  So, history has shown that trusting leaders to govern right can be a costly mistake.  Again, let us be reminded of Jefferson’s remark about confidence in man:  “In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

It was the Constitution that created the three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  When functioning as designed, this provides a checks and balance system that keeps government clean and efficient.  If the House of Representatives chooses to pass an unconstitutional bill, the Senate can see to it that the bill never reaches the President’s desk.  If the Senate fails in this regard, it is the President’s duty to veto the bill.  If the President signs the bill, it can still be taken to the Supreme Court.  Unfortunately, the leaders of all three government branches usually agree to cover for one another and not bring corruption into check.  This is like a man ending up with an overdraft because he and his wife have both agreed to never reconcile the checkbook with the bank statement. Free governments always have an efficient checks and balances system.

Law Number Nine

Property rights are essential to the

security of life, liberty, and happiness.

            All prosperous civilizations have had property rights as a part of their foundation.  John Adams said that liberty cannot exist unless property rights are secured.  The absence of property rights in a land creates a negative chain reaction that completely destroys the spirit of freedom, as the following example illustrates.

            Let’s say Robert has worked for the past twenty years building up his family business, an auto garage that repairs used cars and sells them, and he has been thinking of adding a car wash.  If that does well, he might even add another branch across town when his son is old enough to run it.   One day the restaurant owner next door decides that he needs half of Robert’s property for expanding his restaurant.  He takes his request to the town council, and, enjoying food more than used cars, they vote to give half of Robert’s property to the restaurant owner, for the “good” of the community.  Now Robert has no place to sell his cars. He only has his repair shop, so, he no longer needs his salesman.  His idea about adding a car wash has also been killed, as has the new branch idea.  Robert’s brother has offered to give him a couple acres of property across town, but he fears that the same thing could happen again.  Why build up a business only to have it destroyed by someone?  So his incentive to better his business and even hire a few more workers is quenched. Robert will continue to run his little auto repair shop and hope to make enough money to feed his family and retire before the restaurant expands again.

    Secured property rights in the above illustration would have made all the difference.  The restaurant owner would have offered to buy the desired property.  Robert would have declined the offer due to his plans to expand his business.  As a result, he would have eventually hired a few more people and made enough money to put his kids through college and enjoy a comfortable retirement.  The restaurant next door would have also benefited because Robert and his employees would have continued to eat there for years, even after the restaurant moved down the street into a larger building.  But, as it is, Robert tells everyone what the restaurant owner did to him, so the restaurant is losing business as well.

    Everyone loses due to the absence of property rights.  This is why the Bible speaks of every man dwelling “under his vine and under his fig tree” (I Kgs. 4:25), and this is why the Fifth Amendment includes the words “no person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”  In fact, the words “life, liberty, and property” almost became a part of the Declaration of Independence as it was a part of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which protected such rights as “the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

Law Number Ten

Family, occupation, state, and church are institutions of God
 that owe one another mutual respect and cooperation.

            These four institutions should be thought of as four brothers that understand their moral responsibility to work together for the benefit of all. The wise employer will understand that family issues sometime arise and employees might need time off from work.  Firing someone because they had to stay home with a sick child is foolish, as is forbidding a student to pray at a public school function in the name of “separation of church and state,” a term that is found in none of our founding documents.  An employer should respect an employee’s religious convictions and not require him to work on Sundays or to take part in things contrary to his beliefs, but the employee should be reasonable and try to work out a sensible plan with the employer, like working every Saturday for the benefit of being off on Sunday, or something similar.  No one benefits when we become stubborn and unmovable and practice unnecessary separation among our human institutions.  As Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Good men are always reasonable.”  Sure, God ordained the church (Mat. 16:18), but He also ordained employment (Gen. 1-2; I Tim. 6:1), government (Rom. 13:1-4), and the family (Gen. 1:26-28).  All four institutions must understand one another’s place in society and work together.

Law Number Eleven

Friendship and commerce with other

Nations should not be permitted to grow into foreign entanglements.

            Jefferson believed that we should enjoy peace, commerce, and “honest friendship” with all nations, but not at the expense of having “entangling alliances.”   In his farewell address, President Washington warned his fellow Americans about “foreign entanglements.”  The simple fact is that no nation on earth is like the United States of America.  We are exceptional.  We are the one country that is built on the laws of freedom.  We believe in a single Creator who has endowed certain rights to mankind.  Many other nations do not believe this, so it is against our best interest to form alliances with them.  Solomon, as you know, learned this the hard way

(I Kgs. 3:1; 11:3-4).

