Our Nation’s Capitol

My seventh grade class had the opportunity to take a trip to Washington, D.C. However, my parents were not financially able to pay my way. So I remained behind and listened to the experiences of my returning fellow-classmates. Little did I know that my son would one day serve on our congressman’s staff in the city that had eluded me in my youth. Eric’s guided tour remains a treasured memory. In yet another mercy from God, fifty-three years after that seventh grade trip I have spent a schedule-packed week in our nation’s capitol. Beth and I were part of a group of forty-six who were led by Dr. Milton Wheeler, history professor at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I know it is not polite to flaunt a vacation while others have had to remain behind (I remember the feeling), but the experience was too rich in history and lessons learned to let it slip away into the dust-bin of been-there-done-that. The itinerary of the week is incidental to observations made within the context of a Christian worldview.

Freedom has been won and lost. The freedoms one used to enjoy as a tourist in Washington, D.C. have been altered by September 11, 2001. The capitol, all federal buildings, and museums require screening. Bomb sniffing canines, guards, police, and barricades have changed the ambiance of the city, symbolic of human freedom. Security is necessarily tight. Being asked to drink a swallow from my water bottle served some kind of precautionary measure and helped me to stay hydrated after standing in lines. These are small inconveniences when one considers the many freedoms that remain. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, always an impressive sight, the ever-inspiring Iwo Jima monument, and the monuments to World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam War stirred deep emotions. So many lives in this great nation of ours have been given to protect our freedom. This will always be necessary while living in a fallen world. The sacrifices made by our men and women in the armed services should never go without appropriate honor.

The United States of America is the product of God’s gracious providential hand in history. It is amazing how many strategic events occurred to make possible the birth of our nation. The puritan heritage, brilliant minds shaped by a Christian worldview, and freedom-loving patriots forged the philosophy and documents which created a country unique in world history. George Washington’s integrity, courage and leadership ability, Thomas Jefferson’s genius with words (in three days by himself wrote the Declaration of Independence), and the collective sense of God’s sovereignty over human affairs all played a vital role in constructing a government steeped in liberty and justice for all.

The law of God is etched in stone. No building in Washington, D.C. rivals the Supreme Court for the magnitude of its symbolic power. We are a nation that lives under the Constitution and law, not the tyranny of despots. “Equal justice under law” is emblazoned over the doors of this majestic building. It also does not go without notice that Moses, holding the tablets of the Decalogue, is etched in stone above the heads of the nine Supreme Court justices. It is ironic that displays of the Ten Commandments are banned from public buildings across the nation. The exception is the one that houses the highest court in the land, committed to guard our constitutional liberties. Government does not give us our rights. It is our Creator who conveys our rights. Woe to the nation that forgets this truth.

Nameless, faceless, and without a monument are many who have helped to build our great nation. Thousands of school children spilled out of chartered buses to visit our nation’s monuments and museums to learn the story of who we are as a people. These young people are red, yellow, black, and white. It is the great, great, great grandchildren of slaves that evoke some special thoughts. It was upon the backs of their ancestors that our liberties were established. There is an extraordinary irony in this. While Thomas Jefferson was penning the words “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” his slaves were plowing his fields, hauling his water, cutting his fire wood, cooking his meals, and emptying his chamber pots. This was true throughout the thirteen colonies as slaves from Africa labored day-in and day-out making it possible for free patriots to do what had to be done for us to become the Unites States of America. The obvious inconsistencies and injustice of slavery, thankfully, eventually crumbled under the weight of the truths which formed our infant nation.

Time and truth often turn the vilified and unpopular into benefactors for the human race. The words of Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” come to mind, “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” The memorial to Abraham Lincoln is a splendid monument in Washington, D.C. He is seated regally in a massive marble chair. If he were standing he would be twenty-eight feet tall. The words above his head read, “In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” But in his own day he went through periods of great unpopularity and was frequently savaged by the Washington press. John Wilkes Booth was convinced that by assassinating Lincoln he would be seen as a hero in the South. As we sat in Ford’s Theatre watching the play “Shenandoah” (a story set in the time of the Civil War) where Lincoln was shot, it was haunting to look up and see that empty Presidential box appearing exactly as it did on the night of April 14, 1865. We ought not to be too impressed with opinion polls and editorials in the major newspapers. They may be only reflecting the collective ignorance of those with a certain political agenda. History has not allowed the truth to be interred with Abraham Lincoln’s bones.

