Passing the Torch of Liberty to a New Generation (with CD-ROM)

About the Title

I was driving north on I-75 toward Knoxville when I received a call from my office. “Gary, a man just called. He said that he was dying and that he had to talk with you.” I knew it was Chris Hoops. I got his number and immediately called him. Chris was a godly man who understood the Christian heritage of our nation and how it had been forgotten. He told me that he had a 200-year-old book in his possession and that he wanted American Vision to reprint it. He entrusted me with the only copy of this remarkable book, and I assured Chris that we would reprint it. After some research, I learned that the book in my possession is the only copy in existence. You won't find it anywhere, not even in the Library of Congress. This 500-page book consists of 20 messages delivered to the nation from 1799 to 1802. While the individual chapters exist in pamphlet form in private collections and libraries, it would take you years to find copies and a small fortune to procure them.

We’ve titled this book Passing the Torch of Liberty to a New Generation. Most ministers would be afraid to preach these messages today. The men who witnessed the birth of our nation understood that even civil magistrates—politicians—are obligated to place themselves under the sovereign hand of God. Can you imagine how atheists will respond if this book gets out to millions of Americans who begin reading and applying the principles found in these powerful messages? Not only will atheists be upset, but many ministers will object to these messages. Many ministers today have tried to remain neutral in the face of politics which has become increasingly godless. You’ve heard ministers tell their congregations to stay out of politics with some of the following half-truths:

• “Politics is dirty.”
• “Jesus didn’t get mixed up in politics.”
• “There’s a separation between church and state.”
• “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
• “We’re not supposed to judge.”
• “You can’t impose your morality on other people.”

These excuses are foreign to the men who penned these pamphlets. They would recoil in disbelief if they heard these excuses coming from ministers of the gospel.  Joseph Strong stated in 1802 that our fathers adhered to the principle “that none ought to be elevated to public office except those whose opinions and behavior were strictly Christian” and that “righteousness exalts a nation.” When is the last time you heard anything like that?

How about this? “In the judicial department, a high regard to law and justice must never be subordinated to party interest or a fear of rejection from office.” Wow! This is just a taste of what you will find in this 500-page volume!

These are principles that many Christians have forgotten. We’re not in a mess today because of unbelievers; we’re in a mess because we are a nation that has lost its memory of its Christian beginnings.

Help honor a dying man’s prayer by getting a copy of Passing the Torch of Liberty to a New Generation. s example, God’s saints—you—can indeed discern and judge the world as God has commanded.

Author: Various

Specifications: Hardback, 500 pages, this is a facsimile of the historic Sermons and is in the original Old English; CD-Rom will be found inside the shrinkwrapped book