Ken Parker is the director of Christian Arts Ministries. Ken has written a musical, “Favored Nation,” based on the quotes from the Founding Fathers.
Ken discusses with Susie the Christian roots of the U.S.
He explores the Christian heritage of the U.S. which stretches back even before the Founding Fathers to the first European settlers. Those first settlers were Protestants, coming to the shores of America in the hopes of finding religious liberty.
“They weren’t here to make a nation, they were here because they wanted to be free to worship God in a biblical sense. They wanted to honor the Lord without a church mandate on them or without a political mandate.”
The founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, was a pastor who was passionate about the separation of political power and religious mandate. He didn’t think a governing body should control or require church. According to Ken, this is when the term “separation of church and state” was first used.
At that time in history, such a position was directly opposed to the prevailing European powers. Countries like England persecuted people who did not conform to the regulated religion.
By stepping away from the regulating of religion the settlers and Founding Fathers were in God’s favor according to Ken.
Additionally, Ken shares a little-known story about one of the favorite Founding Fathers: George Washington.
Washington was fighting during the French and Indian War, before the founding of the country, when a Native American leader instructed a group of his warriors to kill Washington. They would shoot and shoot at Washington but the bullets never touched him. Several years down the road Washington met the leader who told Washington that God had his hand on him and that Washington was set aside by God.
Key Scriptures: 2 Timothy 4:5, 2 Chronicles 7:14