There is a well disguised mugger waiting in the museum of natural history. We were greeted by Tyrannosaurus Rex as we entered one of my favorite museums. There are many of these in Washington, D.C. and one could spend weeks, if not months, going through them all in a thorough way. Children were being guided by their parents through the exhibitions of prehistoric life. In one of these the earth’s sun was given the credit as creating the spark that brought a life-form out of the primordial soup of an ancient sea. We condescendingly view ancient man as worshiping the sun and think that we are beyond such primitive ideas. The worldview of naturalism (evolution) is the template that explains our origins. The Creator is nowhere to be found, except in the founding documents of our nation. The attribution of intelligence to “it” (chance) making the necessary adjustments for the purposes of survival is incredulous, but is believed by many. The Christian worldview is under assault not only in the museums but in the culture at large. The best defense is a Christ-centered, God-exalting personal witness to authentic Christianity.

Strong Christians can become bound by the fetters of the evils of their culture. Lexington, Virginia is rich in Civil War history. Washington and Lee University, the Virginia Military Institute, the home of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and the burial sites of Jackson and Robert E. Lee are all located within a shot distance of one another. Having viewed the video, “Warriors of Honor” about “the faith and legacies of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson,” we were primed to see the memorials to these two stalwarts of the War Between the States. Both Lee and Jackson were professing Christians whose discourse, writings, and leadership gave witness to their robust Christian world and life view. The Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University remains as a testimony to General Lee’s desire for the next generation of leaders to know God and hear His Word. Jackson was an active member of the Presbyterian Church in Lexington. He taught a Sunday School class and gave generously to God’s work. Lee and Jackson are viewed with suspicion by many moderns, not only because of their allegiance to “lost cause,” but also because they owned slaves. The ownership of slaves by Christians of course is not unique to Southern Generals. Jonathan Edwards, pastor and theologian, also owned slaves. How do we reconcile this cultural injustice with biblical Christianity? Some historical and theological perspective is necessary. Slavery was an institutional evil, just as abortion is today. This serves as a warning to us. We can easily accept the evils that surround us as being normal and maybe even necessary. Discernment and moral courage must characterize Christian believers in any age. Self-examination is a required step in keeping us vigilant when facing the danger of being conformed to this world.

A gaze into the hideous face of evil is an encounter with the sinful heart of man. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum sits only a short distance from the Washington Monument. The architecture of the Holocaust Museum is designed to reflect that of a prison facility. Its stated mission “is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this unprecedented tragedy (the Holocaust); to preserve the memory of those who suffered; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.” As we entered the museum a young girl passed us leaving with tears running down her cheeks. It was a solemn and funeral-like walk through the three floors of the exhibition. Upon entering one is given an identification card with the words of Elie Wiesel on the front, “For the dead and the living we must bear witness.” Inside the card are a picture and the story of a real person who lived during the Holocaust. The account of the merciless slaughter of six million Jews in Nazi Germany moves from the rise of Nazi power to the stories of the survivors of the death camps. Sadly, in one of the mini-films regarding the development of anti-Semitism in Europe was a quote from Martin Luther. He said things about the Jews he should never have said and now they come back to haunt the heirs of the Reformation. It is the distortion of the teaching of the Bible that sows the seeds of anti-Semitism. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, both Jew and Gentile. Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only hope for a sin-darkened world.

A brief excursion through a small part of American history can be exhilarating and enlightening. The next generation needs a tour guide through the halls of history. That tour guide must be accurately informed and wise in the Word of God (How good it was to have Dr. Wheeler assist us in this endeavor). In this way the purpose of history can be realized in the words of Paul, “Now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). This is to be the legacy of human history. Our nation’s capital tells us stories that we need to hear.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church