Providence Foundation

The Library of Congress - Jefferson Building
The Great Hall:

The Gutenberg Bible and Giant Bible of Mainz are on display, which is very appropriate because, in the words of President Andrew Jackson, "The Bible is the rock upon which our republic rests."

Inscriptions on the ceiling and walls include: "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." "Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and withall thy getting, get understanding."

The Main Reading Room

The statues of Moses and Paul represent Religion, with the inscription: "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.

Science is represented by: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork."

History: "One God, one law, one element, and one far-off divine event, to which the whole creation moves."

The Supreme Court
The East Pediment

Marble relief on the outside East Pediment has Moses holding tablets containing the 10 Commandments.

Marble Busts in the Foyer

Busts of Chief Justices, many of whom were Christians such as John Jay, the first Chief Justice, and John Marshall, the most prominent in the early years.

The Court Chamber

Engraved on oak doors at entrance are the Roman numerals I through X, representing the Ten Commandments.

Above the heads of the Justices is a carved marble relief with a large stone tablet containing I through X (representing the 10 commandments) in between two allegorical figures, representing The Power of Government and The Majesty of the Law, reminding us that the foundation of America's law is the Bible.

The Capitol Building
The Rotunda - Christian Paintings

The Landing of Columbus - Columbus said he was convinced to sail because "it was the Lord who put into my mind" and that "the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands."

The Baptism of Pocahontas - This shows the baptism of one of the first converts in the Virginia colony . The Virginia charter said they came to propagate the "Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God."

Departure of the Pilgrims from Holland - shows the Pilgrims observing a day of prayer and fasting. William Brewster is holding an open Bible upon which is written: "The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." "God With Us" is written on the ship's sail.

The Rotunda - Carved Relief

Penn's Treaty with the Indians - Penn called his colony "a holy experiment" and said of it that "my God that has given it to me . . . will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation."

The Landing of the Pilgrims - "having undertaken for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith."

The House Chamber

In God We Trust, our national motto, is inscribed in letters of gold behind the Speaker's rostrum

Marble relief of Moses, the greatest of 23 noted law-givers (and the only one full-faced) is above the central Gallery door.

The largest Church congregation in America in 1867 met here. Churches had been meeting in the Capitol from the beginning.

Statues and More

Statues of many early leaders are displayed throughout the Capitol. Most of these were Christians and many were ministers, including George Washington, James Garfield, Samuel Adams, Rev. Peter Muhlenberg, Rev. Roger Williams, Rev. Marcus Whitman, Daniel Webster, Lew Wallace, Rev. Jason Lee, John Winthrop, Rev. Jonathan Trumbull, Roger Sherman, Francis Willard

Prayer Room - A room set aside for prayer has a stained window with Washington in prayer.

In God We Trust - placed above Senate main door.

"What hath God Wrought!" - First message sent over the telegraph in 1844. On Samuel F.B. Morse Plaque outside old Supreme Court Chamber.

Union Station
Engraved on Front Facade

"Thou has put all things under his feet."

"The truth shall make you free."

"The desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose."

The National Archives
The Rotunda

Bronze design on the floor contains the Ten Commandments with Senate and Justice to the right of them, which symbolizes that our legal system has its origin in God's law.

Documents on Display
The three most important civil documents on display reflect Biblical principles of government. These are:

The Declaration of Independence (1776) - contains such ideas as man is created in the Divine image, all men are equal, man is superior to the state, the state exists for man.

The United States Constitution (1787) - Christian ideas include: the reign of law; trial by jury of peers under law; Creator endowed rights, not government granted; Christian self-government; religious freedom; private property rights.

The Magna Charta (1215) - written by a minister, Stephen Langton, this "Charter of Liberty" is the foundational document for English constitutionalism and was appealed to by American colonists for their right to no taxation without representation and for the rule of law.

The Washington Monument

Engraved upon the aluminum capstone on the top of this 555 foot monument is Laus Deo (Praise be to God)

Carved tribute blocks include: "Holiness to the Lord," "Search the Scriptures," "The memory of the just is blessed," "May Heaven to this union continue its beneficence," In God We Trust," "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

The White House

An inscription by the first President to inhabit the White House, John Adams, is cut into the marble facing of the State Dining Room fireplace. It reads: "I pray Heaven to Bestow the Best of Blessings on THIS HOUSE and on All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under this Roof."

Each President has attended church, associated with the Christian faith, taken the oath of office with their hand on a Bible, and referred to God in their inaugural addresses.

St. John's Church

Church of the Presidents: every President since James Madison has worshiped here at some time. Pew 54 has been designated for the First Family.

Presidents who made this their church home include Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, Fillmore, and Arthur.

Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

All but 2 or 3 of the Signers were Christians, but those that were not had a Biblical worldview.

They declared "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." They appealed to the "the Supreme Judge of the World" and acknowledged "a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence."

The Lincoln Memorial

The words engraved upon the walls reflect the Christian faith and providential perspective of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.

On the south wall is the Gettysburg Address which ends exclaiming "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

On the wall of the north chamber is Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address which shows his knowledge of the Scriptures: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh' (Matthew 18:7)."

Arlington National Cemetery
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

This monument, carved from a single rectangular block of marble to honor unknown soldiers who gave their life for the cause of liberty, bears the inscription: HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD

Arlington House - Home of Robert E. Lee

This Christian did much to promote revival among his army, where tens of thousands were converted. One biographer said of Lee, "one almost feels as if he cared more for winning souls than battles, and for supplying his army with Bibles than with bullets and powder."

The Jefferson Memorial

The author of the Declaration of Independence and America's third President, Thomas Jefferson, though unorthodox is some of his religious views, claimed to be a Christian, attended church throughout his life, and held to a Biblical worldview, which is reflected in the inscriptions in the memorial. The excerpt from the Declaration speaks of Creator endowed rights.

The inscription from Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom states: "Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens . . . are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion. . . . No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion."

A third inscription from his Notes of the State of Virginia says: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."

Conclusion
Christianity is the source of America's liberty and prosperity. In the words of the U.S. House of Representatives (1854): "The great vital element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

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