INSIDE A VERY CHRISTIAN U.S. CAPITOL

 

 

 

Phyllis Spivey
November 3, 2005
NewsWithViews.com

Some of the blackest lies spewed by those intent on destroying Christianity in public life argue that America was never a Christian nation and that the Founding Fathers were atheists, agnostics, and deists. Admittedly, each new generation produces fewer Americans capable of defending historical truths, but can the enemies of Christianity separate our country from its Christian foundations?

Not as long as the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. remains standing. From the paintings on the walls of the Rotunda to the many artifacts, statues, and furnishings in its halls and chambers, this magnificent edifice celebrates our country’s Christian heroes and rich spiritual history.

A remarkable little book by historian David Barton (www.wallbuilders.com) takes readers on an unforgettable tour of the institution that embodies so much of America’s unique heritage. In A Spiritual Heritage Tour of the United States Capitol, Barton brings the Founding Fathers to life with colorful vignettes, excerpts from speeches and letters, and a generous use of photographs of original paintings, statues, and artifacts.

Since 1824, walls of the Rotunda have been adorned with eight massive oil paintings, four on the east side, four on the west, each measuring 14 feet by 20 feet and depicting important historical events. On the east side are paintings of two prayer sessions and a baptism.

One is of Columbus landing in the Western World in 1492 and the prayer service held following his landing; another is the baptism of Pocahontas at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1613. Pocahontas was one of America’s first converts to Christianity.

A third picture is of the Pilgrims in 1620, praying before departing Holland for America. Upon arrival, while still anchored offshore, the Pilgrims wrote the "Mayflower Compact," the first government document written on this continent. The Compact declared that the Pilgrims had come to the new land for the purpose of evangelizing the nation to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. It also established governing principles based on God’s Word, principles that 150 years later would form the basis for the Declaration of Independence.

The four paintings on the west side of the Rotunda, which include the Signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, were painted by "The Painter of the Revolution," Founding Father John Trumbull. Not only did John Trumball come from a family of outspoken Christian leaders, the figures in his Capitol pictures were predominantly Christian, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Consider just a few of some lesser known, but influential signers. John Witherspoon was an ordained minister of the Gospel and Charles Thomson, a Bible translator. Charles Carroll, honored with a statue in the Capitol, built and funded a Christian house of worship.

Benjamin Rush started five colleges and universities. He was a medical educator and writer but also founded "The First Day Society", which grew into today’s Sunday Schools. Additionally, Rush started America’s first Bible society and, with an act of Congress, brought about America’s first mass-produced, stereotyped Bible. Francis Hopkinson, church music director and choir leader, produced one of the first hymnals printed in America. Richard Stockton, whose writings were strongly Christian, gave his life for the success of the Revolution and was honored in the Capitol with a statue.

Thomas McKean, another patriot whose writings revealed his dedication to Christianity, was one of America’s leading legal authorities. He helped author the constitutions of Pennsylvania and Delaware and served as governor in each of those states. As Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he once advised a prisoner to repent and "ask merciful God to forgive your manifold transgressions and sins; to teach you to rely upon the merit and passion of a dear Redeemer ..."

Other paintings on the west side of the Rotunda depict the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and General George Washington resigning his commission in 1783. Although a peace treaty had not been signed, America was essentially free to establish its own laws following the British surrender. Since under British law it had been illegal to print a Bible in the English language, one of Congress’s first acts was to approve in 1781 the printing of the first English language Bible in America. The "Bible of the Revolution" was published with an endorsement in the front of the Bible: "The United States in Congress ... recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States."

The peace treaty with the British was signed in 1783 bearing the signatures of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay. It began with a firm declaration: "In the Name of the most Holy and undivided Trinity." Upon news of the treaty, George Washington first informed military staff and leaders of Congress of his resignation and then notified the 13 governors and state legislatures by letter. General Washington closed his letter with a prayer that God would have them and the state in His holy protection and reminded them that unless all imitated the characteristics of Jesus, "we can never hope to be a happy nation."

Three statues stand in the Small House Rotunda connecting the main Rotunda and the Old House Chamber, including one of the Reverend John Peter Muhlenberg who left his congregation to join the Revolution, taking some 300 men with him. Finishing the Revolution as one of America’s highest ranking military officers, he is also seen in the Rotunda picture of the British surrender.

