The big Bible controversy

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has found himself in a bit of political hot water.

No, he hasn't been secretly cavorting with a gullible young intern. He didn't willfully lie before a federal grand jury. Nor did he offer pardons to criminal high-dollar campaign donors.

TRENDING: Republicans move to replace GOP canvasser who voted to certify Biden win

So what is the terrible scandal that has caused Gov. Riley to find himself in his present dilemma?

He and his staff have been conducting weekly Bible study meetings in Mr. Riley's Capitol office.

The horror!

So incensed was Larry Darby, director of the Alabama chapter of American Atheists, when learning of this Bible study, he was quoted in wire reports of saying, "It's a form of Christian terrorism."

Let me get this straight. A man meets together with his personnel for fellowship, prayer and Bible study – all on a volunteer basis – and this is the equivalent of a terror campaign?

This is the ominous climate in which Christians often find themselves these days. The left preaches tolerance for everyone, but even the most rudimentary meeting of Christians is often deemed to be offensive.

You may recall that U.S. Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft, a dedicated Christian, also found himself in a similar predicament after it was revealed that he too conducts voluntary Bible studies in his office.

Gov. Riley, who is Southern Baptist, said he also attended Bible study classes at the U.S. Capitol when he was a U.S. representative. His chief of staff reported that no state business is discussed during the volunteer Bible studies.

But that doesn't matter. The fact that the Bible is opened and that prayers to the God of the Bible are whispered is enough to send anti-religious civil libertarians into a lather.

The fact is, however, that such criticisms are unfounded and they go against the desires of our Founding Fathers.

I offer here a few examples to support this claim.

On March 28, 1787, when Dr. Benjamin Rush – a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the man considered "the father of modern medicine" – proposed his plan for public education in America, he wrote:

"Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and write – [and] above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education."

In 1791, Dr. Rush wrote a pamphlet titled, "A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a Schoolbook."

In 1787, as the Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation, the great Benjamin Franklin arose and gave his famous speech on God governing in "the affairs of men."

In that beautiful oration, he said, "We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little, partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we shall become a reproach and a byword to future ages … I therefore beg to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business."

Consider also the first resolution of the Continental Congress. After receiving news that British troops had attacked Boston, on Sept. 6, 1774, that resolution read: "Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1774. Resolved, The Rev. Mr. Duche be desired to open the Congress tomorrow morning with prayers, at the Carpenter's Hall, at 9 o'clock." (The Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, Washington, D.C.)

I wonder if Mr. Darby of the American Atheists would accuse our Founders of being "terrorists." As aggressively thoughtless as his type is, such an accusation is no doubt on the horizon.

Government leaders who are Christians should be comforted and encouraged by the words of President George Washington. As he resigned his commission as general of the Continental Army on Dec. 23, 1783, he said, "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God and those who have the superintendence of them into His holy keeping."

I hope Gov. Riley, Attorney Gen. Ashcroft and every other Christian political leader in our nation will continue to boldly pray, read their Bibles and openly fellowship together.

Our Founders would surely say, "Amen!"