Here you will find a podcast plus notes on The 4th of July (11 minutes).
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The United States declared independence on 4 July 1776, though they did not achieve it until the defeat of Britain in 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War. The US was not founded as a Christian nation—she'd had enough of that in the Old World. (The most influential Founding Fathers did not claim to believe in the Bible.) As is well known, the US came into being through:
- settlement
- extermination
- revolution
- immigration
But what if history had developed along a different path? Was warfare really necessary? Was it God's way? In this podcast I want to share reflections on two other nations, one modern and one ancient.
- Israel:
- Created in March or April (the month of Nisan)
- Came out of slavery without violence on the part of the new nation.
- The Hebrews did not fight. The Lord fought for them (Exodus 14:13-14).
- Thus we see that, at least in the only nation we know from the scriptures to have been formed by divine favor, revolution is not an indispensable part of nation building.
- Canada:
- July 1st 1867
- No revolution
- Yet still a high standard of living, and amicable relations with the mother nation.
Concluding reflections:
- Perhaps America would still have become a great nation without declaring independence and fighting a protracted war – perhaps not.
- After all, we ended up being friends, even allies, with Britain.
- Looking at other Commonwealth nations, and esp. at the formation of OT Israel, I suspect there may have been a different way, a better way.
