Faith, Liberty, and the American Order
Breakpoint
Colson Center
4.8 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 29 July 2020
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Election Day is only three months away. Perhaps even more so than most elections, this one will be in large part a referendum on competing visions of what America ought to be. And perhaps the greatest fault line is religion in public life. What role does faith have in American life, in American government and governance? Can a truly democratic republic survive without a "moral and religious people"? And what role did faith and the Bible play in the founding of the American order?
Today’s guest on the BreakPoint Podcast is Alan Crippen, the Chief of Exhibits, Programs, and Public Engagement for the Faith & Liberty Discovery Center. Dr. Crippen makes the case that not only was the Christian faith integral to the founding of the American experiment, the Bible itself was one of its founding documents—and that faith, liberty, and justice are inextricably intertwined.
In 2021, the American Bible Society (which, by the way, was itself established by several of the founding fathers) will open the Faith & Liberty Discovery Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. Dr. Crippen gives us a preview of the exhibits and interactive, immersive experiences visitors can expect as they learn about the role of faith and liberty in founding of our nation.
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Breakpoint podcast. I'm Shane Morris, and it's a mere three months now till Election Day. |
| 0:07.0 | And like all elections, this one will be, at least in part, a referendum on competing visions of what America ought to be and on what it was intended to be, specifically, a big chunk of American politicians and electorate now believe that faith has no part in our |
| 0:22.7 | national government and that the values taught in the Bible and embraced by Christians have never |
| 0:28.0 | been and ought never to be a part of our political life. My guest today has a different idea. |
| 0:33.3 | He thinks Christian values played an integral part in the founding of this nation and in the |
| 0:38.4 | vision of those who wrote its founding documents. |
| 0:41.3 | And he's part of an effort that next year is bringing that message to America's most |
| 0:46.1 | historic square mile in Philadelphia. |
| 0:48.9 | Alan Crippen is chief of exhibits, programs, and public engagement for the upcoming |
| 0:53.2 | Faith and Liberty Discovery Center |
| 0:55.5 | at the American Bible Society on Independence Mall. Alan was founding president of the John |
| 1:00.9 | Jay Institute and has also served in leadership roles at the Family Research Council and |
| 1:05.5 | Institute for Family Studies. Alan Crippen, welcome to the Breakpoint podcast. It's great to have you on. |
| 1:12.9 | Thank you, Shane. It's a privilege to be with you this morning. |
| 1:17.3 | Well, tell us about the grand vision of the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center. What inspired it? Who's behind it all? Why is it so unique? The Faith and Liberty Discovery Center is a subsidiary |
| 1:22.7 | corporation of American Bible Society. American Bible Society has been around for over 200 years. |
| 1:30.6 | It was founded by American founders. |
| 1:33.8 | In fact, its founding president was Elias Boudinot, |
| 1:36.9 | who was president of the Continental Congress. |
| 1:39.3 | And I live in Burlington, New Jersey, |
| 1:41.4 | and Mr. Boudinot is interred just about 1,000 miles fromenow is interred just about a thousand miles from my, |
| 1:45.2 | thousand feet, rather, a thousand feet from my house. |
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