130 years ago--astrologers actually make a correct prediction

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalms 19:1

On August 9, 1896, a solar eclipse occurred; it was the first to attract an expedition from the British Astronomical Association. According to the editorial Darkening of the Sun., published in the Toronto Globe, August 3, 1896:

...This eclipse is important in that it is a total one, not an annular, and it is expected that much will be added to our knowledge of the sun....

Although this eclipse will not at all be visible in Canada, in fact not at all in America except in Alaska, there are many Canadians and Americans who will witness the phenomenon, because the line of totality passes across a region easily accessible to summer tourists. The path of total eclipse begins at sunrise in the North Atlantic Ocean, passes across the northern part of Norway and over the island of Nova Zembia, thence diagonally across Siberia and the Japanese island of Yezo, ending at sunset in the Pacific Ocean.

Most popular of the places of observation are points on the northeast coast of Norway...More favorable stations for observation are in the interior of Siberia, but these are practically inaccessible to observers. Excellent results are expected from the parties stationed in Japan, for the conditions there are good.

During the two minutes of totality the principal stars will become visible to the unassisted vision. The sun will be in the constellation Leo (the Lion), and the planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are close together in the same region of the sky...

Should the photographs of the corona turn out as successfully as everyone hopes and desires light will be thrown on various points of solar physics. Especially may the larger pictures give a further knowledge of the solar currents, "lines of force" or whatever they are that determine the peculiar structure of solar appendages. How the distribution of coronal material differs in various latitudes on the sun should also be revealed, and an investigation of the connection between the coronal prominences and sun-spots may be possible. Another point on which the photographs will shed light is the law of decrease in the intensity of the corona is passing outward. If success crowns the efforts being made all along the line then there will be a possibility of determining if the corona changes form in the interval of about 90 minutes which occurs between those observations taken in Norway and those secured in Japan. Previous experience does not favor the idea of such rapid changes.

Weather conditions prevented good results from the BAA expedition, but a smaller expedition to Novaya Zemlya was more successful.

Partial eclipse photographed by Celia Hammer in Kabelvåg, Norway

Photography of the corona during the total eclipse on Novaya Zemlya on 9. August 1896 by Sergei Kostinsky

According to an anonymous article published in the Winnipeg Daily Tribune, August 8, 1896:

...According to astrologers, the eclipse is likely to be followed by disasters in the orient, owing to the fact that it occurs in the conjunction of the evil planet Mars, Herschel and Saturn, and of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. The line of totality of the eclipse begins in the North Sea, crosses the northern part of Norway and Lapland, the island of Novaya Zemlya, Siberia, and the Japanese island of Yezo, and ends in the midst of the Pacific ocean. Under the general rulings of astrology, these, taking into consideration the square and opposition of the place of the eclipse, to-morrow's event will primarily affect China, Japan, Eastern Siberia, Corea, Egypt, Armenia, Western Russia, the country tributary to the Danube, Scandinavia in its northeastern section, Venezuela, Guiana and Brazil, Newfoundland, Labrador, New England, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and Alaska. Only Japan, China and Russia, however, are, according to the astrologers, to experience disaster, and this is not to be immediate, but some time in the next six months...

It did come as a surprise to this blogger that a major disaster did occur not long after the eclipse. On August 31, 1896, the Rikuu earthquake, of magnitude 7.2, struck on the border between the prefectures of Akita and Iwate (39.5 degrees North latitude, 140.7 degrees East longitude), killing 209 people (209 in Akita), injuring 779, and resulting in 5,792 completely destroyed houses, 3,045 partially destroyed houses, and 9,899 landslides.

Of course, even if astrologers make a prediction that turns out to be accurate, astrology is a pagan practice that should be avoided and rejected:

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: Deuteronomy 13:1-3a

Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. Jeremiah 10:2

100 years ago--U.S. President Calvin Coolidge addresses the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia

On July 5, 1926, the day after his 54th birthday, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge attended the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Before a rain-soaked audience of 35,000 at Sesquicentennial Stadium, he delivered an address on the subject of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which had occurred on Mr. Coolidge's birthday. Submitted for your approval, Mr. Coolidge's speech, consisting of words which are seldom spoken by politicians today:

Fellow Countrymen:

We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the 4th day of July. Whatever may have been the impression created by the news which went out from this city on that summer day in 1776, there can be no doubt as to the estimate which is now placed upon it. At the end of 150 years the four corners of the earth unite in coming to Philadelphia as to a holy shrine in grateful acknowledgment of a service so great, which a few inspired men here rendered to humanity, that it is still the preeminent support of free government throughout the world.

Although a century and a half measured in comparison with the length of human experience is but a short time, yet measured in the life of governments and nations it ranks as a very respectable period. Certainly enough time has elapsed to demonstrate with a great deal of thoroughness the value of our institutions and their dependability as rules for the regulation of human conduct and the advancement of civilization. They have been in existence long enough to become very well seasoned. They have met, and met successfully, the test of experience.

It is not so much, then, for the purpose of undertaking to proclaim new theories and principles that this annual celebration is maintained, but rather to reaffirm and reestablish those old theories and principles which time and the unerring logic of events have demonstrated to be sound. Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken. Whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in the knowledge that the ultimate application of the law of the land will provide an adequate defense and protection.

It is little wonder that people at home and abroad consider Independence Hall as hallowed ground and revere the Liberty Bell as a sacred relic. That pile of bricks and mortar, that mass of metal, might appear to the uninstructed as only the outgrown meeting place and the shattered bell of a former time, useless now because of more modern conveniences, but to those who know they have become consecrated by the use which men have made of them. They have long been identified with a great cause. They are the framework of a spiritual event. The world looks upon them, because of their associations of one hundred and fifty years ago, as it looks upon the Holy Land because of what took place there nineteen hundred years ago. Through use for a righteous purpose they have become sanctified.

It is not here necessary to examine in detail the causes which led to the American Revolution. In their immediate occasion they were largely economic. The colonists objected to the navigation laws which interfered with their trade, they denied the power of Parliament to impose taxes which they were obliged to pay, and they therefore resisted the royal governors and the royal forces which were sent to secure obedience to these laws. But the conviction is inescapable that a new civilization had come, a new spirit had arisen on this side of the Atlantic more advanced and more developed in its regard for the rights of the individual than that which characterized the Old World. Life in a new and open country had aspirations which could not be realized in any subordinate position. A separate establishment was ultimately inevitable. It had been decreed by the very laws of human nature. Man everywhere has an unconquerable desire to be the master of his own destiny.

We are obliged to conclude that the Declaration of Independence represented the movement of a people. It was not, of course, a movement from the top. Revolutions do not come from that direction. It was not without the support of many of the most respectable people in the Colonies, who were entitled to all the consideration that is given to breeding, education, and possessions. It had the support of another element of great significance and importance to which I shall later refer. But the preponderance of all those who occupied a position which took on the aspect of aristocracy did not approve of the Revolution and held toward it an attitude either of neutrality or open hostility. It was in no sense a rising of the oppressed and downtrodden. It brought no scum to the surface, for the reason that colonial society had developed no scum. The great body of the people were accustomed to privations, but they were free from depravity. If they had poverty, it was not of the hopeless kind that afflicts great cities, but the inspiring kind that marks the spirit of the pioneer. The American Revolution represented the informed and mature convictions of a great mass of independent, liberty loving, God-fearing people who knew their rights, and possessed the courage to dare to maintain them.

The Continental Congress was not only composed of great men, but it represented a great people. While its Members did not fail to exercise a remarkable leadership, they were equally observant of their representative capacity. They were industrious in encouraging their constituents to instruct them to support independence. But until such instructions were given they were inclined to withhold action.

