Synopsis "America, God Shed His Grace on Thee"
Today's events often have their roots in yesteryear, but this book is not simply a nostalgic excursion into the past. Yes, times have changed, culture has changed, but the guarantees of theU.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights have not. Nor has the "Almighty Ruler of Nations" upon whom the founding fathers based these documents. So we must know the past to assess the present and then adjust for the future. A part of this book is excerpted, updated, condensed and re-formatted from the original edition published in 1975 by Moody Press, Chicago, for the 1976 bicentennial year. The original edition, with large format and color graphics, was sent to all members of the U.S. Congress and the President's Cabinet. This update includes new material, however, including chapters on George Washington, the Oregon Trail, the McGuffey Reader, and a few selected explorers and inventors.. The book is designed for those who are not ready to plow through heavy text material. In no way does this book pretend to be a complete course in American church history. Its slant is distinctively evangelical, with chapters cast in very readable, "magazine style" format. Many who would not be classified as mainstream evangelicals also played major roles in the battle for religious liberty. So also did the early Catholic settlers, especially in the state of Maryland. Jesuit missionaries explored the mid-continent and Franciscan missionaries pioneered much of the far Southwest. The book's title may seem to declare that if God has singled out America for special favor, He has put His stamp of approval on our nation in toto. The United States will be judged by God as severely as any nation that neglects Him. Yet America's spiritual foundations and her evangelical thrust over nearly four centuries since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 bear directly, many believe, on the country's general prosperity and its position as a great world power. Without at least an elementary grasp of God's sovereign hand behind historic events, which our founding fathers so clearly understood, Americans will overlook the true meaning of their own land. If many have missed it, then let all know the mighty sweep of spiritual events in our heritage and the story of how and when and why "God shed His grace on thee."
