Extensions of Remarks

2008 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS February 4, 1974 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS FAITH OF OUR FATHERS grlms before they formed their colony on are in, to bind up the nations' wounds, to shore, drew up a. covenant agreement, or if care for him who shall have borne the battle we follow Roger Williams for the sake of and for his widow and his orphan, to do all HON. JESSE A. HELMS individual conscience fleeing the persecutions which may achieve and cherish a just and of the Massachusetts Bay Colony going to lasting peace among ourselves and among all OF NORTH CAROL~A live with his Indian friends along Narragan nations." You remember the other phrase out IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES sett Bay, buying from them land out of which of that immortal Gettysburg address when Monday, Febrwary 4, 1974 to form a new colony, Rhode Island, or if he said that "this nation under God shall we look into the history that brought forth have a new birth of freedom." Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, this past the statute of Virginia for religious Uberty, n Thanksgiving, Dr. John M. Lewis, pastor or if we read the Declaration of Independence But I think more than a new birth of free of the First Baptist Church, Raleigh, thoughtfully and carefully, if we see the dom which we have seen run rampant and N.C., delivered a memorable sermon, genius of that constitution which the found riotous in our day, we need a re-birth- of which I would like to share with my ing fathers put together and focus special faith! We need a re-birth that takes us back attention upon that most precious portion to see ourselves as a covenant people. Now I distinguished colleagues. the Bill of Rights-one is overwhelmed with With humble appreciation and thank the awareness of the great thoughts, the am not unmindful of the danger of our fulness for the many blessings of Amer coming to have a Messiah-complex as a na great ideals, the great dreams and the great tion. I think sometimes in world affairs our ica, Dr. Lewis recognized that our bless religious faith out of the Hebrew-Christian nation may have approached that and done ings come from God, and that the ero tradition that permeated all of these cove more damage than good to think that we are sion of our liberties and the decay of our nants, compacts, laws and documents. The Supreme Court in a landmark decision the saviours of the whole world-we have to society represent our misunderstanding watch that. But that doesn't lessen the re in 1952 confirmed this insight into our herit of freedom. Such a result "--comes when age when they said "we are a religious people, sponslblllty and the need for us to have a we drift away from the conviction of the speaking of America in general. We are a sense of divine relationship and of divine religious foundation of the Nation's lib religious people whose institutions pre commitment and divine responsiblllty for erties and laws." suppose a supreme being." The founding the heritage that is ours in this great land for Dr. Lewis suggests the need for a re fathers had the notion that we were a cove which we are so thankful in these days. nant nation; that somehow even though Peter Marshall said in one of his immortal birth of faith and a "Sense of divine re sermons, "that we are the only surviving na lationship, devine commitment, and di dimly seen by many, there was some kind of relationship between this new nation tion o:p. earth that had its origins in the de vine responsibility for the heritage that aborning and God's coming kingdom. It was termination of the founding fathers to estab is ours in this great land." clear in their minds that our liberties and lish a settlement to the glory of God." we This thought cannot be expressed too our blessings come from God. And their have not always lived up to that original often, and the minister's sermon will great stroke of genius in government was to dream and that original faith, and I think surely inspire all of us. set forth the notion that governments are somehow we must recapture that pristine Mr. President, I ask unanimous con instituted among men not to pass out liber fatth 1f we are to solve some of our other ties and freedoms, but to protect those lib problems in our land and in our culture sent that Dr. Lewis' sermon be printed whatever kind of problems they are and wher in the Extensions of Remarks. erties that God has already given to men. Governments do not confer them; nor can ever they may exist in our midst. Oh, how There being no objection, the sermon governments take them away. This was their powerful and wringing and strong are those was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, insight and their understanding, and behind words and when one remembers the Hebrew as follows: it was this deep and simple religious faith tradition that stands behind it, they take on FAITH OF OUR FATHERS that somehow our liberties and blessings all even greater force-"all men are created equal and are endowed by their crewtor with (By Dr. John M. Lewis) come from him. The early leaders of our republic, while certain unalienable rights and among these Dr. William Brown, noted church historian, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." has said that "it is common to all who hold differing from one another in many of their religious notions, yet were men of very strong Government is ordained among men to safe the Christian view of life, to have the con guard these rights. And then comes that Bill viction that God has a purpose for mankind faith. As one follows the preachers and the plowmen who opened up the west, a.s one sees of Rights in the first ten amendments to which he is realizing in history and that in protect our individual liberties and our in the accomplishment of this divine purpose America burgeoning into one of the indus trial giants of all history, I am not sure we dividual conscience but none of it amounts he uses human institutions like the family, have always had that sense of awe about to a "hill of beans" if we cut the connection the state, the school, the church as his agents mastering and releasing the powers in the between God and ourselves 1 And I think for the training of individuals for member universe in all of our great development that many, many problems that have arisen in our ship in his eternal kingdom." Now that is a Samuel Morse had when completing the tele land have come about because very subtlety rather long, stuffy and academic statement graph, he sent as his first message-"Wbat there has been an erosion of this concept of what our founding fathers had burning tn hath God wrought?" It seems to me in this that our Uberties and blessings come fro~ their hearts, for this was certainly their be present season of Thanksgiving, perhaps more God. lief that the state was based upon divine law than anything else, perhaps more than a need We fall into the trap of which Moses warned and that man-made governments and man to be grateful for our blessings that we can the children of Israel-"you are going to made laws were an out-working of the divine count, we need to recover something of the settle in a promised land flowing with milk will. and honey and build your houses and plant One is still moved when one recalls the deep faith of these founding fathers-that our liberties and our blessing are the ~ft of your vineyards and raise your famlly and heated debates in the constitutional conven your flock" and if you don't watch it you are tion when the young nation was struggling God and that these liberties and blessings are not to be squandered, but somehow they are going to begin to say, "Aha, my strength has to get itself together and to work out its gotten me all this wealth!" ways of living together in forming this new given to us in relationship to God's coming government. The debate had gone on for kingdom. III weeks trying to balance out the powers of I think we need to capture something of We can see what abundance affluence and the central government and the rights of the spirit of the great Lincoln, who as I read materialism can do to a peopie, to dull our the individual states. After five weeks the his biography I judge to be one of the most sensitivity to the need of others, our aware aged Franklin stood in the midst of the con honestly and genuinely religious presidents ness of being stewards of the good earth. vention and said, addressing himself to the we have ever had-though not a formal When we forget that it is righteousness that Chairman, "I have lived, Sir, a long time church man-yet a man of great faith. Those exalts a nation and that sin is a reproach to and the longer I live the more convincing moving lines of his in the second inaugural any people, we become filled more and more proofs I see of this truth-that God moves when the nation had come through a dark with a self-sufficient pride that· begins to in the affairs of men and if a sparrow cannot hour which should give us hope in every dark justify just about anything in order to get fall to the ground without his notice, is it hour, confirming the founding fathers' in ahead.

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