While North Carolina has the honor of first authorizing its delegates to concur with other Colonies in declaring independence, it was quickly followed by South Carolina and Georgia, which also gave general instructions broad enough to include such action. But the first instructions which unconditionally directed its delegates to declare for independence came from the great Commonwealth of Virginia. These were immediately followed by Rhode Island and Massachusetts, while the other Colonies, with the exception of New York, soon adopted a like course.

This obedience of the delegates to the wishes of their constituents, which in some cases caused them to modify their previous positions, is a matter of great significance. It reveals an orderly process of government in the first place; but more than that, it demonstrates that the Declaration of Independence was the result of the seasoned and deliberate thought of the dominant portion of the people of the Colonies. Adopted after long discussion and as the result of the duly authorized expression of the preponderance of public opinion, it did not partake of dark intrigue or hidden conspiracy. It was well advised. It had about it nothing of the lawless and disordered nature of a riotous insurrection. It was maintained on a plane which rises above the ordinary conception of rebellion. It was in no sense a radical movement but took on the dignity of a resistance to illegal usurpations. It was conservative and represented the action of the colonists to maintain their constitutional rights which from time immemorial had been guaranteed to them under the law of the land.

When we come to examine the action of the Continental Congress in adopting the Declaration of Independence in the light of what was set out in that great document and in the light of succeeding events, we can not escape the conclusion that it had a much broader and deeper significance than a mere secession of territory and the establishment of a new nation. Events of that nature have been taking place since the dawn of history. One empire after another has arisen, only to crumble away as its constituent parts separated from each other and set up independent governments of their own. Such actions long ago became commonplace. They have occurred too often to hold the attention of the world and command the administration and reverence of humanity. There is something beyond the establishment of a new nation, great as that event would be, in the Declaration of Independence which has ever since caused it to be regarded as one of the great charters that not only was to liberate America but was everywhere to ennoble humanity.

It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history. Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence. Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed.

If no one is to be accounted as born into a superior station, if there is to be no ruling class, and if all possess rights which can neither be bartered away nor taken from them by any earthly power, it follows as a matter of course that the practical authority of the Government has to rest on the consent of the governed. While these principles were not altogether new in political action, and were very far from new in political speculation, they had never been assembled before and declared in such a combination. But remarkable as this may be, it is not the chief distinction of the Declaration of Independence. The importance of political speculation is not to be underestimated, as I shall presently disclose. Until the idea is developed and the plan made there can be no action.

It was the fact that our Declaration of Independence containing these immortal truths was the political action of a duly authorized and constituted representative public body in its sovereign capacity, supported by the force of general opinion and by the armies of Washington already in the field, which makes it the most important civil document in the world. It was not only the principles declared, but the fact that therewith a new nation was born which was to be founded upon those principles and which from that time forth in its development has actually maintained those principles, that makes this pronouncement an incomparable event in the history of government. It was an assertion that a people had arisen determined to make every necessary sacrifice for the support of these truths and by their practical application bring the War of Independence to a successful conclusion and adopt the Constitution of the United States with all that it has meant to civilization.

The idea that the people have a right to choose their own rulers was not new in political history. It was the foundation of every popular attempt to depose an undesirable king. This right was set out with a good deal of detail by the Dutch when as early as July 26, 1581, they declared their independence of Philip of Spain. In their long struggle with the Stuarts the British people asserted the same principles, which finally culminated in the Bill of Rights deposing the last of that house and placing William and Mary on the throne. In each of these cases sovereignty through divine right was displaced by sovereignty through the consent of the people. Running through the same documents, though expressed in different terms, is the clear inference of inalienable rights. But we should search these charters in vain for an assertion of the doctrine of equality. This principle had not before appeared as an official political declaration of any nation. It was profoundly revolutionary. It is one of the corner stones of American institutions.

But if these truths to which the Declaration refers have not before been adopted in their combined entirely by national authority, it is a fact that they had been long pondered and often expressed in political speculation. It is generally assumed that French thought had some effect upon our public mind during Revolutionary days. This may have been true. But the principles of our Declaration had been under discussion in the Colonies for nearly two generations before the advent of the French political philosophy that characterized the middle of the eighteenth century. In fact, they come from an earlier date. A very positive echo of what the Dutch had done in 1581, and what the English were preparing to do, appears in the assertion of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Connecticut, as early as 1638, when he said in a sermon before the General Court that-- The foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people.

The choice of public magistrates belongs to the people by God's own allowance.

This doctrine found wide acceptance among the nonconformist clergy who later made up the Congregational Church. The great apostle of this movement was the Rev. John Wise, of Massachusetts. He was one of the leaders of the revolt against the royal governor Andros in 1687, for which he suffered imprisonment. He was a liberal in ecclesiastical controversies. He appears to have been familiar with the writings of the political scientist, Samuel Pufendorf, who was born in Saxony in 1632. Wise published a treatise entitled "The Church's Quarrel Espoused" in 1710, which was amplified in another publication in 1717. In it he dealt with the principles of civil government. His works were reprinted in 1772 and have been declared to have been nothing less than a textbook of liberty for our Revolutionary fathers.

While the written word was the foundation, it is apparent that the spoken word was the vehicle for convincing the people. This came with great force and wide range from the successors of Hooker and Wise. It was carried on with a missionary spirit which did not fail to reach the Scotch-Irish of North Carolina, showing its influence by significantly making that Colony the first to give instructions to its delegates looking to independence. This preaching reached the neighborhood of Thomas Jefferson, who acknowledged that his "best ideas of democracy" had been secured at church meetings.

That these ideas were prevalent in Virginia is further revealed by the Declaration of Rights, which was prepared by George Mason and presented to the general assembly on May 27, 1776. This document asserted popular sovereignty and inherent natural rights, but confined the doctrine of equality to the assertion that "All men are created equally free and independent." It can scarcely be imagined that Jefferson was unacquainted with what had been done in his own Commonwealth of Virginia when he took up the task of drafting the Declaration of Independence. But these thoughts can very largely be traced back to what John Wise was writing in 1710. He said, "Every man must be acknowledged equal to every man." Again, "The end of all good government is to cultivate humanity and promote the happiness of all and the good of every man in all his rights, his life, liberty, estate, honor, and so forth * * *."

And again, "For as they have a power every man in his natural state, so upon combination they can and do bequeath this power to others and settle it according as their united discretion shall determine." And still again, "Democracy is Christ's government in church and state." Here was the doctrine of equality, popular sovereignty, and the substance of the theory of inalienable rights clearly asserted by Wise at the opening of the eighteenth century, just as we have the principle of the consent of the governed state by Hooker as early as 1638.

When we take all these circumstances into consideration, it is but natural that the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence should open with a reference to Nature's God and should close in the final paragraphs with an appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world and an assertion of a firm reliance on Divine Providence. Coming from these sources, having as it did this background, it is no wonder that Samuel Adams could say "The people seem to recognize this resolution as though it were a decree promulgated from heaven."

No one can examine this record and escape the conclusion that in the great outline of its principles the Declaration was the result of the religious teachings of the preceding period. The profound philosophy which Jonathan Edwards applied to theology, the popular preaching of George Whitefield, had aroused the thought and stirred the people of the Colonies in preparation for this great event. No doubt the speculations which had been going on in England, and especially on the Continent, lent their influence to the general sentiment of the times. Of course, the world is always influenced by all the experience and all the thought of the past. But when we come to a contemplation of the immediate conception of the principles of human relationship which went into the Declaration of Independence we are not required to extend our search beyond our own shores. They are found in the texts, the sermons, and the writings of the early colonial clergy who were earnestly undertaking to instruct their congregations in the great mystery of how to live. They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image, all partakers of the divine spirit.