            For instance, fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, yet did we take any action against Saudi Arabia or at least launch an investigation?  No, it was hardly even mentioned.  I’m not suggesting that Saudi Arabia was responsible for 9/11, but I am suggesting that when fifteen people from the same nation murder three thousand Americans, it ought to be seriously investigated.  But it wasn’t seriously investigated because we have an entangling alliance with Saudi Arabia: we depend on them for oil.  We should depend on no one for anything.  Free trade is good, but dependence is not.  We began with a Declaration of Independence, not a declaration of dependence.  This unnecessary entanglement has quenched the spirit of justice, and we’ll probably never know why so many terrorists were allowed to grow out of a “friendly” state.  But we will continue to pay outrageous prices for gasoline, thanks to our foreign entanglement with OPEC.   If we had followed the advice of our founders, there might be no terrorist threat to America, and you could fill up your car for less than twenty dollars.

            Similar examples could be given in light of our entanglements with other nations, such as China, Russia, and other Arab states, but I trust the point is clear. 

Law Number Twelve

A prosperous economy is dependent on a free market
 with the smallest measures of government regulation, taxes and debt.

            As some predicted over two centuries ago, America has reached the point to where people vote for the political candidates that promise to do the most for them economically.  Such economic “blessings” usually come in the form of subsidies, tax credits, low interest loans, welfare checks, stimulus checks, larger tax refunds, or a host of other pay-outs from Uncle Sam.  The problem is that such government “generosities” require large revenues, which mean more taxes, which happens to be one of the trademarks of the antichrist (Dan. 11:20), not a trademark of freedom.

            Some argue that the rich should have to pay a higher tax rate than everyone else, but this isn’t sound thinking.  In fact, it’s only an emotional reaction.  The rich should have to pay an equal percentage as everyone else, say ten percent.  When excessive tax burdens are placed on wealthy people, everyone suffers.  After all, the wealthy people just happen to be the business owners, your employers.  A business owner can’t expand his business and hire more people, if he must give half of his profits to local, state, and federal governments, nor can he increase your pay and benefits.   This puts more people on the unemployment line and in the food stamp line, which requires even more government money, which means even more taxes.  Unless!  Unless Uncle Sam can find another way to raise the needed revenues, which, of course, he does.  He can create another foreign entanglement by borrowing the money from other countries, like communist China.  But this money must be paid back, which means more tax revenue will be needed in the future.  So, Uncle Sam looks for yet another way to raise the needed revenue.  He then decides that he will just print the money.  No, you and I cannot do that, but he’s Uncle Sam, and he can do anything.  So, he prints more money, which devalues the dollar, which makes your grocery bill increase, which means you can’t make your mortgage payment, which means you need a government-backed sub prime loan, which means . . .”  Which means good ole’ Uncle Sam has become a specialist at wrecking the nation’s economy.

            Now, in reality, there is no Uncle Sam.  There are 545 people in Washington, D.C. who aren’t doing their jobs (435 Representatives, 100 Senators, 1 President, and 9 Supreme Court justices).  Rather than cutting spending, these people are running up the national debt and financing it on the backs of our children.  There is no way that we can remain a free people with such debt.

            The best thing America can do at this point is to start a very serious program of downsizing and simplifying government.  Instead of spending 1.6 trillion dollars per year, we should start slicing about five percent from the spending budget every year until we are spending less than half that amount.  Many government agencies could be downsized significantly, while others could be eliminated altogether.  Instead of burdening the American people with high taxes and a complicated tax code, we should establish a simple flat tax for everyone, say 10% (a Bible principle, by the way), and give no deductions or exemptions for anyone.  This would virtually abolish the IRS, and it would boost the economy by leaving more dollars in the hands of the people to invest and grow businesses, which would translate into more hiring, which would translate into more natural tax dollars for the government, which would allow us to get serious about paying down our national debt, which is enslaving us as a nation (Pro. 22:7; Deu. 28:12, 44).  Rather than thinking up policies for taking from the people, government revenue would naturally flow from the people in a fair and simple system.  This is the small and simple kind of government that our founders envisioned, and it’s the only kind of government that will promote a free society where people succeed or fail based on their own merits, not based on unfair government policies and programs.

            Friend, just as you once memorized the multiplication table, I would encourage you to memorize the above twelve laws because only by obeying these laws will any society prosper, including our own, and you cannot obey laws that you do not know.  You cannot vote for the “right” candidate, if you do not know what makes him right.  You cannot promote freedom by giving the “right” advice, if you do not know what is right.  These laws are essential to freedom, and they are just as sound today as they were when our founders embraced them over two hundred years ago.  Please, acquaint yourself with them, use them in your own life, and hold all elected officials accountable to them.

