選擇—美國遺產概要18  

在美國獨立戰爭時期，其他國家的首要職責都是在建造控制人民的原則上。君王和他的皇家貴族擁有一切，幾乎無人可以自由選擇他們的生命路線，居住地點，甚至是職業。儘管自由是多數人的渴望，但在美國獨立戰爭之前沒有任何以自由為基礎的成功政府。

為何自由是多數人想要的，卻無法成功呢？主要原因是那些試圖建立以自由為基礎的共和國，並沒有擁有為何要自由的超然異象。自由本身是一個崇高志向，但若沒有與更大目的連結，自由是無法持續太久的。

新美利堅合眾國建立的主要目的是為了保護人民的權利和資產，其導致主動性和新創精神的爆發，帶來真實與立即的昌盛。在過去所嘗試建造的共和國，雖然自由帶來昌盛，卻也帶來許多不和與內訌。內訌的壓力拆毀一切，為什麼美國不同於其他早期的共和國呢？

若不是大覺醒分賜比自由更高的異象成為我們國家更高的目的，在美國也會發生這樣的分裂。當這樣的異象在我們這世代腐蝕了，現在我們正看見在美國的分裂威脅著我們的未來。我們必須擁有另一次的大覺醒，重溫我們的異象。

此更高的異象異常重要，但殖民地在自由方面也有比先前共和國更堅固的根源。殖民地有150年的時間發展自治能力並使其成熟。因著這些根源在我們的世代受到如此威脅，因此我們若要保有自由，必須重新檢視、瞭解並保護它們。

那些企圖以犧牲自由強加對人民控制的人，有意並有計畫試圖使美國人民脫離其根源。他們做得很成功，現在一些根源幾乎已經完全被切斷。他們這麼做的主要方式是使用歷史學家來竄改和改變我們的歷史。

修正派歷史學家特別聚焦在把良善當作邪惡，邪惡當作良善。根據以賽亞先知，這是一個國家可以跌落的終極邪惡。這即是何以尊榮/孝順父母是神唯一賜下帶著應許，可以在世長壽得福的誡命。當我們藉著遺忘他們而不尊榮他們，我們便在切斷我們的根源。若有任何比遺忘他們而更不尊榮的事，莫過於稱他們所做的善為惡。

美國人民擁有歷史上一些最尊榮的父母，我們若要在目前的危機中存活，我們必須藉著聲明他們的真實故事來恢復對他們的尊榮。

自由的根源在美國被釋放始於1609年和1612年最初兩個殖民地的許可證，是由愛德温·桑迪斯爵士（Sir Edwin Sandys）所寫成，他是英國國會的成員，也是資助詹姆士鎮的維吉尼亞公司所有人之一。這些許可證非常獨特，主要是出於桑迪斯爵士，其允許私有產業、自治、宗教自由，有別於其他歐洲國家。

一些人相信桑迪斯爵士對這些新教徒和清教徒充滿同情，是否是出於對他們信仰的同情就不得而知了，但他確實想吸引他們成為新殖民者。這兩個團體皆以勤奮、努力工作與誠實而聞名，他們所安頓之處都因著他們的到來而繁榮起來。如此的特性對於建立殖民地非常重要，好使他們可以在新世界的曠野生存下去。

桑迪斯爵士協助說服他的君王，不需要有負擔從遠方管理殖民地，單是與他們聯繫就要花上好幾個月。因此，他主張允許殖民地自治，並得到批准，他知道這尤其會吸引清教徒和新教徒。

這兩個團體去到美洲成為殖民者，幫助解決英國國王所面臨的一個重大問題，清教徒和新教徒因著拒絕臣服英國教會而帶來問題。當逼迫開始臨到這兩個團體，非常不得人心並造成國家日益嚴重的分裂，把他們如殖民者般送走似乎是解決之道。為了吸引他們離開，他們得到宗教自由和自治管理，這些清教徒相信這是他們禱告的答案。

最初的殖民地同時栽種了宗教自由和自治政府；因此，從一開始他們的政府就是「民有、民治、民享」。這使美國成為歷史上第一個持久共和國的自然溫床，他們有超過一世紀的時間學習如何來做，到了1776年，他們預備好成為一個國家了。

為此緣故，當其他國家努力成立共和政體，我們應當要有耐心。這些國家多半沒有自治政府或自由的根源，許多國家來自於馬克斯主義和其他形式的專制政權，他們在自由上的進展非常了不起，當受尊榮。

為著葉爾欽（Boris Yeltsin）與他所展現無比的勇氣感謝神，當時他並沒有如亞當斯、傑弗遜、漢密爾頓和富蘭克林這樣一群卓越的領袖同伴。俄羅斯和許多其他國家來自共產主義專制政權，他們若與我們處在同樣景況之下，可能會做得比我們更好。與其責備他們沒有我們所認為的快速進展，或許我們只需要決定如何幫助他們以正確方向來走下一步。

我們應當謹記在心：從美國首批英國殖民地的建立到現在，我們有四百年的時間學習自由，顯然我們要學的還很多。雖然我們擁有卓越根基、卓越領導階層，但是我們仍然遇到使我們處於毀滅邊緣的問題。為此緣故，讓我們謹記在心，神阻擋驕傲的人、賜恩給謙卑的人。我們擁有許多感恩的理由，卻沒有任何一個理由讓我們傲慢自大。