Placing every man on a plane where he acknowledged no superiors, where no one possessed any right to rule over him, he must inevitably choose his own rulers through a system of self-government. This was their theory of democracy. In those days such doctrines would scarcely have been permitted to flourish and spread in any other country. This was the purpose which the fathers cherished. In order that they might have freedom to express these thoughts and opportunity to put them into action, whole congregations with their pastors had migrated to the Colonies. These great truths were in the air that our people breathed. Whatever else we may say of it, the Declaration of Independence was profoundly American.

If this apprehension of the facts be correct, and the documentary evidence would appear to verify it, then certain conclusions are bound to follow. A spring will cease to flow if its source be dried up; a tree will wither if it roots be destroyed. In its main features the Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man - these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.

We are too prone to overlook another conclusion. Governments do not make ideals, but ideals make governments. This is both historically and logically true. Of course the government can help to sustain ideals and can create institutions through which they can be the better observed, but their source by their very nature is in the people. The people have to bear their own responsibilities. There is no method by which that burden can be shifted to the government. It is not the enactment, but the observance of laws, that creates the character of a nation.

About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

In the development of its institutions America can fairly claim that it has remained true to the principles which were declared 150 years ago. In all the essentials we have achieved an equality which was never possessed by any other people. Even in the less important matter of material possessions we have secured a wider and wider distribution of wealth. The rights of the individual are held sacred and protected by constitutional guaranties which even the Government itself is bound not to violate. If there is any one thing among us that is established beyond question, it is self-government - the right of the people to rule. If there is any failure in respect to any of these principles, it is because there is a failure on the part of individuals to observe them. We hold that the duly authorized expression of the will of the people has a divine sanction. But even in that we come back to the theory of John Wise that "Democracy is Christ's government * * *."

The ultimate sanction of law rests on the righteous authority of the Almighty.

On an occasion like this great temptation exists to present evidence of the practical success of our form of democratic republic at home and the ever-broadening acceptance it is securing abroad. Although these things are well known, their frequent consideration is an encouragement and an inspiration. But it is not results and effects so much as sources and causes that I believe it is even more necessary constantly to contemplate. Ours is a government of the people. It represents their will. Its officers may sometimes go astray, but that is not a reason for criticizing the principles of our institutions. The real heart of the American Government depends upon the heart of the people. It is from that source that we must look for all genuine reform. It is to that cause that we must ascribe all our results.

It was in the contemplation of these truths that the fathers made their declaration and adopted their Constitution. It was to establish a free government, which must not be permitted to degenerate into the unrestrained authority of a mere majority or the unbridled weight of a mere influential few. They undertook to balance these interests against each other and provide the three separate independent branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial departments of the Government, with checks against each other in order that neither one might encroach upon the other. These are our guarantees of liberty. As a result of these methods enterprise has been duly protected from confiscation, the people have been free from oppression, and there has been an ever-broadening and deepening of the humanities of life.

Under a system of popular government there will always be those who will seek for political preferment by clamoring for reform. While there is very little of this which is not sincere, there is a large portion that is not well informed. In my opinion very little of just criticism can attach to the theories and principles of our institutions. There is far more danger of harm than there is hope of good in any radical changes. We do need a better understanding and comprehension of them and a better knowledge of the foundations of government in general. Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world. Before we can understand their conclusions we must go back and review the course which they followed. We must think the thoughts which they thought. Their intellectual life centered around the meetinghouse. They were intent upon religious worship. While there were always among them men of deep learning, and later those who had comparatively large possessions, the mind of the people was not so much engrossed in how much they knew, or how much they had, as in how they were going to live. While scantily provided with other literature, there was a wide acquaintance with the Scriptures. Over a period as great as that which measures the existence of our independence they were subject to this discipline not only in their religious life and educational training, but also in their political thought. They were a people who came under the influence of a great spiritual development and acquired a great moral power.

No other theory is adequate to explain or comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of the people. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped.

Mister, we could use a man like Calvin Coolidge again.

See also the previous two posts: 100 years ago--Opening ceremonies for the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia include speeches addressing the U.S.A.'s material and spiritual condition (May 31, 2026)

150 years ago--Opening ceremonies for the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia include a long opening prayer (June 30, 2026)

150 years ago--Opening ceremonies for the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia include a long opening prayer

On May 10, 1876, the Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, opened in Philadelphia. Running through November 10, 1876, the exposition celebrated the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. The opening ceremonies on May 10, before an audience estimated at 100,000, included the following prayer by Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Matthew Simpson. Lengthy prayers, like lengthy political speeches, seem to have been the norm in those days. Like underwater watches in 1878, electronic amplification "had not even been invented," so speakers could be difficult to hear for those in the audience who were too far away.

Were such a prayer to be delivered today, the speaker would probably be denounced as a "Christian nationalist." As reported by The New York Times, May 11, 1876:

...The venerable Bishop arose and lifting his hands offered a prayer, which, unfortunately, was not audible to a thousandth part of the immense throng. All that appeared was a tall, gray headed gentleman, with his eyes and hands lifted to heaven, standing apparently silent and absorbed at the front of the stage. The prayer was occasionally interrupted by voices from distant points in the crowd; but, except for these, there was silence while the Bishop prayed. The prayer was as follows:

Almighty and everlasting God, our Heavenly Father: Heaven is Thy throne and the earth Thy footstool. Before Thy Majesty and holiness the angels veil their faces, and the spirits of the just made perfect bow in humble adoration. Thou art the creator of all things, the preserver of all that exist, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. The minute and the vast, atoms and worlds, alike attest the ubiquity of Thy presence and the omnipotence of Thy sway.

Thou alone art the sovereign ruler of nations. Thou raiseth up one and casteth down another, and Thou givest the kingdoms of the world to whomsoever Thou wilt. The past, with all its records, is the unfolding of Thy counsels and the realization of Thy grand designs. We hail Thee as our rightful ruler, the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only true God, blessed forevermore.

We come on this glad day, O Thou God of our fathers, into these courts with thaksgiving, into these gates with praise. We bless Thee for Thy wonderful goodness in the past, for the land which Thou gavest to our fathers, a land veiled from the ages, from the ancient world, but revealed in the fullness of time to Thy chosen people, whom Thou didst lead by Thine own right hand through the billows of the deep, a land of vast extent, of towering mountains and broad plains, of unnumbered products and of untold treasures.

We thank Thee for the fathers of our country, men of mind and of might, who endured privations and sacrifices, who braved multiplied dangers rather than defile their consciences, or be untrue to their God, men who laid on the broad foundations of truth and justice the grand structure of civil freedom.

We praise Thee for the closing century, for the founders of the Republic, for the immortal Washington and is grand associates; for the wisdom with which they planned, and the firmness and heroism which, under Thy blessing, led them to triumphant success. Thou wast their shield in hours of danger, their pillar of cloud by day, and their pillar of fire by night. May we, their sons, walk in their footsteps and imitate their virtues.

We thank Thee for social and national prosperity and progress, for valuable discoveries and multiple inventions, for labor-saving machinery relieving the toiling masses, for schools free as the morning light, for the millions of the rising generation; for books and periodicals scattered like leaves of autumn over the land, for art and science, for freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, for a church unfettered by the trammels of state.

Bless, we pray thee, the President of the United States and his constitutional advisers, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Senators and Representatives in Congress, the Governors of our several Commonwealths, the officers of the Army and the Navy, and all who are in official position throughout our land. Guide them, we pray Thee, with counsels of wisdom, and may they ever rule in righteousness. We ask Thy blessing to rest upon the President and members of the Centennial Commission, and upon those associated with them in the various departments, who have labored long and earnestly, amid anxieties and difficulties, for the success of this enterprise.

May Thy special blessing, O Thou God of all the nations of the earth, rest upon our national guests, our visitors from distant lands. We welcome them to our shores, and we rejoine in their presence among us, whether they represent thrones or culture or research, or whether they come to exhibit the triumphs of genius and art, in the development of industry and in the progress of civilization. Preserve thou them, we beseech Thee, in health and safety, and in due time may they be welcomed by loved ones again to their own, their native lands.

