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Joseph Cox Professor Brenda Stephens English 101 10 November 2013 The Pitfalls of a Nation without God Today America seems to be falling apart from the inside. The debt ceiling is a problem almost daily, terrorist attacks looming like a fog, and drug-resistant strains of bacteria lying in wait in our foods just to name a few. One thing is missing, God. Our country was built on the principles set forth in the Holy Bible, yet our leaders routinely move further away from those principles. A nation which is built on the principles God outlines in the Holy Bible, and continues to build on this solid foundation will be on steady ground in the face of adversity. Adversity will continue to present itself and prevail the more this great nation separates itself from the gospel. When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, the phrase separation of church and state did not exist, and the same can be said today. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (U.S. Const. amend. I). The opening statement of the amendment interprets to mean the government cant make any single religion law. Does this mean America needs to completely remove religion from our government? The answer to this question is rather easy; just take a look at the direction our

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country is headed. Our leaders have taken the founding fathers vision and twisted it into the mess our nation is today. Simply by ignoring the principles laid out in the black, white, and red text of the Bible, our country has turned into a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. If the people of this nation just look around, it isnt that hard to see similarities in society and the events of biblical times. Exodus, chapters 7-11 lists the ten plagues brought forth on Egypt due to the hardened heart of Pharaoh and his disregard for God. In the end, the righteous followers make their exodus from Pharaohs control. But had Pharaoh listened to Moses and followed Gods commands, then all the hardship could have been avoided. The same could be said for the United States. If the current as well as past administrations would have taken Gods word in to account more and their own thought process less, then things could very well be different for our nation. Government has instead resulted to the foolishness of ignorance. Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention, since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction, I, in turn will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and you calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you. Then they will call me, but I wont answer; they will search for me, but wont find me. Because they hated knowledge, didnt choose to fear the Lord (Holman Christian Standard Bible, Proverbs 1:24-29). The past shortcomings and the future failures of government are apparent. Since 1947 when the wall went up between church and state, this nation has been on a downward spiral. Ronald Reagan said, And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure (Reagan 64). This statement couldnt be truer as it is solidified in the 33rd Psalm. Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord-the people He has chosen to be His own possession! (Psalm 33:12) Our

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nation is definitely in trouble, and the only hope America has is to return to God and stand on His principles.

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Works Cited U.S. Constitution amend. I Reagan, Ronald. Remarks at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast. Reunion Arena. Dallas, TX. 23 Aug. 1984.

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Reflective Letter I drew my idea for this piece from the Murray Card activity in from week one of the term. During the process of writing this piece, I found myself drifting more toward why America and furthermore the world needs God. The need to keep reminding myself of the topic was tough considering my faith and knowing the need for change. After researching my topic, I realized that most preconceived notions were false, including some of my own. By choosing this topic, I would hope that any reader would see that as a whole we need to return to what our founding fathers intended life in our country to be. Furthermore, I want my audience to be motivated enough to not settle for what the media produces as fact and read deeper into what our country is built from. I would also like for the reader to feel the need to open a Bible and know God is real. My path to the references in this essay is really limited. There wasnt a huge need to look much further than the Constitution and The Holy Bible. I did a little reading into some of the interpretations from Cornell to help my understanding of the topic I was trying to explain. The piece from the prayer breakfast of 1984 was just a quote I had remembered and felt it fit here. Overall this has been an interesting task for me. Being a new college student and being removed from a structured learning environment for over a decade made things tough. To say I needed a refresher in time management would be an understatement. It has definitely been a welcome challenge and I look forward to many more.