Scott Campbell Brown
AN AMERICAN DEVOTIONAL:: FROM THE VOICES OF OUR FOUNDING MOTHERS AND FATHERS
language
( April 16, 2019)
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” These words from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are the foundation for this short book to deepen your understanding of our American heritage.
Consider these first words of the Gettysburg Address. For many, they comprise a mere introduction to the famous speech by Abraham Lincoln. Yet, taken on their own, they have a profound meaning. They speak to the actions and sacrifices of the Founding Mothers and Fathers, based on the concepts of Liberty and Equality. In this one sentence, Lincoln demonstrates the inspiring wisdom and humanity of our Founders.
Such wisdom and humanity appear to be lacking today. As you turn these pages, our Founders will indeed speak to you about the three concepts addressed by Lincoln – Liberty, our Country’s Founding and Equality. For you, their voices will comprise an American Devotional. Devotionals are a wonderful gift to deepen people’s Faith, as they take their walk through a difficult life path. They often consist of daily or weekly inspirational words on which people should dwell. Through such an intense focus on a periodic basis, persons can obtain comfort, joy or a positive direction for their lives. Often based on the Bible, the words contained in Devotionals enhance both spiritual growth and religious depth.
This Devotional is a little different. While most Devotionals aspire to deepen your relationship with God, this weekly Devotional employs the words of the wonderful people of which Lincoln spoke to deepen your relationship with this wonderful country they established. In so doing, the aim is not to produce a blind patriotism, but, rather, a thoughtful love and devotion to the United States of America, based on Liberty and Equality.
Considering that you lead a busy life, this Devotional contains 52 passages, one for each week of the year. You need only to read one page and dwell on it for a week. These passages have been selected from the writings of both the Founding Fathers and Mothers. They have been chosen for both their inspirational quality and their clarity for today’s readers.
Each week will begin with one sentence that forms a kind of a headline. Then, the passage will follow, with its key phrase provided in bold letters. However, some surrounding text may also be provided to strengthen your understanding of the context of the writings. Finally, some information about the passage called the Story will provide you with further information about the passage on which to reflect.
This Devotional will be organized by the suggested chronological order of the opening sentence of the Gettysburg Address. The book is divided into roughly equal three parts – Liberty, A New Nation and Equality. At the beginning of each part, a brief orientation will be given to you. Note that the orientation of each part will be a little different from the other two as our Founders translate their ideals into concrete actions.
Of course, you can read these passages at a faster pace. You may wish to absorb each part closer together to gain a holistic understanding of each of the three concepts and how they fit together as a whole. You will observe how a love of Liberty throughout the colonies led to the actions and sacrifices that gave birth to our country and then, how the dedication to equality led to specific actions to achieve it throughout the land.
By the time you complete the Devotional, some of the best writers that the country as ever produced will have spoken to you. You should have a clear picture as to why their thoughts and actions inspired President Lincoln so much. From this picture, your understanding of our country will grow and your love for America will be deepened. In some sense, you will be the writer of this story.
Consider these first words of the Gettysburg Address. For many, they comprise a mere introduction to the famous speech by Abraham Lincoln. Yet, taken on their own, they have a profound meaning. They speak to the actions and sacrifices of the Founding Mothers and Fathers, based on the concepts of Liberty and Equality. In this one sentence, Lincoln demonstrates the inspiring wisdom and humanity of our Founders.
Such wisdom and humanity appear to be lacking today. As you turn these pages, our Founders will indeed speak to you about the three concepts addressed by Lincoln – Liberty, our Country’s Founding and Equality. For you, their voices will comprise an American Devotional. Devotionals are a wonderful gift to deepen people’s Faith, as they take their walk through a difficult life path. They often consist of daily or weekly inspirational words on which people should dwell. Through such an intense focus on a periodic basis, persons can obtain comfort, joy or a positive direction for their lives. Often based on the Bible, the words contained in Devotionals enhance both spiritual growth and religious depth.
This Devotional is a little different. While most Devotionals aspire to deepen your relationship with God, this weekly Devotional employs the words of the wonderful people of which Lincoln spoke to deepen your relationship with this wonderful country they established. In so doing, the aim is not to produce a blind patriotism, but, rather, a thoughtful love and devotion to the United States of America, based on Liberty and Equality.
Considering that you lead a busy life, this Devotional contains 52 passages, one for each week of the year. You need only to read one page and dwell on it for a week. These passages have been selected from the writings of both the Founding Fathers and Mothers. They have been chosen for both their inspirational quality and their clarity for today’s readers.
Each week will begin with one sentence that forms a kind of a headline. Then, the passage will follow, with its key phrase provided in bold letters. However, some surrounding text may also be provided to strengthen your understanding of the context of the writings. Finally, some information about the passage called the Story will provide you with further information about the passage on which to reflect.
This Devotional will be organized by the suggested chronological order of the opening sentence of the Gettysburg Address. The book is divided into roughly equal three parts – Liberty, A New Nation and Equality. At the beginning of each part, a brief orientation will be given to you. Note that the orientation of each part will be a little different from the other two as our Founders translate their ideals into concrete actions.
Of course, you can read these passages at a faster pace. You may wish to absorb each part closer together to gain a holistic understanding of each of the three concepts and how they fit together as a whole. You will observe how a love of Liberty throughout the colonies led to the actions and sacrifices that gave birth to our country and then, how the dedication to equality led to specific actions to achieve it throughout the land.
By the time you complete the Devotional, some of the best writers that the country as ever produced will have spoken to you. You should have a clear picture as to why their thoughts and actions inspired President Lincoln so much. From this picture, your understanding of our country will grow and your love for America will be deepened. In some sense, you will be the writer of this story.
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