Let Thy blessing rest richly on this Centennial Celebration. May the lives and health of all interested by precious in Thy sight. Preside in its assemblies. Grant that this association in effort bind more closely together every part of our great Republic, so that our Union may be perpetual and indissoluble. Let its influence draw the nations of earth into a happier unity. Hereafter we pray Thee, may all disputed questions be settled by arbitration, and not by the sword, and may wars forever cease among the sons of men.

May the new century be better than the past. More radiant with the light of true philosophy, warmer with the emanations of a world-wide sympathy. May capital, genius, and labor be freed from all antagonism by the establishment and application of such principles of justice and equity as shall reconcile diversified interests and bind in imperishable bands all parts of society.

We pray Thy benediction, especially on the women of America, who for the first time in the history of our race, take so conspicuous a place in a national celebration. May the light of their intelligence, purity, and enterprise shed its beams afar, until in distant lands, their sisters may realize the beauty and glory of Christian freedom and elevation. We bseech Thee, Almighty Father, that our beloved Republic may be strengthened in every element of true greatness, until her mission is accomplished by presenting to the world an illustration of the happiness of a free people, with a free church, in a free State, under laws of their own enactment, and under rulers of their own selection, acknowledging supreme allegiance only to the King of King and Lord of Lords. And as Thou didst give to one of its illustrious sons first to draw experimentally the electric spark from heaven, which has since girdled the globe in its celestial whispers of "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men," so to latest time may the mission of America, under divine inspiration be one of affection, brotherhood, and love for all our race. And may the coming centuries be filled with the glory of our Christian civilization.

And unto Thee, our Father, through Him whose life is the light of men, will we ascribe glory and praise, now and forever.

The "amen" was faintly echoed by the vast congregation, and instantly there came from the orchestral stage a grand burst of music which thrilled and stirred the thousands and thousands of listeners to their hearts' depths. A thousand voices accompanied by organ and orchestra, were singing Whittier's "Centennial Hymn." The words of the opening lines --

"Our Father's God! from out whose hand
The centuries fall like grains of sand,
We meet to-day."--

echoed through the air.

100 years ago--Opening ceremonies for the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia include speeches addressing the U.S.A.'s material and spiritual condition

On May 31, 1926, opening ceremonies for the Sesquicentennial International Exposition took place at the newly-constructed Sesquicentennial Stadium in Philadelphia. Rain kept the attendance to 80,000, but 100,000 people went through the gates of the world's fair on opening day. The speakers at the opening ceremonies included Philadelphia Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick, U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.

The representatives of the cabinet of President Calvin Coolidge noted the changes that had taken place in the 150 years since the Declaration of Independence and the 50 years since the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, but also addressed the nation's moral and spiritual condition. The mention of improved ease and comfort might ring warning bells in the minds of those who regard such improvements as often being accompanied by moral and spiritual decline; of course, if people alive in 2026 were to travel in time back to 1926, they might take issue with that era's ideas of ease and comfort. The speeches of Messrs. Kellogg and Hoover showed how American leaders viewed the country's past, present, and future. It should be remembered that the Great War was less than a decade in the past, and the Civil War and Centennial were within living memory of many of those in attendance (the Civil War was about as far removed in time from 1926 as the Vietnam War is from 2026).

As reported in The New York Times, June 1, 1926 (bold in original):

...Mayor Kendrick then declared the exposition open and introduced Secretary Kellogg, who said in part:

"We have assembled in celebration of the formal opening of the Sesquicentennial Exposition of the City of Philadelphia, on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of our nation. I like to think of the ceremony as the inauguration of the edifice which this exposition typifies. It is an edifice which this exposition typifies. It is an edifice which has its foundations in the pride and history of one hundred and fifty years and which will represent in its completion the achievement of a virile and versatile people, dedicated to the peaceful pursuits of art, commerce and industry.

"Citizens of Philadelphia, I congratulate you on this mighty conception. I congratulate you on the energy and patriotism which have made it possible. I congratulate you on marking by your civic effort the great milestones of the nation's history, the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But, beyond all, I congratulate you on being citizens of the city that can truthfully be called the birthplace of the United States.

"President McKinley once said: 'Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record th world's advancement.' This is a pertinent saying, full of wisdom and observation. Expositions enable each generation to view itself and offer a very salutary opportunity for each generation to compare itself with the past. They are cross-sections of the life we lead and should be viewed with the keenest scrutiny.

"But the greatest value to the people of the United States of celebrations such as this, commemorating great moments in our history, lies in the fact that they keep alive the spirit which animated our ancestors in their struggle for independence and that thay constantly bring to the mind of the present generation the benefits of of the representative democracy under which for nearly a century and a half we have enjoyed that blessing of liberty and the stability and security of law.

"I have been reading recently what was said by the speakers at the opening of your other exposition just fifty years ago. They were amazed at the mighty progress of the nation in its first hundred years. We are no less amazed at the extraordinary development of our scientific and industrial life, in the development of our resources, in the exploitation of our potentialities, above all in the increased ease and comfort which has come to our common citizens during our own lifetime. Facts and figures of staggering dimensions could be cited to instance this progress. My time does not permit it, nor is it needful to any of us since we have ourselves lived through these bewildering and kaleidoscopic changes.

Hold Ideals of Fathers.

"What is more difficult to assess is the spiritual quality of our people. Are those rugged virtues still in us, that unshaken belief in the efficacy of law which is the heritage of civilization, that love of country and devotion to duty which animated that quiet group of men on July 4, 150 years ago?

"We recently took our part in a great war, a great soul-stirring event. Millions of our people went abroad, millions more gave up their normal occupations and undertook strange tasks. All of us were thrown with violence from the routine of our daily thought by the rush of great emotion. For some the pendulum swung back, life was flat and had lost its savor and in that dullness and disillusion agitators arose and are still active who questioned those institutions and that civilization which is ours and which had been accepted previously without question.

"Demands were made for changes in the fundamental law of our Government whoch would sweep away the guarantees of personal liberty, security of property and stability of Government. Even through these days, however, the great mass of our people held fast to their faith. The rugged virtues persisted and even in the complexities of our modern life Americans looked with direct gaze through sophistry and distortion and held with simple faith to the ideals of our fathers.

"Throughout the life of our country there have been the greatest changes in the economic and social conditions of the world ever recorded in history in a similar period. There have been revolutions and upheavals in society which have imperilled the very existence of stable governments but our people have held fast to those declarations of liberty and human rights and those principles of government enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and promulgated in the Constitution of the United States.

"Nations stand out in history as being animated by one straight and inflexible purpose, but this is seldom the case. We often forget that in other periods than our own, men have doubted, internal struggle has been rife. Some of man's greatest works have been the result of the bitterest struggle. The Constitution of the United States itself was fought with intense bitterness, and it was only the overwhelming personality of Washington which obtained its acceptance in the legislatures in certain of the Colonies.

"This questioning of our institutions was then but a normal thing. So we may stand secure in the belief that at heart this nation has not changed, that the things which the founders of our Republic longed for, we still long for, in so far as they have not been attained, that we are willing, when necessary, to fight to maintain these things which they fought for.

Exposition a Rededication.

"That no nation, however, is more reluctant than our own to enter war has been shown forcibly by our stimulation of and participation in all forms of international gatherings for the maintenance of peace and for the finding of methods for putting an end to war.

"However, in the last analysis, this meeting in Philadelphia is the sort of international gathering that we really prefer. When nations come together to show their products and wares in friendly rivalry, endeavor to stimulate their mutual trade and try to make themselves understood by their neighbors through their exhibits and friendly intercourse, that indeed is the happiest form of international gathering.

