Author Packs 'Quick Read' with Details of Nation's Christian Founding
by Randall Murphree
February 18, 2004
(AgapePress) - Among the many books recounting our nation's Christian roots, Gary DeMar's America's Christian Heritage (Broadman & Holman, 2003) stands out from the crowd in three ways. First of all, it's a quick read -- 85 pages of fast facts on the presence and power of Christian faith from colonial times to the present. That may not be enough for the serious student, but it's just about right to appeal to our microwave, express lube, fast food culture without scaring us away. It is, in fact, a right meaty look at the premise proposed in his title.DeMar said he was prompted to write the book by his observations regarding our culture. Presenting seminars around the country and listening to Christians who call in to talk radio shows, he realized they were usually not well prepared to address the facts of the nation's history as related to the Christian faith.
"The majority of Americans graduated from public schools where almost nothing of America's Christian heritage is mentioned," DeMar said in an exclusive interview. "Textbooks rarely cover this historical material showing that our nation was founded on basic Christian principles."
A second element that sets this volume apart is that it's an appealing, good-for-display, hardbound volume -- 8 1/2 x 11 pages packed with period art. In fact, its visual appeal -- added to its brevity -- would make it a good tool to put in the hands of a skeptic who has bought into today's politically correct fallacies regarding church and state issues.
Finally, it's a great family investment -- $10 for a text that successfully tells the story in a condensed form easy enough to use in a family study. It could certainly be a home-school textbook, but can also be a kick-off point for a family Bible study searching out and identifying the biblical truths behind the Founders' beliefs and statements. It is an extensively footnoted book, thus giving the reader a ready-made bibliography of longer studies.
"My first audience is Christian," said DeMar. "America's Christian Heritage has been extremely helpful to young people who have to debate the subject of our Christian heritage with other students and their teachers and professors. It is also designed to give Christians the intellectual ammunition to deal with questions that arise concerning America's founding."
The book illuminates some startling contrasts between past and present. For example, he cites the case of The Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, in which the U. S. Supreme Court declared (in 1892) that America was a Christian nation. How does that measure up against high court rulings of recent decades?
The author is careful to explain that being a Christian nation in no way diminishes other faiths. "The claim that America has a distinct Christian heritage does not mean that every American is now or ever was a Christian," he writes. "Furthermore, a belief in a Christian heritage for America does not mean that non-Christians, and for that matter, dissenting Christians, cannot hold contrary opinions in a climate of a general Christian consensus."
From chapter one: "America's Christian Heritage: Fact or Fiction?" through chapter seven "The Ten Commandments on Trial" this volume gives readers the information we need to stand for traditional Christian morality in our culture.
"Too often Christians fight valiantly but blindly," said DeMar. "We need to know our stuff if we are going to do battle with worldviews that are out to destroy us. Being equipped with original source documentation goes a long way to convince someone who is willing to listen and learn."
Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
