QUOTES BY GREAT AMERICANS
Quotes from the Bible included as a commentary on some of the statements made by our Great Americans.
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this - that it connected, in
one indissoluble bond,
the principles of civil government with the principles of
Christianity."
[John Quincy Adams]
When asked in October following the Declaration of Independence if America would
succeed in the struggle for independence John dams replied,
"Yes, if we fear God and repent our sins."
"The
patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his
ways,
has the promise
of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his
greatest darkness,
'a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.'
He will
therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a
character
as shall make
her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation."
[Francis Scott Key]
"Since becoming President, I have come to know that
the finest of Americans we have abroad today are
the missionaries of the cross.
I am humiliated that I am not finding this out until this late day
the worth of
foreign missions and the nobility of the missionaries."
[Franklin D. Roosevelt]
"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to
obey his will,
to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his
protection and favor."
[George Washington - October 3, 1789]
"It is therefore recommended ... to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of
December next,
for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the
good people may express
the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service
of their divine benefactor ..."
[Samuel Adams - November 1, 1777]
"It is therefore recommended ... to set apart
Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and
praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the
grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of
their divine benefactor ..."
[Abraham Lincoln - 1863]
"All that is best in the civilization of today is the
fruit of Christ's appearance among men."
[Daniel Webster]
"Character
building begins in our infancy and continues
until death."
[Eleanor Roosevelt]
"I have now disposed of all my property to my family.
There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus
Christ. If they had that and I had not given them one shilling, they would have
been rich, and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they
would be poor indeed."
[Patrick Henry]
"Do not let any one claim to be a true American
if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics."
[George Washington]
"I have alternately been called an Aristocrat and a Democrat. I am neither. I am
a Christocrat."
[Quoted in Benjamin Rush's eulogy, 1813 He was a signee of the
Declaration of Independence,
founder of the first anti-slavery society in
America.]
"A child who is allowed to be disrespectful of his parents will not have true
respect for anyone."
[Billy Graham]
"No man has a good enough memory to make him a successful liar."
[Abraham
Lincoln]
"There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money."
[George Washington - July 12, 1797 letter to Samuel Washington]
“The sum of the whole matter is this: If our civilization is to survive
materially, it must be redeemed spiritually.”
[Woodrow Wilson]
"Let us have faith
that right makes might; and in that faith let us to the end dare
to do our duty as we understand it." [Abraham
Lincoln]
"There is no safer reliance than upon the God of
our fathers, who has so singularly favored the American people in every national
trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments and walk
humbly in His footsteps." [William McKinley]
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety."
[Benjamin Franklin]
"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible
has never failed to give me light and strength."
[Robert E. Lee]
"Duty is ours; results are God's. The first and almost the only Book deserving
of universal attention is the Bible.
In what light so ever we regard the Bible,
whether with reference to revelation, to history, or to morality,
it is an
invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue."
[John Quincy Adams]
"I cannot too greatly emphasize the importance
and value of Bible study - more important than ever
before in these days of
uncertainties, when men and woman are apt to decide questions
from the
standpoint of expediency rather than the eternal principles laid down by God,
Himself."
[John Wanamaker]
"I have for many years made
it a practice to read through the Bible
once every year." [John Quincy Adams]
"Education is useless without the Bible."
"The Bible was America's basic text book in all fields."
"God's Word...has furnished all necessary rule to direct our conduct."
[Noah Webster]
"I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real
good works ... not holy-day keeping,
sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers,
filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men,
and much less
capable of pleasing the Deity."
[Benjamin Franklin]
"All scholars shall live religious, godly,
and blameless lives according to the rules of God's Word, diligently reading the
Holy Scriptures, the fountain of light and truth; and constantly attend upon all
the duties of religion, both in public and secret."
[Regulations at Yale
College 1745]
"One and God make a majority."
[Frederick Douglass]
"It is only when men begin
to worship that they begin to grow"
[Calvin Coolidge]
"Well
done is better than well said."
[Benjamin Franklin]
"Only a virtuous people are capable of
freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious,
they have more need of masters."
[Benjamin Franklin]
"Righteousness exalts a nation."
[Proverbs 14:34]
"The appearance of religion only on Sunday proves that it is only an
appearance."
[John Adams]
"Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than the body can
live
and move without a soul." [John Adams ]
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are
true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are
pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report,
if there
is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."