"While I am speaking of the international side of this exposition, may I mention an interesting coincidence between your exhibition fifty years ago and today? In 1876 a courtesy visit was made by the Swedish Fleet during the exposition and one of the young navy officers was his Royal Highness Prince Oscar, now known as Prince Bernadotte, who was enthusiastically received by Philadelphia. The nephew of this Prince Oscar, his Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Sweden, has done us the honor of visiting the United States and will come to Philadelphia as did his distinguished uncle. I know that his visit will be an equal success.

"Secure then in the permanence of the faith of early America,. grateful for the material progress of this nation, let us consider this exposition, the tangible evidence of our one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, as a rededication of the nation to American ideals, a fresh acceptance of America's burdens and a renewed gratitude for the bounty of America's blessings."

Secretary Hoover's Speech.

Secretary Hoover, the next speaker, drew a contrast between the condition of the United States now and at the time of the centennial of its independence.

"We have in this half century more than doubled our population. We have multiplied ten times in natural wealth. We have progressed vastly in science, in invention, in art and industry and in our social and national life.

"In the field of science the discoveries of fifty years ago were comparatively only upon the borderland of the great unknown continent of nature. The explorations of that day were set out here in a richness of exhibits. But since that time the men of science have pushed deeper and deeper into the unknown lands of nature and have brought new discoveries and inventions. A multitude of blessings to humanity have flowed from their labors.

"In the field of industry I would recall to you that the greatest tool then known to man was shown at the exposition of fifty years ago--the 1,400 H.P. Corliss steam engine. Here, too, was the first public appearance of Bell's telephone. They were wonders of the time. Today we build a single steam engine of 70,000 H.P.--fifty times as large. The transmission of power and electrical devices for relief of human labor were just in their infancy; the gasoline engine, the automobile, the aeroplane and the radio were unknown.

"Since then also science and industry have given us the steam turbine, radium, X-rays, moving pictures, talking machines, refrigeration, the linotype, typewriter, the harvester and tractor and a hundred other tools and comforts. Vast progress marks our chemical industries. We have advanced in the construction of buildings and homes, in the manufacture of textiles and a thousand other things. And today we are on the threshold of other great discoveries, the bare beginnings of which will again form a part of these exhibits.

Educational and Social Progress.

"From the inventions of this half century and the control of the powerful forces of nature men have been able to produce vastly more; to diffuse the benefits more widely; to decrease the sweat of men; to lift the standards of living; to increase the comforts of all our people to a higher level than ever before in the history of the world. With it all poverty and fear have become less, happiness has increased.

"We may be proud of the educational progress of our people in the fifty years' span between these expositions. During this time we have extended free education throughout the land. Free entrance to the doors of free opportunity, through education, is now open to all of our youth from the lowest grade to the university. We have seen the number of children in the public schools treble while our population but doubled. The youth in our high schools are ten times as many as fifty years ago. Those who attend our institutions of higher learning have increased in number over seven times.

"Progress in art is not to be measured by spans of fifty years but we may recount the important advance in commercial architecture as an outstanding accomplishment. Moreover, we have wider diffusion of the finer arts of decoration, music and literature through our people.

"In our social life we are steadily finding a better adjustment between our industrial and social systems. The rights of the public in the development and use of the great tools of power, transportation and industry are better controlled; the relations of employe and employer are upon a juster basis; we have gained greatly in spirit of cooperation and mutual helpfulness in such community. Our frictions are growing less. All of which shows fundamental social progress.

"Politically we have gained greatly in national unity. This great experiment in democracy is demonstrating the hopes, the prayers and the wisdom of its founders. Our national institutions have grown stronger and the resolute spirit for a democracy dedicated to an equality of opportunity among men that has not diminished but has gained in strength. We have risen in power and influence among nations until no foreign danger threatens our shores.

No Economic or Foreign Dangers.

"Morally we have made gains toward a higher plane in the conduct of our commercial relations. In many particulars we show improvement in the conduct of our national and local Government, though we suffer a national misfortune in the growing disrespect for law.

"Our dangers today are not economic or foreign; they lie in the possible submergence of the morel and spiritual by our great material success, and if this exposition, and the many conferences and congresses to be held here, serve to stimulate the moral and spiritual sense of our people it will have served a great and lasting purpose.

"The American people may well be proud of the accomplishment which will be shown here. It is the demonstration of the progress of peace, and it should contribute to the advancement of peace--for we invite all people to our shors to participate in our celebration of the arts of peace.

"This exposition of the arts, sciences and industry should not only point the way to further progress and the information, learning and good taste, but should strengthen the spirit of our people in reolution to further effort.

"This stock-taking of progress should contribute to mark the road to further advancement. We have yet much to do if we would make America that land of contentment and happiness, of service to the world and God."

Mr. Kellogg went on to co-author the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928, which outlawed war as a way of solving disputes between nations, and for which Mr. Kellogg was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929. He died on December 21, 1937, the day before his 81st birthday. Mr. Hoover succeeded Mr. Coolidge as President of the United States on March 4, 1929, and was in office through the early years of the Great Depression, losing his bid for re-election to Democratic Party nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Mr. Hoover died on October 20, 1964 at the age of 90. Neither Mr. Kellogg nor Mr. Hoover would likely recognize the country that now still goes by the name of United States of America.

Israel appoints a special envoy to the Christian world

As reported by Tamar Stein of Israel365 News, April 24, 2026 (links in original):

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar moved this week to shore up one of Israel’s most important international relationships by appointing veteran diplomat George Deek as Special Envoy to the Christian World, a newly created role aimed at strengthening ties with Christian communities amid growing tension and scrutiny.

I am honored by the trust placed in me by Minister @gidonsaar. I accept this responsibility with gratitude, humility, and a deep sense of duty.

Today, I feel I am closing a circle. From the Sundays of my childhood sitting beside my father in church to this new diplomatic role, I… https://t.co/Lz9zl1lMcI

— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) April 23, 2026

The Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that the appointment is intended “to deepen Israel’s ties with Christian communities around the world,” as a series of recent incidents involving Christians has drawn criticism and raised questions about Israel’s handling of sensitive religious issues during wartime.

“The State of Israel attaches great importance to its relations with the Christian world and with its Christian friends around the world,” Sa’ar said. “I am confident that George, a respected and experienced diplomat, will greatly contribute to the friendship and strengthening of the ties between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”

Deek, a seasoned diplomat with nearly two decades of experience, most recently served as Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, becoming the first Christian in Israel’s history to hold the rank of ambassador. A native of Jaffa and a member of the Arab Christian community, Deek grew up in a mixed neighborhood of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. His father, Youssef Deek, served for years as chairman of the Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa and across Israel.

The appointment places Israel among a very small group of countries that have created a formal governmental structure focused on relations with the global Christian community. Hungary, through its State Secretariat for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, remains the only other country with a dedicated governmental body specifically tasked with assisting persecuted Christians worldwide. By contrast, countries such as Denmark, Greece, and Costa Rica maintain historic or official ties to Christianity but handle these relationships through traditional foreign ministry frameworks rather than appointing a designated envoy to the Christian world.

The timing of Deek’s appointment is not incidental. In recent months, Israel has faced a series of incidents that have strained relations with Christian leaders and communities, including restrictions placed on worship at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the war and reports of harassment against clergy in Jerusalem’s Old City. These developments have raised concerns not only among local Christian leaders but also among Evangelical Christians abroad, who remain among Israel’s strongest supporters.

Deek’s appointment reflects an attempt to bring order and intention to a relationship that has often been handled inconsistently. As an Arab Christian who represents Israel on the world stage, he brings a voice that can speak directly to Christian audiences in their own language and cultural framework, while presenting Israel’s case with credibility grounded in personal experience.

International Christian leaders welcomed the move. David Parsons of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem called the appointment “very timely and much-needed,” noting that “it will definitely help to have an Israeli Arab Christian telling the truth about Israel’s democratic values worldwide.” David Rosen, former international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said the step could lead to better coordination among government bodies that deal with Christian communities.

