On November 2^nd, 2003, the 13^th Annual Christian Heritage Speech competition was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is a state-wide competition, open to students in grades 6-12, with speeches in length from 3-5 minutes. Each grade has a different topic, scoring places more emphasis on content and less on theatrics, and students are encouraged to do their own research and writing.

Ed, 10 years old at the time, competed as a 6^th grader. The 6^th grade topic was "How the first Great Awakening influenced our founding fathers." This was Ed's first speech and first speech competition. The following is Ed's speech with which he won first place honors for 6^th grade at the competition.

The United States of America is regarded as the most Christian nation worldwide. How did Christianity become so important to the life of this great nation? That answer can be found looking at the results of the First Great Awakening.

I'll bet a lot of people don't know what I'm talking about with the First Great Awakening. Well for those who don't know, it is not when you wake up from the worst nightmare ever, or when your siblings wake up from their naps, and it isn't even when Sleeping Beauty woke up.

The First Great Awakening was the first religious revival, ushered in primarily by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, in the colonies and occurred approximately 1735 to 1743.

Prior to this revival, Christians were in a state of spiritual decline and darkness. There was little preaching of the gospel and a lot of acceptance of paganism in the church. With revival, hearts and lives of men were turned to truly serving God and acknowledging the Bible as the only truth. The influence that the Great Awakening had on the lives of our founding fathers is clearly evident.

Long before the United States Constitution, the colonists had written documents that established government and citizen's rights under God's authority, the Bible. The writers of the U. S. Constitution were aware of these documents and used them in drafting the Constitution. The expression of America's early documents is unmistakably Christian. They were anchored in Biblical principles, and they recognized the existence, importance and nature of God.

Here are some examples of how the First Great Awakening influenced the hearts and minds of our founding fathers:

Patrick Henry, the great orator said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ!"

Benjamin Franklin, said, "He who shall introduce into the public affairs the principles of a primitive Christianity, will change the face of the world."

And Thomas Jefferson said, "The reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart."

George Washington, the father of our nation said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

On September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution was written. It included the important First Amendment Clause, that, "Congree shall make no law respecting an establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This amendment, if properly interpreted, means separation of Church from interference by the state The separation between Church and state of which Jefferson speaks, is clearly in reference to protecting religious worship from the government's interference, and not the government being encroached upon by religious values.

It is seen, again and again in the founding fathers' writings, that they stressed the need of biblical principles and Christian values as the framework for good government. The references to God in these documents and their understanding that He is God make clear that our founding fathers recognized and acknowledged God's authority.

With God's mercy through the First Great Awakening, this great nation was established as one which would provide the means by which the Gospel could be lived and preached. James Madison, the fourth president and the Father of the Constitution said,"The future and success of America is not in this Constitution but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is founded."

In the beginning I asked you, "How did Christianity become so important to the life of this great nation?" It was through the First Great Awakening that the hearts and minds of our founding fathers were right before the Lord. Can we look back over this last decade and attribute our laws to choose or end life, or stating that "one nation under God" is unconstitutional as the "success" of America? Or do you think it might be time for another Great Awakening?

Edward Allen, 11 years old, lives in Albuquerque, NM with his mom, dad, brother Joe (9), sister Emily (5), and a bunch of critters. Ed's been homeschooled from the beginning.