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Benjamin Franklin
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Known as a scientist, printer, author, diplomat, and philosopher, Benjamin Franklin's many contributions to the early founding of America rank him as one of the country's great statesmen. Franklin was a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence and a framer of the Constitution. Indeed, the eighty-one year old Franklin was the American patriarch at the time of the Constitutional Convention held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787. In a most remarkable way, he hallowed the Convention with his eloquent call for prayer.
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured sir, in the Sacred Writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it (Ps. 127:1).' I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builder of Babel.
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Benjamin Franklin recognized that prayer in government and the cooperation of church and state were important ingredients in assuring the civil liberties American have come to know and enjoy. |
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