At the same time, the backdrop to this appointment remains difficult. According to a 2024 report by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, there were 111 reported incidents involving Christians in Israel, including physical assaults, vandalism of church property, and harassment of clergy. While Israel’s Christian population—numbering approximately 184,200—continues to grow and enjoys full legal protection, these incidents have created friction that cannot be ignored.

The urgency of restoring trust was underscored last week by an incident in southern Lebanon. An IDF soldier was filmed smashing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in the village of Debel. The footage spread quickly, prompting condemnation from Christian leaders and swift disciplinary action by the military. The soldier involved, along with another who documented the act, was removed from combat duty and sentenced to jail following an investigation.

Israeli leaders moved quickly to distance the state from the act. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident, stating that Israel remains the only country in the region where the Christian population is growing and where freedom of worship is protected for all faiths.

That assertion reflects a measurable reality, but the events of recent months have shown that policy alone is not enough. The creation of a Special Envoy to the Christian World signals that Israel understands the stakes. The relationship between the Jewish state and the Christian world is not peripheral. It is strategic, historic, and, as the prophet Isaiah made clear, bound up with Israel’s role among the nations.

The appointment of George Deek is a clear statement that Israel intends to address that relationship directly, with focus and accountability. Whether it succeeds will depend not on declarations, but on consistent action.

Deek brings to the role a rare combination of personal history and diplomatic experience rooted in Israel’s Christian community. A native of Jaffa’s Ajami neighborhood, he was raised in an Eastern Orthodox family in a mixed building of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. His father, Youssef Deek, led the Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa and nationally for many years, placing Deek at the center of communal leadership from a young age.

His family story reflects the upheaval of Israel’s founding. His grandparents fled to Lebanon during the 1947–1949 war after being warned of impending massacres, but returned to Jaffa after the war, rejecting life as refugees. His grandfather was briefly jailed for reentering illegally before being released with the help of Jewish colleagues. Other relatives who left did not return and remain scattered abroad. On his father’s side, Deek also traces Armenian roots; his great-grandmother survived the Armenian Genocide.

Professionally, Deek has spent 18 years in Israel’s Foreign Ministry, joining in 2008 after earning a law degree from IDC Herzliya and studying international law and diplomacy at Georgetown University on a Fulbright fellowship. He served in Nigeria and Norway, including as acting ambassador during the 2014 Gaza conflict, before being appointed in 2018 as Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan at age 34—the first Israeli Arab Christian to reach ambassadorial rank. He later received the Foreign Ministry Director General’s Award for Excellence.

As reported by All Israel News, April 24, 2026 (links, photo in original):

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar with George Deek (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Israel announced the appointment of its first Special Envoy to the Christian World on Thursday, after ties with Christian churches around the world had been strained by a series of incidents and scandals in recent months.

This includes Israel jailing two IDF soldiers who defaced a crucifix in southern Lebanon, as well as the spat surrounding the right of Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.

The appointed envoy, George Deek, is “a veteran diplomat with 18 years of experience, who most recently served as Israel’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan and was the first Christian ambassador in Israel’s history,” according to the Foreign Ministry.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs @gidonsaar Appointed @GeorgeDeek as Special Envoy to the Christian World

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar has appointed George Deek as Special Envoy to the Christian World. The appointment is intended to deepen Israel’s ties with Christian… pic.twitter.com/GvCQPucywO"

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 23, 2026

Deek grew up as an Israeli Arab Christian in the city of Jaffa, where “his father, Youssef Deek, served for many years as Chairman of the Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa and in Israel.”

“The State of Israel attaches great importance to its relations with the Christian world and with its Christian friends around the world,” stressed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Deek is Eastern Orthodox but also has Armenian heritage through his father’s side, embodying two of the largest Christian Arab denominations in the state of Israel.

“I am confident that George, a respected and experienced diplomat, will greatly contribute to the friendship and strengthening of the ties between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”

"Walking through Jaffa with Israel’s first Christian ambassador, sharing a reality rarely discussed: a historic Christian community living openly, safely, and thriving in Israel. 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/c8NSkg0o6c"

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 10, 2026

The appointment was greeted by broad praise for the move as well as for Deek himself, who said he was “honored” to fill the new role.

“I accept this responsibility with gratitude, humility, and a deep sense of duty. Today, I feel I am closing a circle. From the Sundays of my childhood sitting beside my father in church to this new diplomatic role, I carry with me the faith and values that shaped my life and my community,” he wrote on X.

“I take on this mission with a profound sense of responsibility: to serve, build bridges, and deepen the ties between Israel and Christian communities around the world.”

The Italian embassy in Israel congratulated Deek, adding he is “a friend of Italy and has always worked with absolute dedication to advance bilateral relations. He will be instrumental in fostering the relationship btw Israel & the Christian world.”

Reverend Johnnie Moore wrote on 𝕏, “I want to thank Israel for appointing Ambassador George Deek as its Special Envoy to the Christian World. George is a Christian from Jaffa whose family has lived in the city for generations. He is a dear friend & an incredible leader.”

Mariam Wahba, an Egyptian Christian and analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said Deek is “the man for the job and has his work cut out for him.”

However, she added that “what is more important to Israel's relationship with the Christian world (whatever that means) is making sure someone is thinking about Christians at every level of government, and not just in an isolated 'special envoy' office and perhaps that is precisely what Ambassador George Deek intends to do.”

The creation of an office for a special envoy to the Christian world has been talked about for years by Israeli politicians. Two years ago, AIN Editor in Chief, Joel Rosenberg, urged that “it’s time for Netanyahu to keep his promise to appoint an ambassador to the Christian world.”

“Israel does not have a single senior-level emissary assigned to handle the global Christian portfolio,” Rosenberg noted at the time.

According to a report from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics last December, Christians make up some 1.9% of the country’s population, numbering around 184,200.

125 years ago--Pennsylvania Presbyterians criticize Sunday session of Congress

On Monday, March 4, 1901, William McKinley was inaugurated into his second term as President of the United States, with a new Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, also taking office. To end his first term as President, Mr. McKinley signed a number of bills passed by Congress, including bills for Naval Appropriation and establishment of a National Bureau of Standards; the St. Louis Fair Bill; a bill amending the act authorizing the receipt of United States gold coin in exchange for gold bars; and a bill amending the act making further provision for the civil government of Alaska.

To get the bills passed for Mr. McKinley's signature, the United States Congress was in session on Sunday, March 3, to the displeasure of many, including Presbyterian Church leaders in Pennsylvania. Observance of the Lord's Day was taken more seriously in 1901 than it is today. As reported in the Washington Post, March 4, 1901 (bold, capitals in original):

PRESBYTERIANS THUNDER AT CONGRESS.

----------------

Making Laws on Sunday an "Evil Example to Law-Breakers."

Danville, Pa., March 4.--At a meeting of ministers and elders of Northumberland Presbytery, held here to-day, the following resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote:

"The Presbytery of Northumberland has learned with distress and alarm of the session of the National Congress for the transaction of ordinary business held on the Sabbath day, March 3. This needless disregard of the Lord's day is at once a violation of the civil law, an affront to the Christian conscience of the country, an evil example to lawbreakers in general, a wicked departure from the reverent custom of the fathers of the republic, and an offense to Almighty God, the gracious giver of the day of rest. It is against the general welfare, deserves general reprobation, and we earnestly hope may not prove a precedent for future meetings of our national legislature."

Norristown, Pa., March 4.--The East Pennsylvania Evangelical Conference, in session here to-day, adopted a resolution deprecating the action of the National House of Representatives in holding sessions on Sunday. The preamble states that the Christian feelings of the people have been shocked. The resolution was:

"Resolved, we, the East Pennsylvania Conference, desire hereby to express our emphatic disapproval of this open desecration of the Lord's day, thereby violating the laws of God and our country."