One Hundred Great

American Innovations

                Other nations have traditionally depended on America rather than truly declaring their own independence, excelling in greatness, and leading the world. America, on the other hand, has changed the world for good.  At the time of our nation’s founding, the people of the world still communicated as they had done since the earliest civilizations, by sending letters, sending messengers on horseback, or by yelling across the “holler.”  Farmers used mules and oxen just as they had done since 4,000 B.C.  When our nation was founded, people sill traveled mostly by foot or by animal-powered transportation, just as they had been doing for nearly 6,000 years, and no one ever traveled higher than the mountains would take them.  Yet, in only two centuries, America has taken the world further than the world took itself in the preceding six millenniums.  Thanks to America, people can travel by automobile, train, powered boats and ships, or by airplane, and some have even traveled into space.  Distances that once took months or years to travel can now be covered in only a day or two.  People can communicate with mail, telephone, radio, television, or the Internet. Farmers are no longer limited to a few acres and a team of oxen.  After all, that would never feed the world.  Farmers now cultivate hundreds of acres, and some even thousands of acres, thanks to numerous agricultural inventions and advancements.

            The following is a list of one hundred of America’s greatest inventors and their inventions.  No other nation in history compares to America in this area because no other nation has fully applied the laws of freedom.  When men are free to think, to explore, to invest, to work, and to enjoy the fruits of their own labors, some pretty amazing things can happen . . .

