The Emmaus Walk Presents:
CONGRESS DECLARES BIBLE "THE WORD OF GOD"
PUBLIC LAW 97-2--OCT. 4, 1982 Public Law 97-280, 96 STAT. 1211
97th Congress
Joint Resolution
Authorizing and requesting the President to proclaikm 1988 as the "Year of the Bible".
Whereas the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people;
Whereas deeply held religious convictions springing from the Holy Scriptures led to the early settlemen of our Nation;
Whereas Biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas many of our great national leaders--among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson--paid tribute to the surpassing influence of the Bible in our country's development, as in the words of President Jackson that the Bible is "the rock upon which our Republic rests",
Whereas the history of our Nation clearly illustrates the value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the Scriptures in the lives of individuals, families, and societies;
Whereas this Nation now faces great challenges that will test this Nation as it has never been tested before; and
Whereas that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the President is authorized and requested to designate 1983 as a national "Year of the Bible" in recognition of both the formative influence the Bible has been for our Nation, and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.
Approved October 4, 1982.
Note on the last Whereas: "Whereas that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people:"--this is the stated desire of the U.S. 97 Congress as the best thing for America. Taken seriously by the American people--conservatives, liberals, Islamic, Christian, Jewish, not to mention the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, the ACLU, the newly elected Muslim from Minnesota who rejects the Bible for his swearing in at Congress, the Supreme Court which derides and rejects the Bible in our public school systems and elsewhere, and the Congress itself, which seeks to pass, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy and homosexual Barney Frank, law restricting religious liberties and the free preaching of the Bible against homosexuality and marking that a "hate crime"--our country would be transformed and perhaps regenerated and saved from imminent destruction. This is truer now, more critical now, than it was in 1983, years before 9/ll and the invasion of our country by numerous Islamic terrorist sleeper cells, some of whom are no doubt armed with nuclear and biological weapons.--Ed.
PRESIDENT REAGAN LAUDED THE BIBLE'S ROLE IN AMERICAN CULTURE:
President Reagan said the Bible "has formed not only American culture but also the cultures of many other nations around the world." In a message for observance of National Bible Week Nov. 24 to Dec. 1, he said "we sometimes forget that for most of America's history, the only book most Americans possessed was the Bible."
It "formed not only our language," he said, adding that it "remains far and away the most popular of all books." He said "the principles it contains are of timeless relevance and its beauty is forever discovered anew by millions of Americans."--from an newspaper article in the time of the Reagan Administration
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