An interesting feature of to-day's session was in the patriotic service held at the noon hour in honor of the inauguration of President McKinley. Bishop Dubbs prayed earnestly for the President, the Vice President, their advisers, Congress, the army and navy, and all in authority, closing with an appeal to God to stop the "bloody war in the Philippines."

70 years ago--Mainline churches look to worldly music in an attempt to attract young people

The use of worldly methods and appeasement of engagement with popular culture in an effort to attract people--especially young people--to church was adopted by mainline churches long before it became fashionable in Evangelicalism. It may seem hard to believe today, but in the mid-1950s, religious broadcasting was dominated by mainline denominations; Thomas Reeves wrote about this is his book The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity (1996). The surveys cited in the following article provide an interesting glimpse into the popular musical tastes of young people in the United States just a few months before Elvis Presley became a national rock and roll celebrity (he was already becoming known in the field of what was then known as country and western music; a poll of disc jockeys published in the November 12 issue of The Billboard named him as the most promising C&W artist, with both sides of his single I Forgot to Remember to Forget/Mystery Train in the top 10 of all three C&W charts).

As reported by June Bundy in The Billboard, December 24, 1955 (bold in original, several errors corrected by blogger):

Churches May Woo Kids by Rockin' 'Em

Council Polls Teen-Ager Taste as Video Program Guide; Age Preferences Vary

NEW YORK, Dec. 17--Altho religious interests have long frowned on the teen-agers' preference for rock and roll music, the rhythm and blues medium may yet be utilized as a means of bringing youngsters into the church.

National Council of Churches of Christ introduced the idea of presenting jazz in a religious TV context on the "Theology of Jazz" portions of its CBS-TV series "Look Up and Live." A recent survey by the Council reveals the show is attracting older teen-agers with such jazz greats as Dave Brubeck, but kids in the 13-year-old age group don't dig modern jazz yet.

Instead, younger teen-agers polled for music preferences on the show almost unanimously vote for r.&b.-type record artists; thus confronting Frank Nichols, producer for the Council's broadcasting and film commission, with something of a dilemma.

Lyric Problem

The lyrics of many r.&b. tunes make it difficult--if not impossible--to work them into the context of a religious show. Nevertheless, Nichols is wrestling with the problem and hopes to work out some kind of solution.

The NCCC has been conducting extensive surveys on several different teen-age levels for some time now, in an effort to determine the most effective ways of reaching youngsters. At the same time, the teen-age market in general has become more and more a focal point of merchandising and marketing surveys made by the radio-TV industry, record companies and manufacturers of teen-age products.

Teen-Age Survey

Teen-age Surveys, Inc., this week, for instance, reported on its fourth continuing survey of teen-agers' views on deejays' radio-TV programs, music records and advertising effectiveness, with results again pointing up the differences in tastes between high school and college students.

Cognizant of the growing awareness of the teen-age market by manufacturers, Cleveland's independent radio station WERE is readying a merchandising service, whereby products aimed at the teen-age market will be tested by the station with special groups of teen-agers assembled for deejays' shows.

The survey efforts of the NCCC have been concentrated on three different channels, with a major advertising agency conducting regular tests on a mixed-age audience utilizing electronic program analysis equipment. Another survey is conducted at Columbia University to tap the college group. Still a third is made in the field and generally aimed at the pre-college group.

Qualifications

To qualify as a testee, the teen-agers polled must be "unchurched," since the primary aim of the show is to make converts.

Past surveys have shown that "Look Up and Live" has registered most effectively with the 17 to 23 age group. Consequently, Nichols now feels that somehow they must apply what they have learned about 13 to 17-year-old tastes (notably the rock and roll craze) to future programming.

Interestingly enough, Nichols notes, the 13-year-olds prefer Frank Sinatra (who is liked by all age groups incidentally) to Eddie Fisher, with the latter's name seldom showing up in their request-answers. Bill Haley, the Crew-Cuts, and the Four Freshmen are others showing up strong on their preference sheet, along with Al Hibbler, Count Basie and Joe Williams.

The 13-year-olds have little or no interest in modern jazz. Several students in this group thought Dave Brubeck was a classical musician, and a couple referred to him as blind, evidently confusing him with George Shearing. Also the 17 to 23-year-old group has little interest in r.&b. They responded much more to Brubeck (who has made two appearances on series including one wherein he commented on segregation and how jazz has broken thru the color lines), Eddie Sauter, Stan Kenton, Wilbur de Paris and other jazz greats.

However, surveys indicate that both the 13 to 17 and 17 to 23 age groups have little interest in straight commercial pop singers, and Nichols has programmed the series accordingly during the last year. At first he planned to include country and western artists from time to time, but, according to the surveys, there is virtually no demand among teen-agers generally for c.&w.

Electronic Count

Most scientific of the NCCC's surveys are those conducted by the electronic program analysis equipment, with each person in the audience reporting his responses thruout the show by pressing one of three levers ("not at all interested," "fairly interested," and "very interested").

When these individual reports are out together in chart form, they form a graph, indicating which segs of the show held the most audience interest. Nichols uses them to determine programming schedules on future shows.

The graphs are so detailed that they accurately chart the decline and rise of audience interest on each musical number, thereby enabling a performer to gauge exactly where the lyric or his larynx faltered.

In line with this, Nichols opines that record companies might well utilize such electronic survey equipment to determine which take on a record session is most effective.

Marian and Jimmy McPartland are scheduled to appear on Part 5 of "Theology of Jazz" on "Look Up and Live" January 1. Nichols is also talking of airing a live remote from a Mitch Miller record session early next year. Singer Merv Griffin is the permanent emcee on the "Look Up and Live" which spotlights various members of the clergy (Reverend Alvin "$64,000 Question" Kershaw, etc.) appearing on a rotating basis.

Other music figures who have appeared on the show during the past year include Jerry Jerome's orchestra, Ellis Larkin, Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, Jo Jones and Mahalia Jackson.

See also my posts: Today's Evangelicals, Tomorrow's Liberals--A Warning from 1983 (January 13, 2010)

Ambrose University College's "Jazz Day" provides evidence of increasing worldliness in evangelical schools (March 5, 2014)

50 years ago: United Church in Calgary experiments with modern music (June 15, 2018)

Synagogue in U.S. Virgin Islands rewrites Beatles songs for Purim (March 14, 2020)

This recent prophecy sounds plausible, but has already proven false

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22

The description of this video from the YouTube channel Near Death Experiences, posted in late November 2025, reads:

Eva Crawford, a dedicated nurse with 12 years of experience, never believed in dramatic spiritual encounters — until she died for 5 minutes on November 26th, 2025, during a routine shift. In those moments, she experienced a near-death experience (NDE) where Jesus Christ revealed urgent warnings about the mark of the beast system and where believers must never be found when it’s fully implemented.

This life-changing NDE opened her eyes to the urgency of the times we are living in and the importance of staying faithful.

Watch till the end to hear how this experience transformed her and why it’s a message everyone needs to hear.

If you're wondering how people are going to be deceived into worshiping the Antichrist, listen to the part of the video starting at about the 3:05 mark, and notice how certain Ms. Crawford is that she was in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ:

I found myself standing in a place of such great beauty that human words feel totally unable to describe it...a presence so holy, so perfect that I immediately understood that I was standing before God Himself. That's when I saw Him approaching, and every part of my spirit knew who it was before my mind could even grasp it. Jesus Christ, the savior I'd believed in but never truly known, walked toward me with eyes that held the kindness of forever and the urgency of a father warning his children of immediate danger. His appearance wasn't like the paintings in church windows or the movies I'd seen. He looked like a man in his 30s, but there was something eternal about Him, as if He held all of history and all of forever inside Himself. When He looked at me, I felt completely known, completely understood, and completely loved despite every mistake and doubt I'd ever carried.