Norman Abramson                    wireless network

Mary Anderson                         windshield wiper           

John Avery, Hiram Pitts             threshing machine

Tabitha Babbit                           circular saw

Alexander Graham Bell             telephone

Thomas Blanchard                    profile lathe

John Blankenbaker                    personal computer

Baruch Samuel Blumberg          Hepatitis B vaccine

Sylvanus Bowser                       fuel dispenser

John Browning                          semi-automatic shotgun

Walter Camp                            game of football

Marvin Camras                         magnetic recording

Chester Carlson                        xerography

Willis Carrier                             air conditioning

Alexander Cartwright                game of baseball

Niels Christenson                      o-ring

Samuel Cohen                           neutron bomb   

Samuel Colt                              Colt revolver

Martin Cooper                           cellular phone

Wallace Corothers                     nylon

Joseph Dart                              grain elevator

Joseph Day                               two-stroke engine

Richard Drew                           masking tape

Forest Dodrill                            artificial heart

George Eastman                        roll film

Thomas Edison                          light bulb, phonograph

William Phelps Eno                    stop sign

Bernard Fantus                         blood bank

Philo Farnsworth                       television

James Finley                             suspension bridge

Henry Ford                               moving assembly line

Sam Foster                               sunglasses

Benjamin Franklin                      lightening rod, bifocals

John Froelich                             tractor

Authur Fry, Spencer Silver         Post-it note

Robert Fulton                            steamboat

Richard Gatling                         machine gun

Joseph Gayetty                          toilet paper

Ivan Getting, Brad Parkinson      GPS

Joseph Glidden                          barbed wire

Sylvan Goldman                        shopping cart

Louis Goodman, Al  Gilman        chemotherapy

Charles Goodyear                      vulcanized rubber

Gordon Gould                            laser

Henry Heimlich                         Heimlich manuever

Benjamin Henry                        repeating rifle

Richard Hoe                             rotary printing press

Birdsill Holly                             fire hydrant

Elias Howe                               sewing machine

Miller Hutchison                        hearing aid

Thomas Jefferson                      swivel chair      

C. G. Johnson                           garage door opener

Nancy Johnson                          ice cream maker

Warren Johnson                        thermostat

Whitcomb Judson                      zipper

Jack Kilby                                 integrated circuit

Ed Knabusch, Ed Shoemaker     recliner

R. G. Letourneau                      bulldozer

Crawford Long                         anesthesia        

Cyrus McCormick                     mechanical reaper

Hiram Moore                            combine

Garret Morgan                          traffic signal

Samuel F. B. Morse                  Morse code, telegraph

George Mueller                         space shuttle

O. A. North                              clothes hanger

Jonas Salk                                 polio vaccine

J. Robert Oppenheimer              atomic bomb

Elisha Otis                                elevator

Charles Page                            circuit breaker

Larry Page                               Google search engine

John Pemberton                        Coco-Cola

Lewis Phectic                           gas mask

Henry Phillips                            Phillips head screw

John Robinson Pierce                communication satellite

Jesse W. Reno                          escalator          

J. J. Richardson                         ratchet wrence

Charles Richter                         Richter scale

Hyman Rickover                       nuclear submarine

James Ritty                               cash register

James Russell                           compact disc

Steven Sasson                           digital camera

Clarence Saunders                    supermarket     

Jacob Schick                             electric razor

Luther Simjian                           ATM

George Simpson                        electric stove

Russell Slayter                          fiberglass

David Smith                              clothespin

Daniel Stillson                           pipe wrench

Levi Strauss                              blue jeans

Percy Spencer                          microwave oven

George Stabitz                           digital computer

Nikola Tesla                              electric motor, radio

Ray Tomlinson                          e-mail

John Thurman                           vacuum cleaner

Wm. Vandenburg, J. Harvey      ironing  board

Cameron Waterman                  outboard motor

Eli Whitney                               cotton gin

Lester Wire                              traffic light

Norman Woodland                    barcode

Orville and Wilbur Wright          airplane

What Is America?

“What is America?”

Asked the curious young lad

After hearing the big word used

By his old Grandad. 

“Well, my boy, I’ll tell you,”

The wise elder replied,

“But if you really want to know,

Come sit here by my side.”

So, the boy took his seat,

Excited and ready to hear,

And the old man started

With a voice most sincere.

“America is the dream

Of those from centuries past,

A glorious land from sea to sea

And fruitful fields so vast.

America is a land

Of freedom and opportunity,

A place where a man can excel

And be all that he wants to be.

America is a country

Of rights from God alone,

Like life, liberty, happiness,

And property to own.

America has freedom to worship,

To work, to speak, to inspire,

To defend, to buy, to sell,

To profit, to hire, and to fire.

America means mutual respect,

Regardless of color or creed,

It means loving your neighbor as yourself

And helping those in need.

America is a shining city on a hill,

A beacon of hope to all,

A nation used like no other

To send out the Master’s call.

America is a mother

Who sends her sons to fight

And give their lives, if needed,

To brighten freedom’s light.”

In like manner, the old man continued

Speaking for quite a while;

Then after that, he just sat still

And offered only a smile.

Finally, came his closing words,

“So, son, wherever you roam,

Be sure to thank God everyday

That America is your home.”

Closing Words

            We live in a day when educators, politicians, and media personalities are trying to rewrite history and claim that America has been evil and must change.  No, America is rapidly becoming evil, but our nation has, for the most part, been a good nation that God has used to bless the world.  Because of this truth, we still enjoy the freedom to worship, work, speak, write, travel, own property, invest, defend ourselves, educate our children, and vote (just to list a few).  However, we might live to see the day when such liberties are only found in history books or in our conversations when we speak about how life used to be when America was a free nation. 

            Fixing America is not as simple as “getting back to God,” though a great many preachers delight in screaming such over-simplified messages from their pulpits.  The average person in this country wouldn’t know how to get back to God, if he wanted to, and especially not the elected leaders.   Sure, we need to get back to God.  That’s somewhat of a no-brainer.  But just how is that supposed to happen?  Are thousands of politicians and federal judges supposed to repent of their sins, receive Christ, and join Bible-believing churches?   It’s not going to happen, and only a fool would entertain such thoughts.  Furthermore, if revival broke out and millions of Americans became real Christians, we would still have the same demented leaders in office, and there’s no guarantee that the new Christians would have enough discernment to throw them out.  No, “getting back to God” has to mean more than just “quit your sinning and trust Jesus.”  We need to stop quoting the Romans Road long enough to read the Old Testament and learn how God deals with nations.  Thomas Jefferson was not even a Christian, yet he knew more about “nature’s God” than the next fifty Christians you’ll meet.  Our founders knew something that modern Americans do not know: they knew how things are supposed to be naturally.  They might have been deists, for the most part, but they understood that the Deity has built certain laws into nature, laws that cannot be violated without consequences.  Getting back to God as a nation means re-discovering and applying the wisdom of our founders.  I’ve attempted to pass some of that wisdom on to you in this humble booklet.  May it be used for the glory of God.

Great Conversation Starters . . .

Twelve Laws of Freedom - Framed Copy:  $7.00
All twelve laws listed on gray parchtone with black frame.
Item:  PM1  Twelve Laws of Freedom

What Is America?  Framed Poem:  $7.00
The poem from the above booklet on white stock with patriotic background, black frame.
Item:  PM2   What Is America?