[Philippians 4:8 NKJV]
"He who can not command his
thoughts will soon lose command of his actions."
[Woodrow Wilson]
"He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will
be, void of all regard for his country.
There is seldom an instance of a man
guilty of betraying his country,
who had not before lost the feeling of moral
obligations in his private connections...."
[Samuel Adams]
"When we are planning for posterity, we
ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary."
[Thomas Payne]
"The Bible is the rock on which our
Republic rests."
[Andrew Jackson]
"To
do evil that good may come of it is for bunglers in politics as well as morals."
[William Penn]
"It is a mindless
philosophy that assumes that one's private beliefs have nothing to do with
public office. Does it make sense to entrust those who are immoral in private
with the power to determine the nation's moral issues and, indeed, its destiny?
.... The duplicitous soul of a leader can only make a nation more sophisticated
in evil."
[Dr. Ravi
Zacharias was born in India]
"I
firmly believe in Divine providence. Without it, I think I should go crazy.
Without God the world would be a maze without a clue."
[Woodrow Wilson]
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
[Psalm 14:1a]
"If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation
gone under."
[Ronald Reagan]
"I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me.
With God in charge,
I believe everything will work out for the best in the end.
So what is there to worry about. "
[Henry Ford]
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human
passions unbridled by morality
and religion . . ....Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly
inadequate to the government of any other."
[John Adams]
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient.
He reigns in
heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come."
[Samuel Adams]
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
[Dwight D. Eisenhower]
"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance;
and perseverance, character; and character, hope."
[Paul - Romans
5:3,4]
"Character is power."
[Booker T. Washington]
"Christmas
is not a time or a season but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and
good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
[Calvin Coolidge]
Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected
from us,
and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips,
and shows itself in deeds.
[Theodore Roosevelt
"Character, not circumstances, makes the
man."
[Booker T. Washington]
"It is far better to be alone, than to be
in bad company."
[George Washington]
"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find
myself.
For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is
determined
not by our circumstance but by our disposition."
[Martha Washington]
"[T]he only foundation for a useful education in a
republic is to be aid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and
without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of
all republican governments. Without religion, I believe that learning does real
mischief to the morals and principles of mankind."
[Benjamin Rush - Signer of
Declaration of Independence]
"[T]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or
rather the source of all genuine freedom in government. . . . and I am persuaded
that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which
the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence." [
Noah
Webster]
"For avoiding the extremes of despotism or anarchy . . . the only ground
of hope must be on the morals of the people. I believe that religion is the only
solid base of morals and that morals are the only possible support of free
governments. Therefore education should teach the precepts of religion and the
duties of man towards God."
[Gouverneur Morris, Penman and Signer of the
Constitution.]
"The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the
word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next.
Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts."
[John Jay, Original Chief-Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court]
"Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law
which is divine. . . . Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are
twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run
into each other."
[James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution;
U. S. Supreme Court Justice]
"Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or
by a power without them;
either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man;
either by the Bible or by the bayonet."
[Robert Winthrop, Speaker of the U. S. House]
Often misquoted portion from John Adams:
"Twenty times, in the course of my late reading, have I been upon the point of
breaking out, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no
religion in it!!!" But in this exclamatic I should have been as fanatical as
Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion this world would be something not fit to be
mentioned in polite company, I mean Hell."
"[Why] should not the
Bible regain the place it once held as a school book? Its morals are pure, its
examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the Sacred Book that is thus
early impressed lasts long; and probably if not impressed in infancy, never
takes firm hold of the mind."
[Fisher Ames author of the final wording for the
First Amendment]
“It may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the
line of separation between the rights of religion and
the Civil authority with
such distinctness as to avoid collisions and doubts on unessential points. The
tendency to usurpation on one side or the other, or to a corrupting coalition or
alliance between them, will be best guarded agst.
by an entire abstinence of the Gov't from interfering in any way whatsoever, beyond the necessity of
preserving
public order, and protecting each sect agst. trespasses on its legal rights by
others.”
[John Madison in his letter to Rev. Jasper Adams in the spring of 1832]
"Whatever it is that makes men good Christians makes them good citizens."
[Daniel Webster]
"Last and not least they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good
foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and
advancement of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the
world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in performance
of so great work."
[William Bradford - Plymouth Plantation, 1647]
Last updated on
08/13/2012