The Principle of Christian Self-Government is a biblical ideal, which turned the world upside down.  Christian self-government is the context that makes liberty for men and nations possible in the temporal or civil realm.    

Surely, Scripture has much to say about liberty. We see Christ as the author of liberty from His own reiteration of Isaiah’s prophetic word:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:17-19).

In Galatians 4, Paul taught that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to liberate those who were captives because of sin. Christ is truly the liberator of our souls. 

The spiritual liberty that Christ gives to believers isn’t just for eternity, though.  This internal liberty has an effect on the external—the physical world in which we currently live.  We can see this in Paul’s teaching about how Christians ought to live in the world.  He contrasted those who live as slaves to their sin nature with those whose lives bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).  Notice that among these wonderful, godly traits (against which no sane earthly government would object) is self-control, also called self-government.

The framers of the US Constitution understood the significance of this Christian trait and built a system of government wholly dependent upon it.  They also understood how important it was to teach their children about self-government as well as the other Christian principles that illuminate the world. Samuel Adams, the Father of the American Revolution exhorted the citizens of his day to 

“unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity and universal philanthropy, and, in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country; of instructing them in the art of Self-Government, without which they never can act a wise part in the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.[1]”

 In the next blog, I want to look at what Christian self-government is and how it affects our personal and corporate lives.  After all, true liberty begins in the heart and from there it grows and influences everything around it.  

It has been a long time since most American educators and the general public have understood the critical role that education plays in protecting and preserving the liberties we enjoy.  That has not always been the case in America.  From the earliest days, citizens from every sphere of society recognized the importance of teaching their young about their rights and responsibilities as members of a constitutional representative republic.  They knew and embraced their heritage, passing it from one generation to the next, thereby ensuring continuity in the flow of liberty.

At the forefront of this awareness, was the Christian church.  Evidence abounds that ministers of the Gospel ran a large proportion of the grammar schools and academies in early America.(1)  Many know of the founding of Harvard College, but few know of its underlying premise to “lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.” (2)
Noah Webster, famed “Schoolmaster of the Nation,” opined that education without the Bible was useless.  President Abraham Lincoln is attributed with saying: “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”(3)  Put another way in an old proverb: “What you sow in the school you reap in the nation.”(4)

Recently, I was reflecting on the apparent blind spot so many of the American Christian clergy and laity have regarding the enormous implications that education has for the future.  It occurred to me that Lenin got it, Stalin got it, Communists still get it, Socialists still get it, and Secular Humanists get it.  Why in the world doesn’t the church in America get it? 

If our liberties in America are tied directly to the principles of Christianity (as so many of our founders noted), then we’d better return to the kind of education that inculcates biblical truth in the rising generation.  It is time to recognize the education-liberty connection.  As so aptly stated by Galloway: “Correct principles sown in the soil of the young mind, cultivated by wise, well-equipped teachers, and ripened by the sun of a gracious Providence, will produce a manhood and womanhood that will sacredly preserve the past and guarantee the glory of the future.”(5)

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1 Galloway, C. B. (2005/1898). Christianity and the America commonwealth: The influence of Christianity in making this nation. Power Springs, GA: American Vision.
2 Slater, R. J. (1975). Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History: The Principle Approach. San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education.
3 Beliles, M. A., & McDowell, S. K. (1991). America’s providential history (2nd ed.).
Charlottesville, VA: The Providence Foundation. (p. 95)
4 Galloway, C. B. (2005/1898). Christianity and the America commonwealth: The influence of Christianity in making this nation. Power Springs, GA: American Vision. (p. 169)
5 Galloway, C. B. (2005/1898). Christianity and the America commonwealth: The influence of Christianity in making this nation. Power Springs, GA: American Vision. (p. iv)

This week marks 419 years since Columbus discovered the Americas.  Some scholars mark the end of the Middle Ages at 1492.  With the coming of Columbus into the West, the Modern Era began.  Truly the world has changed dramatically in the past 400 years, some for the good, some for the bad.  One thing is for sure, God is in charge and His Story continues to unfold through the centuries.  But what of Columbus? The reputation and mission of the beleaguered explorer has come under increasing pressure with the heightened sensitivities that accompany the contemporary politically correct perspective. 

Columbus, like all of us, was not perfect; he made plenty of mistakes.  But, what about his motives?  How did he define his mission to sail west?  Read his own words from his journal titled, Book of Prophesies: 

“At this time I have seen and put in study to look into all the Scriptures, cosmography, histories, chronicles and philosophy and other arts, which our Lord opened to my understanding (I could sense his hand upon me), so that it became clear to me that it was feasible to navigate from here to the Indies; and he unlocked within me the determination to execute the idea….All those who heard about my enterprise rejected it with laughter, scoffing at me.”

“I have already said that for the execution of the enterprise of the Indies, neither reason nor mathematics, nor world maps were profitable to me; rather the prophecy of Isaiah was completely fulfilled.”

“The working out of all things were entrusted by our Lord to each person, [but it happens] in conformity with his sovereign will…He gave me the spirit of intelligence for the task….Who doubts that this illumination was from the Holy Spirit? He [the Spirit], with marvelous rays of light, consoled me through the holy and sacred Scriptures, a strong and clear testimony… encouraging me to proceed, and, continually, without ceasing for a moment, they inflame me with a sense of urgency.”

Columbus’s given name, Christopher (Cristobol, in Italian), means Christ-bearer.  That is how he saw himself and that is his greatest legacy, for Columbus brought Christianity to the West. 

(Quotations taken from Christopher Columbus: His Life and Discovery in the Light of His Prophesies (1990) by Kay Brigham Young, who translated Columbus’s Book of Prophesies.)

Welcome to our exciting new blog, Liberty Chronicles!  The intent is to provide a forum for discussion about important issues that impact us as American Christians.  From time to time, I will initiate a topic, but feel free to submit questions or comments of your own.  We will follow the thread that develops as people from all walks of life weigh in.  From time to time, I may close out a discussion and take us in a new direction.

As within any Christian society, writing in a respectful, thoughtful manner is expected (though, a little humor will be appreciated, I’m sure!).  Hopefully, if nothing else, we will all gain wisdom, and appreciation for other points of view.  The plumb line against which we will measure our thoughts, ideas, and solutions will be the Bible, God’s Word.  At Dayspring Christian Academy, we believe that the Bible is the final authority on Truth, so we will always return to its principles as the arbiter of our discussion.

For our first discussion, I would like to ask a question that relates to our mission statement.

The Mission of Dayspring Christian Academy, using the Principle Approach®, is to partner with parents and churches to equip students to:

•     acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of life;
•     demonstrate a Biblical world view;
•     become citizens of excellence in Christian character and scholarship; and
•     help restore America’s Christian foundation and purpose.

What do you think is the essence of the Principle Approach®?  Feel free to discuss strengths and weaknesses as you see them.