Reverend Muhlenberg’s brother Frederick – also a minister – joined the battle for liberty when he was driven from his New York church by the British. In 1789 he became America’s first Speaker of the House of Representatives, earning him a large portrait directly behind the current House Chamber, in a room filled with portraits of previous Speakers of the House. His signature is one of only two on the Bill of Rights. "Another remarkable contribution to American liberty by yet another minister of the Gospel!" notes historian Barton.

Before relocating to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., the government operated in New York City, then Philadelphia. Upon moving into its permanent home in late November 1800, Congress spent the first weeks getting organized. Then, it did something the enemies of Christianity would rather we didn’t know: Congress decided the Capitol building would also be used for church services. It’s in the Congressional Record of December 4, 1800.

In the current House Chamber, used by Representatives to debate the nation’s laws since 1857, a prominent display above the Speaker’s rostrum declares, "In God We Trust." Around the top of the Chamber’s walls are images of 23 great lawgivers spanning the centuries, but in the middle – the place of honor – the only lawgiver accorded a full face view overlooks the chamber: Moses, the lawgiver of the Bible.

Embedded in the floor of the Old House Chamber, used from 1807 until 1857, are bronze plaques identifying the desk locations of House members who also served as President, one of whom was John Quincy Adams. Having served at high levels under Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, Adams became our sixth President, then was elected to the House of Representatives.

In 1837, speaking at an Independence Day celebration, Adams asked: "Why is it that next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival [occurs] on this day? Is it not that in the chain of human events the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission on Earth? – That it laid the cornerstone of human government on the first precepts of Christianity?"

Historian Barton relates that President Adams continued his speech for well over an hour, "confirming that Christianity was not only the basis of, but the reason for, our national independence."

On February 21, 1848, John Quincy Adams collapsed during House proceedings and was eventually taken to the Speaker’s room where he died two days later. That room, now used as a lounge by female members of Congress, still contains the couch on which John Quincy Adams, the Christian who "made it his practice to read through the Bible – in its entirety – once every year," passed into eternity.

The then Speaker of the House was Robert Winthrop, a statesmen, historian and strong Christian, as evidenced by this excerpt from one of his speeches: "All societies of men must be governed in some way or other .... Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet. It may do for other countries and other governments to talk about the State supporting Religion. Here, under our own free institutions, it is Religion which must support the State."

Among the many other Christian leaders commemorated in Statuary Hall stands Daniel Webster, who served nearly thirty years in the House and Senate and was Secretary of State for three different Presidents. A great orator who practiced by reading the Bible aloud, he delivered a speech on July 4, 1851 at the laying of the cornerstone for additions to the Capitol, now the House and Senate chambers. "Man is not only an intellectual but he is also a religious being, and his religious feelings and habits require cultivation. Let the religious element in man’s nature be neglected – let him be influenced by no higher motives than low self-interest, and subjected to no stronger restraint than the limits of civil authority – and he becomes the creature of selfish passion or blind fanaticism."

The Congressional Prayer Chapel opened in 1954, the same year "under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance, and features a stained glass window showing George Washington kneeling in prayer. Above him is the declaration, "This Nation Under God"; surrounding him is the Bible verse from Psalm 16:1: "Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust."

Though revisionists have tried to paint our first president as a deist, the written testimonies of those who knew him, as well as his own preserved writings and recorded speeches defeat them. Nor did he endeavor to separate church and government. Consider this portion of a 1779 speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ . . . .Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."

Placed on four pillars around the back of the Old Supreme Court Chamber are the busts of our first four Chief Justices. The very first was an author of the Federalist Papers, Founding Father John Jay, who openly welcomed Christian influences in government. "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. It is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

Also a founder and president of the American Bible Society, Jay’s annual speeches strongly declared his faith: "By conveying the Bible to people ... we certainly do them a most interesting act of kindness. We thereby enable them to learn that man was originally created and placed in happiness, but, becoming disobedient, was subjected to the degradation and evils which he and his posterity have since experienced. The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed ...."

These are just a few of the Christian-linked treasures and stories found in the U.S. Capitol. To those who claim the framers of the U.S. Constitution constructed a wall of separation between government and religion, this great monument by its mere existence is a scathing rebuke. For Christians, it’s a source of inspiration and understanding. No wonder America has been the freest, most prosperous nation in the history of the world. "Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord." Psalms 33:12

Learn more about America’s Christian heritage and Founding Fathers from David Barton at www.wallbuilders.com.

© 2005 Phyllis Spivey - All Rights Reserved