The Year of the Bible in Pennsylvania

2012 has been unanimously designated the Year of the Bible in Pennsylvania by vote of the PA House of Representatives.  In an increasingly partisan and divided nation, it is refreshing to see strong bi-partisan support for this resolution in the Pennsylvania House.

The text of the resolution notes that “many of our great national leaders, among them President Washington, President, Jackson, President Lincoln, President Wilson, and President Reagan, paid tribute to the influence of the Bible in our country’s development, as exemplified by the words of President Jackson that the Bible is ‘the rock on which our Republic rests.’”

Reaction has been swift and fierce in opposition to H.R. 535.  It comes as no surprise that the secular media and liberal religious leaders are decrying the resolution as inappropriate and calling for its repeal. Thank God for the courageous action of these representatives who understand the critical role that the Bible has had in the history of this nation and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

As the Resolution further notes, “This nation now faces great challenges that will test it as it has never been tested before . . . Renewing our knowledge of faith in God through holy scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people …”

The fact is, H.R. 535 is a return to Pennsylvania’s roots.  An act of the 1705-06 Pennsylvania legislature specified that to serve as a civil magistrate one had to “profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world.”   The Pennsylvania constitution of 1776 declares that the legislature shall consist of persons who subscribe to the following: “I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the Rewarder of the good and the Punisher of the wicked; and I acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by Divine inspiration."

May the substance of H.R. 535 sweep our land in a powerful return to the convictions of our founding fathers.