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～摘錄古老俄國格言，作者不詳～

有一個古老俄國格言這麼說：「鐵鎚敲碎玻璃卻鑄造鋼鐵」。有些人就像玻璃─環境的鐵鎚把他們打成碎片。有些人則像鋼鐵─鐵鎚敲打他們而打不碎他們，將他們鑄造成新的力量與榮美。

～摘錄富蘭克林～

任何庸才都懂得批評、譴責和抱怨─而多數庸才也如此做。

 (摘自喬納word for the week, Week 18, 2020)

 

Choice—Heritage Brief 18

At the time of The American Revolution, every other nation was built on the principle of controlling the people as their first duty. The sovereign and his nobles owned everything, and virtually no one was free to choose the course of their life, where they lived, or even their vocations. Before The American Revolution, there had not been a successful government that was based on freedom first, even though this was a desire of most people. 

     Why had this not worked when most people wanted it? A main reason was that those who sought to create a republic based on liberty did not have a transcendent vision of what their freedom was for. Liberty itself is a noble cause, but freedom has never lasted long if it is not connected to an even greater purpose.

     The new American Republic, built with its main purpose being to protect the rights of the people and their property, caused initiative and innovation to explode. This brought substantial and immediate prosperity. In previous attempts to build republics, freedom brought prosperity, but it also brought discord as many factions arose. The stress of the factions tore them apart. Why was America different?

     This fracturing would have happened in America too if it had not been for the Great Awakening imparting a higher vision than liberty as our national purpose. As this vision has been eroded in our time, we are now seeing the fracturing in America that threatens our future as a Republic. We must have another Awakening to recapture our vision.

     This higher vision was crucial, but the colonies also had stronger roots in liberty than previous republics had. The colonies had a century and a half to develop and mature their ability to self-govern. Because these roots are under such a threat in our time, we must re-examine them, understand them, and protect them if we are to remain free. 

     Those seeking to impose control over the people at the expense of liberty have been intentionally and systematically trying to cut the American people off from their roots. They have been so successful that now some of these roots are almost completely severed. A primary way this has been done is by using historians to revise and change our history.

     Revisionist historians have especially focused on making the good seem evil and the evil seem good. According to the Prophet Isaiah, this is the ultimate depravity a nation can fall into. This is why the only commandment that God gave with the promise that it would go well for us and we would have longevity, was to honor our fathers and mothers. When we dishonor them by forgetting them, we are cut off from our roots. If anything could be even more dishonoring than forgetting them, it would be to call the good that they did evil. 

     The American people have been given some of the most honorable fathers and mothers in history. If we are going to survive the present crisis, we must recover their honor by declaring the truth of their story.

      The roots of the freedom released in America began with the charters for the original English colonies of 1609 and 1612. These were written by Sir Edwin Sandys, a member of the British Parliament, and also a part owner of The Virginia Company that financed the Jamestown colony. These were unique from the charters of any other European nations by allowing for private property, self-government, and freedom of religion, mostly due to Sandys.

     Some believe that Sir Edwin was a sympathizer of the   Pilgrims and Puritans. Whether he sympathized with their beliefs or not isn’t clear, but he did want to attract them as colonists. Both of these groups were known for being industrious, hard-working, and honest, and every place they settled had prospered with their coming. Such characteristics would be crucial for establishing colonies that could survive in the wilderness of the new world.

     Sir Edwin helped persuade his sovereign that they did not need to be burdened trying to govern colonies from such a distance, as it could take months just to communicate with them. So, he advocated for allowing the colonies to self-govern, and this was approved, knowing this would especially appeal to the Puritans and Pilgrims.

     For these groups to go and become colonists helped solve another major problem the British Monarch faced. The Puritans and Pilgrims were causing trouble by refusing to submit to the Church of England. When a persecution against these groups began, it was very unpopular and began causing increasing division in the nation. Sending them away as colonists seemed to be the solution. To induce them to go, they were offered religious freedom along with self-government. They went believing this to be an answer to their prayers.

     In the first colonies, this planted both religious liberty and self-government. So, from the beginning their government had been one “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” This made it a natural seed-bed for the first enduring Republic in history, as it would have over a century to learn how to do it. By 1776 they were ready.

     For this reason, we should have patience when other nations struggle to form republican governments. Many of these have no roots in self-government or freedom. That so many nations coming out of recent Marxist and other forms of tyranny have made the kind of progress in freedom that they have is remarkable and should be honored.

     Thank God for Boris Yeltsin and the remarkable courage he displayed, but he was not a Washington, and he did not have a company of other such remarkable fellow leaders like Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Franklin. Russia, and many of the other nations that emerged from the tyranny of communism, may have done much better than we would have under the same conditions. Instead of chastising them for not being what we think they should be faster, maybe we should just determine how we can help them take the next step in the right direction. 

     We should keep in mind that from the founding of the first English colonies in America until now we have had four hundred years of learning to be free, and we obviously still have a lot to learn. With the exceptional foundation and exceptional leadership we’ve had, we’re still having the kind of problems that keep us on the edge of doom. For this reason, let us keep in mind that God resists the proud and gives His grace to the humble. We have many reasons to be thankful, but none for being arrogant.

An old Russian proverb says: ‘The hammer shatters glass, but forges steel.’ Some people are like glass—the hammer of circumstances breaks them in pieces. Other people are like steel—the hammer strikes, and instead of breaking them, forges them into new strength and beauty. 

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most fools do. Unknown