- [Paul] In locations allaround Colonial Philadelphia,
founders, who knew the God of liberty,
fought to form a nation of liberty.
The Providence Forum's founder says
George Washington personified this.
- Washington said weneeded to follow Christ
or we're never gonna succeed as a nation.
That was not a minister!
That's not a right-winged,conservative fundamentalist.
That's the father of our country.
The founders were overwhelminglyof the Christian faith
following Jesus Christ, a carpenter.
And what's interesting is whenthey first met as a congress,
it was here in a placecalled Carpenter's Hall.
- [Paul] Here in 1774,
they wanted to unite against Britain,
but were divided by bothdenomination and regional customs
like Adams meeting Washington.
- John Adams comes up to shake his hand,
and George Washington steps back,
because Virginians don't shake hands,
they give a bow.
- You might wonder how America began.
Did it begin with a rebellion, blood shed?
Well, actually it beganhere, in Carpenter's Hall,
with prayer.
(paper ripples)
- [Paul] Though thatseemed almost impossible.
- But all the different denominations
believed that the others were wrong,
and they couldn't fellowship with them.
And this is the greataccomplishment of Samuel Adams,
called the spark plug ofthe American Revolution,
who said, "I'm no bigot.
I can pray with any man who loves his God
and loves his country.
- [Paul] And he backed thatup in Carpenter's Hall.
Adams, a congregationalist,chose a minister
as prayer leader from a churchdiametrically opposed to his.
The anglican, Jacob Duché.
- [Dr. Peter] And so hecomes, book of common prayer,
leads in prayer, and he doesit in the name of Jesus Christ.
So we can honestly say the United States
was begun with a prayer meeting.
- [Paul] As the Revolutionary War began,
these colonials did greatthings in a new location.
- The Declaration of Independenceand the US Constitution
began right there insideIndependence Hall.
- [Paul] From there, theContinental Congress, in 1776,
sent Thomas Jefferson out tocome up with a declaration.
Working nearby, he puttogether those famed words
about life and liberty,
but also against slavery.
- Jefferson, although a slave owner,
realized that they weremaking the world over again.
They said somethingunique is happening here.
And he said we need to end slavery.
It went to the Congress.
And we're told while it was being debated,
Jefferson was fuming in the corner,
because there's some 88changes that were made
to his document.
- [Paul] One of those changes
was taking out Jefferson'sidea to wipe out slavery.
Still, opponents of thepractice wouldn't give up,
pointing out the Liberty Bellscripture from Leviticus.
- Doesn't that old bellsay, "Proclaim liberty
throughout the land toall inhabitants thereof."
And this became the great iconof the abolitionist assault
against slavery.
And they're the ones thatnamed it the Liberty Bell.
- [Paul] Meanwhile,
at the 1787 ConstitutionalConvention in Independence Hall,
the founder accepted the Bible saying,
"All men are sinners,
and in their depravity, can't be trusted."
Like when it came torepresentatives from large states
insisting the small statesdidn't need equal power
in the new nation's congress.
- The representativeof the big states says,
"Don't worry, we'll take care of you."
And the little state representative says,
"We don't trust you!
We believe in political depravity."
And they said, "We need a waythat will check your power."
And so a bicameral system was created.
- [Paul] Then the new US Senate
and House of Representativesstarted meeting here,
neither able to passanything without the other.
On the other side of Independence Hall,
Chief Justice, John Jay
presided over the first Supreme Court.
- And he also turns out to be
a president of the American Bible Society.
So we see that people who love the Bible
were also leaders in government.
- [Paul] Like Washington,who refused to give up
in the bitter cold of Valley Forge,
and later refused to take a crown.
- Some people say Washingtonis the greatest man
in Western civilization forthe two things he didn't do.
He didn't quit when all was lost,
and he didn't becomeking when all was won.
And in doing both,
he was following thevery character of Christ,
who persevered to accomplish his mission,
and only did it in the right way.
- [Paul] You can visit theProvidence Forum's .org's
self-guided faith and freedom tour,
and see for yourself howthe Lord, his liberty,
and this land all fit together.
Paul Strand, CBN News,reporting from Philadelphia.
