From Patriot Post

Alexander's Essay – December 23, 2010




The Light and the Truth

"To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian. The signal Instances of providential Goodness which we have experienced and which have now almost crowned our labours with complete Success, demand from us in a peculiar manner the warmest returns of Gratitude and Piety to the Supreme Author of all Good." --George Washington

Publisher's Note: To our Patriot readers of faiths other than Christianity, we hope that this edition serves to deepen your understanding of our faith -- and the faith of so many of our Founders. Permission to forward or reprint is granted.





Gen. Washington in PrayerFive years ago, I sent a Christmas greeting from The Patriot Post team entitled, "Happy Christmahanakwamadan," mocking the Left's PC insistence on "inclusive" and "non-offensive" greetings. It was accompanied by a legal department disclaimer outlining the terms of acceptance for the greeting.



Since then, the Left has redoubled its efforts to reinforce the mythical "wall of separation between church and state," assuming, as is now common, that those words originally penned by Thomas Jefferson to some of his constituents in Connecticut, supersede the only language in our Constitution concerning such a constraint.



That errant assumption, however, lacks even a shred of validity, and it was certainly not Jefferson's intent.



Our Founders were rightly suspect of any encroachment by government upon religious freedom, and they codified a proscription against such in the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights. It reads, "Congress [emphasis added] shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."



And yet, through decades of liberal interpretation of the so-called "living constitution," the Left has adulterated the authentic document via judicial diktat to comport with whatever agenda it desires.



How is it that we've come to this place in our nation's history? How is it that the God who endowed us with "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" has been expelled from the public square under the supposition that religion and politics are antithetical?



Even Barack Hussein Obama, while cynically citing our Declaration of Independence in five public speeches recently, omitted the words "endowed by our Creator" from its context. Indeed, our president even proclaimed during an international forum that our national motto is "E pluribus unum," when it is, of course, "In God We Trust."



Why?



As frequent readers of this column know, I have spent most of my adult life in defense of Liberty, and endeavoring to guarantee it for others.



For the first half of my post-graduate career, I was engaged in the identification of "enemies foreign" in service to my country and in accordance with my oath "to support and defend" our Constitution. I did my small part to protect our countrymen from those enemies.



In my second career, as publisher of The Patriot Post for the past 15 years, I've been more focused on identifying "enemies domestic," as also specified in the oath I have renewed seven times. As such, I now endeavor to protect my countrymen by way of enlightenment from the enemies within.



To that end, our mission is guided by our motto, "Veritas vos Liberabit," which translates, "the Truth will set you Free." The origin is John 8:31-32, where Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." I am utterly convicted, after some early years of living as an unrepentant sinner, that enduring Truth can be fully understood only in the Light of the teachings of Jesus.



Of course, The Patriot Post is an instrument not for religious proselytization, but for discerning and disseminating the truths as outlined by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution. We do so in order to distinguish between Rule of Law, which they understood as "endowed by our Creator," versus postmodern rule of men, the refuge of despots and tyrants who seek to enslave us now.



The unavoidable Truth is that our nation is founded on the principle that rights of man are endowed by God and not subordinate to the will of other men. The exclusion of God from the public discourse, then, is the objective of those who believe they are the arbiters of the rights of others, and who thus use "separation of church and state" as a means to that end.



This battle -- between those who seek to conserve our endowment by God, so that God can rule through the hearts of men, and those who seek to separate us from God so that their chosen men can rule over all others -- reflects the fundamental spiritual battle between God's purpose for us and our desire to be our own God.



Thus, the battle between Liberty and tyranny is really the battle between Light and Dark, which brings me to this perspective about the origins of the celebration of the birth of Christ in December.



The early church did not observe the celebration of Christ's birth. Annual year-end celebrations in the first centuries AD were predominantly pagan festivals associated with the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar.



History does not confirm for us who instituted the tradition to also celebrate Christ's birth at that time of year, but they were a brilliant lot. Pagans celebrated the solstice because it was the longest day of winter darkness, and because it thus heralded the season's change and the promise of more light and longer days, the growing seasons upon which they depended for life.





On the front in AfghanistanIsn't that precisely what Christmas represents, the dawn of a new season of Light through the birth of Jesus?



For most of us, Christmas is a collage of our childhood memories and family traditions. However, to recognize it more fully as the dawn of the New Covenant reveals the true spirit of Christmas, which is the foundation of every great Patriot's character.



George Washington insisted, "To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian." Here, I would suggest that the impetus for the selfless sacrificial acts of generations of Patriots is rooted, both theologically and culturally, in the ultimate example of sacrifice recorded some 2,000 years ago, when Jesus gave His life for all that would follow Him through eternity.



In 1743, Benjamin Franklin, our Founding Sage, wrote in Poor Richard's Almanack, "How many observe Christ's birth-day! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments."



As it is and always shall be, human nature leads us to live according to our own truths rather than following the enduring Truth and Light of our Creator.

For those who have yet to turn toward the Truth and Light, it would be far too easy to simply wish you "Happy Christmahanakwamadan." At the risk of offense, then, I'll offer you the same wish I have for all fellow Patriots who walk in the Light: Merry Christmas!



Please join our team in prayer for our uniformed Patriot Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, and especially for the families enduring their absence, so that we might once again celebrate Christmas as a free people.



As always, on behalf of our staff and National Advisory Committee, I am humbled to stand with you among the ranks of our Patriot countrymen. We wish peace and God's blessing upon you and your family.



I sign every essay with this valediction: "Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis," which translates, "Always Vigilant, Brave, Prepared and Faithful." I believe that is what Christ has called us to be.



Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!



Mark Alexander

Publisher, The Patriot Post



P.S. As always, we take leave between Christmas and New Year's to be with our families. Our next edition will be on Jan. 3, 2011.



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