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Once the nation of the United States of America was established, what role did religion play in the years following? Was there a wall of separation between religion and the state? Many believe that the Founding Fathers delivered the nation from the influence of religion and the Bible. Let us examine the facts.

It was just after my ordination into the ministry that it came to my attention that George (not his real name) was secretly smoking.

A church member for several years, George knew that Christians should not do anything which will ultimately cripple or kill us, since we—our bodies—are the temple of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). He had already lost a lung to cancer many years before, and of all people he should have known better than to continue smoking.

As we remembered 1776 and celebrated the anniversary of the birth of the United States of America, countless Americans were reminded, if only for a day, of the heroic beginnings of this great nation.

Many years have passed since that sweltering summer in Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was signed, but they are only a short time in the flow of history. Extraordinary men laid it all on the line as the colonies broke away from the motherland and started a new, sovereign nation.

Would you build your own house in a flood zone on ground below sea level? Most would not do this and if they did, they would lack common sense. How about a city? Does it make sense to build and perpetuate a metropolitan area on land below sea level? The question might be—can it be done? Obviously, under optimum conditions it may be done and maintained if massive funding is available. Even then, there is no guarantee that natural forces will not overwhelm man-made systems.

The sound of the cicadas was deafening as I walked along on a summer Sabbath morning, enjoying the breeze and collecting my thoughts after a busy and eventful week. I had so much to think about, and was trying to making sense of it from a biblical point of view. Yet, those cicadas were humming away so loudly, it was hard to concentrate.