TobyMac - Under God

UNDER GOD

by Toby Mac and Michael Tait of dc Talk with WallBuilders

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1102-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Manuscript prepared by LeAnna Willis and David R. Long.
Research by Scott Kaste.
Additional contributions by Amanda Clawson, Kyle Duncan, Dan Pitts, and Natasha Sperling.

Design by Lookout Design Group, Inc.

Scripture quotations identified KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations identified NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations identified NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation. Copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified MESSAGE are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

Contents

Introduction

THE SHINING LIGHT OF LIBERTY
AND THE SHADOWS OF THE DREAM

On July 4, 1776 , the forefathers of our nation set upon a course and forged a direction that would reverberate throughout the world and lead this nation to offer unforeseen levels of hope, prosperity, and freedom to an amazing tapestry of people. The American Revolution was truly revolutionary.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people was a very radical concept. No one could have dreamed the impact it would have. In our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, one of the most profound ideals set forth was that all men are created equal. Today, it is hard to truly understand how radical the introduction of that concept was. It helps to go back to the eighteenth century and gain a greater understanding of what the world was like. Kings and queens were the rulers and conquerors of the day. Justice and wealth was held in their hands. Our forefathers sought to take some of that tightly bound power and distribute it so that many who could never dream of hope and opportunity would find peace and prosperity through a freedom that was built upon the principles of God. In 1776, and for basically the next two hundred years, however, for some who lived in America, this concept of all men are created equal was more authentic in word than it was in deed.

Two enormous tragedies that occurred through Europes colonization of America are found in the stories of Native Americans (or the Host Peoples) and the descendants of Africa. Slavery, the great scourge of our national history, became a gaping wound of injustice from the very outset of our nations birth. As well, as white settlers moved west in search of a better life, the Native American peoples were decimated and expelled from their lands. It is important to grasp that these two people groupsNative Americans and blacksdid not come to America seeking the American Dream. It is probably more accurate to say that they lived the American nightmare. What is often lost in all this, however, are the amazing contributions they made to this great country. Every step of the way as our nation developed, they were right there making major contributions.

While our forefathers set forth the ideal of what this nation could become, it was immensely more difficult to carry out and ensure this ideal for all men and women. It is a profound task that continues to this very day. Here is where we see the greatness of the American Revolution: A foundation was laid that would allow for change, and this foundation could be built upon to lift this nation higher toward its grand ideal. Our forefathers cautioned, however, that if we were to lose our religion and morality, our foundation would surely crumble.

This is a glimpse into the battle that started roughly five hundred years ago when the first European explorers came to this land. Some have called it our dual heritage. To help give a framework for examining this heritage, we can look at two of the earliest settlementsJamestown and Plymouth. Jamestown, Virginia, was a colony primarily formed as a business venture by investors to obtain wealth. In contrast, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was a colony established by Pilgrims primarily to further the Gospel. The Protestant Reformation was a powerful force that fueled the vision of the Pilgrims.

If you study these two settlements in any kind of depth, you will find some interesting observations. Plymouth centered around covenanting with God and with one another. While they were not perfect, by any means, over and over the Pilgrims seemed to encounter divine providence at just the right times. Jamestown, on the other hand, centered primarily on the acquisition of gold and the building of capital. While there were some redemptive elements in the colony, the settlers seemed to encounter much fighting and bickering and failure.

Many people came to America. Many came seeking wealth. Many came seeking religious freedom.

When studying the founding of the United States, one thing that you cant help but encounter is the faith of our forefathers. Time and time again our forefathers recognized Gods hand in the shaping of this nation. You will find Him mentioned repeatedly in their words and documents. Amazingly, hardly any of this factual history is taught today, whereas it was common public school teaching material seventy-five years ago. It is important to note, though, that while our forefathers were great men who did great things, they were also just men. Fallible. Imperfect.

When we decided to embark upon creating this book, we decided to use King David from the Bible as our model. He was a man after Gods own heart, but he was also a murderer and adulterer. And though David repented of his errors, they haunted him the rest of his life. In the same way, our forefathers left some things undone, and along the way our nation plunged into some dark traditions.

Ours is a heritage of light and ours is a heritage of darkness.

This book is a collection of short stories about our heritage. Each short story could haveand has hadentire books written about its subject. Our collection of stories is by no means exhaustive. We have left out many great ones. But it is our hope that these accounts will ignite a passion and inspire you to learn more about the great heritage you have and to seek out the unfinished work left to do. It is our hope that you enjoy reading these stories as much as we did discovering them.

TOBY and MICHAEL