However, He apparently didn't resemble the most recent physical description of the apostle John's encounter with Him in Revelation 1:13-17:

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Ms. Crawford may indeed have had a spiritual experience, and her description of how the system of the Beast will be implemented sounds plausible. However, she gave specific dates for the fulfillment of her alleged vision, and we already have evidence that it fails the biblical test of 100% accuracy in the passage from Deuteronomy cited above. Starting at about the 28:03 mark of the video, we hear and read:

I saw the exact order of events that would start the mark system, and it was much closer than anyone imagined. In January 2026, I watched as a coordinated set of computer attacks crippled the global money system. Banks failed overnight, stock markets crashed with no hope of recovery, and digital money became worthless. The confusion was so complete that governments around the world declared emergency rule and stopped normal laws.

But this wasn't a random attack by enemies or terrorist groups. As Jesus allowed me to see behind the scenes of earthly events, I realized this crisis had been carefully planned by the same powers that had spent decades preparing the mark system. The collapse was done on purpose, designed to create such desperation that people would beg for any solution no mater what it cost. "Watch how they offer salvation through technology," Jesus said. And I saw world leaders appearing on every working screen, announcing the emergency start of a new body-based identification system. This wasn't presented as the mark of the beast, but as humanity's rescue from money collapse and social chaos. The lies were expertly done. Children would be protected from being taken through GPS tracking. Elderly patients would never be without their medical records in emergencies. Workers would have instant access to their job benefits and social help. Everyone would be equal in this new system, no matter their race, class or background. But I could see the spiritual truth behind this attractive idea. The moment anyone accepted this mark, once that choice was made. The plan began with the weak populations that Jesus had shown me. Patients in hospitals were told they needed the mark for their safety and the safety of others. Children in schools were marked as part of required health programs. Elderly residents in care facilities received it automatically with their routine medical procedures. Within weeks, the system spread to include all of society. No one could buy food, access transport, receive medical care, or even enter public buildings without the mark. Those who refused were systematically kept out of every part of normal life, labeled as terrorists and threats to public health and safety.

I watched as the four dangerous places Jesus had warned me about became exactly the death traps he had predicted. The cities turned into spy prisons where unmarked individuals were hunted by complex AI systems that could spot faces, track movements, and guess behavior patterns. The medical facilities became enforcement centers where health care workers--many believing they were helping people--gave the mark as standard practice. The churches proved to be the most heartbreaking betrayal of all. I saw pastor after pastor standing before their groups, Bible in hand, explaining why receiving the mark was not only okay, but actually the loving thing to do. They quoted Bible verses about obeying those in charge and caring for the needs of neighbors. They argued that the mark was simply technology, no different from a driver's license or social security number. But what upset me most was seeing how many sincere believers were carried away by these arguments. These weren't people who fought against God or mocked faith. They were true Christians who had trusted their spiritual leaders more than they had built their own relationship with Christ. When their pastors assured them the mark was acceptable, they followed that advice straight into eternal destruction.

It is now February 2026. The events prophesied for January 2026 didn't come to pass, but the statement that true Christians will take the mark of the beast doesn't agree with scripture. Those who take the mark will indeed go into eternal torment (Revelation 14:11), but they won't be true Christians. The tribulation chapters (6-19) of Revelation indicate that the Church will be in Heaven (which implies a pre-Tribulation rapture). Also, the real Lord Jesus Christ said that those who are His sheep will never be lost (John 5:24, 10:28-30, 17:12, 18:9). Since the prophecies allegedly revealed to Eva Crawford didn't take place by the date predicted, and they contradict statements that the real Jesus made about Himself, it's plain that the "Jesus" who allegedly revealed them to her was a false Jesus and a false prophet.

The most deceptive error is that which is mixed with truth. The scenario presented by Eva Crawford is plausible, but you don't have to receive direct revelation from God in order to see the direction in which things are going. Covid 19 in the early 2020s was likely a dry run, and this blogger can't forget the cowardice and servility toward dictatorship on the part of church leaders.

120 years ago--New York clergyman blasts women's vices

This item from the tail end of the Gilded Age, indicating that morality in New York City was already in decline, was published in the Vancouver Daily Province, January 27, 1906 (bold, capitals in original); unfortunately, the microfilm image of the page on which it appeared contained a fold in the page that went undetected when photographed, obscuring part of the article. I'll fix that if I ever come across the entire article.

SOCIETY LEADERS STEEPED IN VICE

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VICE IN NEW YORK

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Women of Four Hundred Are Addicted to Drinking, Gambling, and Cigarette Smoking--Causes of Decrease of Marriage in the Wealthy Classes.

NEW YORK, Jan. 26--Supplementing the sermon which he delivered on Sunday night in the Church of the Epiphany, and which caused widespread discussion, the Rev. Dr. Madison Peters said to a newspaperman today:

"The remarks I have made upon the women of the fashionably rich are not the idle mouthings of a sensationalist nor the vicious attacks of one whose motive is to stir up ugly feeling. Every word I have spoken is the plain statement of facts that any fashionable physician, any clergyman who has moved about in society, and every society man or woman knows and dares not refute.

"I have been into the cafes of the Astor, the Waldorf, Sherry's and other fashionable hotels, and nine women out of ten will order drinks of the same kind that their escorts order, and quite as many of them. I have watched these women, and I have wondered if they realized what those same men thought of them deep down in their hearts.

They think--mark you, I am voicing the sentiments of the man about town when I say it--they think these same young women are all right for a time, but they would not marry such women.

"And this brings naturally to mind the thought why there are in this city to-day thousands of men in their thirtes and forties, men of means or of excellent salaries and incomes, who are not marrried? And why are there so many instances of men marrying, as society puts it beneath them?

Vices of women.

The answer is because so many of the daughters of their own fashionable set are given to drink, cigarette-smoking, gambling (for that is what bridge whist has resolved itself into), and to kindred vices. It is because men of the world and of society realize that such women are not fit to become the mothers of children--not fit to preside at their tables and over their household. All men require purity and integrity in the women they care for, and such qualities are not to be found among women whose lives are spent in frivolous pleasures.

Not many of these men, finding the women of their own circle given over to these vicous habits, go 'beneath it,' and find honest young women, whose names are not in the social register, as their helpmeets.

The cause of these conditions is largely due to the fact that women in society have nothing to do. They are deprived of the attention and society of their husbands; they are without children and housekeeping cares, and they become mere pleasure-seekers, and before they know it they are brought to that state of mind where all of their faculties are engaged in discovering modes of selfish enjoyment.

"If there were more children in the homes of the rich there would be less dissipation. Think of it, on Fifth Avenue from Washington Square to Nine ...during the past year. These ... eloquent

....Only the other day, I was going up in the elevator in one of the most fashionable hotels of the c[ity] when I heard a young woman say to another, and it was then 9 o'clock, 'I haven't done a thing all day but play bridge.'

Idle away time.

"That is only an example of what women do with their time. I am told that the gambling whist habit has become so prevalent that women--dozens and dozens of them--go from house to house, from fashionable hotel to hotel day after day and night after night, reviving themselves by drinks of various sorts. Of course there are those who would criticize a man of the cloth for offending his fashionable pew renters perhaps by telling the truth about these alarming conditions.

"The conditions are all the more grave when one considers that the entire country is influenced by the doings of members of the ultra-fashionable circle of New York. Their every movement is heralded in the society columns, and their amusements are seen as a pattern by other silly women all over the land.

"When Mrs. Astor slums she has a thousand followers; if Mrs. Fish plays bridge the smaller fry will follow suit, and if all of fashionable society drink and smoke, the entire country will feel its vicious influence. That is where the most harm is done."