But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
- 1 Peter 3:15-16
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
- Acts 1:3
“In the days following the American Revolution, the new nation quickly abandoned its Christian heritage. Church attendance plunged, and colleges became seedbeds of atheism. The spiritual progress of the Great Awakening, which had helped fuel the American Revolution, dissipated. French rationalism and the Enlightenment captivated American minds, and much of the secularism was fueled by Thomas Paine’s rabidly anti-Christian book The Age of Reason.
“To counter Paine’s arguments, Boudinot published The Age of Revelation: Or the Age of Reason Shown to be an Age of Infidelity, one of America’s first books of Christian apologetics. He told his readers he had written the book, ‘knowing the importance of your being able to give a ready answer for the hope that is in you.’ Boudinot was refer-ring to 1 Peter 3:15, the Bible’s key text on the subject of what is called ‘apologetics’-the defense of the Christian faith. Many people believe that faith is believing in something despite the evidence, but a valid faith is believing in something because of the evidence. The Lord never wants us to commit intellectual suicide to trust Him. He has given us copious amounts of proof-many infallible proofs, as we read in Acts 1:3-that the Christian faith is verifiable and true.
“Because of that, the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15, ‘But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.’
“On the Bible, Boudinot also wrote:
“For nearly half a century, have I anxiously and critically studied that invaluable treasure [the Bible); and I still scarcely ever take it up, that I do not find something new-that I do not receive some valuable addition to my stock of knowledge; or perceive some instructive fact, never observed before. In short, were you to ask me to recommend the most valuable book in the world, I should fix on the Bible as the most instructive, both to the wise and ignorant. ·Were you to ask me for one affording the most rational and pleasing entertainment to the inquiring mind, I should repeat, it is the Bible. And should you renew the inquiry for the best philosophy, or the most interesting history, I should still urge you to look into your Bible. I would make it, in short, the Alpha and Omega of knowledge.”
- Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses That Made America
In my recent trip to visit the grandchildren, the oldest of them went with me to Nashville, to sell used books and games. One of the books that I purchased in return was 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the birth of the USA, I thought I would do a condensed mini-series on some of these verses, four posts per week for a few weeks – maybe not all 100 verses.
Maybe the title should have been that he wrote possibly the earliest American book on Christian apologetics.
Elias Boudinot is the delegate who proposed a national day of thanksgiving, after the Bill of Rights was approved in 1789. This was reported in Tuesday evening’s post two days ago, Thanksgiving by Spits and Spurts.
Boudinot had been the commissary general for prisoners during the Revolutionary War, and he superintended Washington’s ring of spies. After the war, he went back to his law practice in New Jersey, but he then became a congressman once the Constitution was signed.
And the book’s author does not make his argument one-sided. He mentioned Thomas Paine’s book. But the founding fathers were largely Christian men trying to make the country safe so that we can worship without fear of reprisal.
Boudinot’s book was in answer to Paine’s Age of Reason.
Boudinot was a president of the American Bible Society. He made large donations to the American Bible Society. He also made real estate donations to the Society for the Benefit of the Jews, the Presbyterian church, and the Hospital of Philadelphia.
He put his faith into action.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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