Kerby Anderson

One book that documents the Judeo-Christian foundations of America is the book, On Two Wings, written by Michael Novak. He the author of more than thirty books and was awarded the $1 million Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

In his preface, he says, “Although I have wanted to write this book for some forty years, my own ignorance stood in the way. It took me a long time, time spent searching up many byways and neglected paths, and fighting through a great deal of conventional (but mistaken) wisdom, to learn how many erroneous perceptions I had unconsciously drunk in from public discussion.” He concludes that “most of us grow up these days remarkably ignorant of the hundred men most responsible for leading this country into a War for Independence and writing our nation’s Constitution.”

The way American history has been told for the last century is incomplete. Secular historians have “cut off one of the two wings by which the American eagle flies.” The founding generation established a compact with the God of Israel “and relied upon this belief. Their faith is an indispensable part of their story.”

One example can be found in yesterday’s discussion of the Declaration of Independence. While secular historians point to John Locke as the source of the ideas embodied in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, they usually fail to note the older influence of other authors and the Bible.

“Before Locke was even born, the Pilgrims believed in the consent of the governed, social compacts, the dignity of every child of God, and political equality.” By forcing a secular interpretation onto America’s founding history, these secular historians ignore the second wing by which the American eagle took flight.

It’s time to look at the two wings of our history.