Beliefs and Principles Which Honor God

In the second article in my Recognizing God in American History series, I wrote about Adolf Hitler and how his whole belief system was grounded in his belief in survival of the fittest, a belief which led the nation of Germany to turn its back on God. While the Germany of the 1930s and 1940s had become a nation that turned its back on God, there was another nation on the other side of the Atlantic that did not.

In the American society of the 1930s and the 1940s, the church was the center of community life, and people had a good knowledge of the Bible. That community life, with the church at the center, caused the entire nation to have Christian beliefs and values, and to look at world events and make commitments based upon a Christian understanding of life.

This Christian perspective on life was exemplified very strongly in the nation’s understanding of why it was in World War II. For indeed, our commitment to fight against Germany and Japan was rooted in Christian beliefs and values. World War II was a war against one of the most evil men this world has ever known, Adolf Hitler. Hitler and the people in Germany who joined forces with him were out to destroy liberties rooted in the Christian faith, and gain a stranglehold over the lives of other people. It was in this context that most Americans of that time saw the war as a war against evil.

Fighting in defense of Christian civilization

Against that background, on June 6, 1944, the day Great Britain, the United States and their allies were landing soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, while Hitler was believing in his godless understanding that it was not a righteous God who determined one’s destiny, but rather the survival of the fittest, on that day, in a national radio broadcast announcing the D Day invasion to liberate France, President Roosevelt took another point of view. For he led the nation in a prayer which began with the following words:

Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation this day have set upon the mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.5

Notice here how President Roosevelt characterized the mission of American soldiers. It was “a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity,” which would be those under the boot of Germany, Japan and Italy. And so, this was a Christian endeavor. I mention this because for godly Americans this is what the war was all about. And so, it was very much rooted in a defense of Christian civilization.

For godly Americans then, being involved in the Second World War as a soldier, a sailor, or an airman or supporting the war in other ways was a living-out of the Christian faith. Fighting in World War II was for the purpose of protecting our Christian civilization and setting free a suffering humanity. I mention this simply to make sure that you see the viewpoint from which Christians of that generation looked at life.

The Christian faith is expressed by the living-out of broad Christian principles which are applicable to all of life. These Christian principles declare that life is about helping others, and being righteous in other ways, such as standing for the truth and opposing what is evil. The reason these principles exist is because the God of the Bible is a righteous God who cares about others, a God who stands for the truth and opposes what is evil.

President Roosevelt continued his prayer for America’s sons on D Day, by saying,

Lead them straight and true, give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings.6

Notice that. “They will need thy blessings.” This is what President Roosevelt said, when he led the nation in prayer on June 6, 1944.

This is the truth regarding all of the challenges we face in life. We need to pray for God’s help, with the sure and certain understanding that we need God’s blessings. For God is the one who rules history. President Roosevelt knew this, and so did all Americans who were praying with him.

In the upcoming article in this series, we will take a look at what the religious leaders did in Germany and what we need to do.

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Bob Wittstruck was a pastor for 33 years, was the associate director of the Black Hills Creation Science Association, and is a supporter of both Christian schooling and home schooling. His latest book, The Forgotten Factor of History God Rules, is being printed in February or March of 2016. His email address is [email protected]

Bob Wittstruck

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