Doctor of Divinity Byron Sunderland [1819-1901] was a prominent American Presbyterian minister, theologian, and social reformer best known for his long tenure as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and his strong advocacy for the abolition of slavery during the Civil War era.

He served as Chaplain of the United States Senate from July 4, 1861, to December 9, 1864, during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. Dr. Sunderland wrote the introduction to Benjamin Franklin Morris’ masterwork, The Christian Life & Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States [1864]:

“The chief security and glory of the United States of America has been, is now, and will be forever, the prevalence and domination of the Christian Faith.

“The most powerful empires of the past have perished because they were wanting in a principle strong enough and spiritual enough to resist the self-destructive energies of human nature [Total Depravity]. The pagan world could not furnish such a principle. It was in neither their philosophy nor their religion.

“The associated moral and spiritual power of a Christian people ought now to be making itself felt in every part of the land and in all that concerns the existence and welfare of the country. It is the settled conviction of many of the most intelligent and purest minds that the time has come when the Christian people of America should take into their own hands the work of reclaiming the government and wielding its power more decisively for the glory of God and the highest good of human nature.”

Dr. Sunderland exemplified the 19th-century disposition and mood of the Biblically based culture. Yet, today, a far different, divergent, and spiritless Christianity is hampered and overpowered by a ruthless pagan religion. It is the result of American Christendom’s abandonment of the public square over the last 100 years in disobedience to Jesus Christ’s kingdom ekklesia assignment from Matthew 16:18, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.

The American Founders who arrived at the Eastern Shores in the early 17th century had been sifted by spiritual harassment and religious persecution. Although their beginning was bleak, they established a Biblically based culture over the next two hundred years, resulting in the fact that all but a handful of the first 123 colleges and universities were established as distinctly Christian in origin and purpose.

Parallel to that effort, the Founders positioned the Bible as “the principal text in our schools,” according to Founder Fisher Ames [1758-1808], the co-author of the First Amendment. A simple examination of the 13 Original States Charters and Constitutions – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland – demonstrates that America’s Founders established, by design, a Christian nation. goo.gl/cBw4Xh

In the mid-19th century, a notion expressing the futility of polishing brass on a sinking ship became accepted as indicative for the pointlessness of Christian cultural input. Despite Christ’s instruction to His disciples to “occupy till I come” [Luke 19:13], Christian disciples were discouraged to try and be salt & light in order to habilitate and impact culture.

John Stott [1921-2011], the prominent British evangelical leader, theologian, preacher, and author of over 50 books, was widely recognized as one of the most influential evangelical figures of the 20th century. He wrote, “We should not ask, ‘What is wrong with the world?’ for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, ‘What has happened to the salt and light?’”

The recent COVID-19 pandemic reveals the battle ahead for freedom-loving citizens. The overreach of oppressive and authoritarian government bureaucrats, in collusion with despotic devotees of Big Tech, Big Media, Big Pharma, and Big Government autocrats, lay bare their totalitarian bent and wily willingness to utilize false information, deceptive misrepresentation, and mixed truth for control of culture and ideological supremacy.

Yet, as of now still unaccounted for are the implications of actions by Axios, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, et al. By gleefully accepting billions of advertising dollars from Big Pharma, they were implicit in the ruining of century-old family businesses, the firing of employees or ending of careers for refusing masks or obeying decrees for COVID jabs, and the loss of loved ones dying all alone in sterile hospitals; everything eroded by slipshod and financially politicized so-called ‘science’.

This brings us to 2025 and President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s formal inauguration this week. My prayer for America comes from Joel 2:25: “God will restore [to the U.S.] what the locust has eaten.” Over the next 30 years, a spiritual fire will start in Washington, DC, and spread through the corridors of power and government institutions, affecting the curriculum in public education and thus in culture, since politics is downstream.

During the election, President Trump committed to closing the Department of Education and returning control of education to the states and to parents. This is essential for launching America’s moral and spiritual renewal over the next decades as we remove the

State from brainwashing our youth in the religion of secular humanism.  x.com/i/status/1855251236053823986

However, it will require the engagement of America’s pastors and parishioners at the legislative level. Pastors who guide their parishioners on Sunday are reminded of calling the next day their local congressman and two U.S. Senators’ state offices with the advice of sending education back to states and parents or find another job!

It has to be done this way because the largest labor union in the country, the National Education Association [NEA], representing millions of teachers, education professionals, and support staff, is not going to simply roll over. Aside from spreading the plague of secularism among America’s youth, the NEA is heavily involved in political advocacy, lobbying for education funding, and progressive social policies.

Bishop Robert Mossom [1617-1679] of Derry pointed the way out in his commentary on Psalms 25:4, “Show me thy ways, LORD! Teach me Your paths.”

“There are the ‘ways’ of men, and the ‘ways’ of God; the ‘paths’ of sin, and the ‘paths’ of righteousness: there are ‘thy ways’, and there are my ways; Thine the ways of truth, mine the ways of error; Thine that are good in Thine eyes, and mine that are good in mine eyes; Thine that lead to heaven, mine that lead to hell. Wherefore, Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths, lest I mistake mine own ways for Thine; yea, lead me in the truth, and teach me, lest I turn out of Thy ways into mine own: show me thy ways, by the ministry of Thy word; teach me Thy paths, in the guidance of Thy Spirit, lead me in Thy truth, by the assistance of Thy grace.” 

Thankfully, after a long absence, the men and women of Issachar have entered the public square of America, and Gideons and Rahabs are beginning to rise.

David Lane

American Renewal Project