[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2386-E2387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK

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                           HON. STEVE LARGENT

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 1997

  Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Speaker, the Laymen's National Bible Association has 
bestowed upon me the honor of congressional cochair for National Bible 
Week. It is, therefore, with respect and pleasure that I announce 
November 23-30 as National Bible Week. I encourage my colleagues in the 
House and the Senate, as well as the American people to observe 
National Bible Week through the study of God's word.
  The Bible has been a source of moral guidance throughout world 
history, but America's reliance upon the Bible has been particularly 
profound. The American public and the U.S. Government have long used 
Biblical principles to shepherd progress. For that reason, National 
Bible Week has several goals. It is an opportunity for individuals to 
expand their knowledge of the Bible, reaffirm commitment to its 
principles, and introduce its values into the lives of others. I also 
encourage my colleagues in Congress to recognize and explore 
Scripture's treasures upon which our great Nation depends. I urge 
everyone to use National Bible Week to understand God's message in 
Psalm 119:105. It says, ``Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light 
for my path.'' National Bible Week enables us the occasion to commit 
ourselves to Biblical guidance.
  Americans have long had a commitment to the Bible. Indeed, the 
greatest success of many new world colonists was to break free of 
religious intolerance in England and create a community firmly 
established on an observance of Biblical principles. Perhaps no group 
better exemplified the Reformation in early America than the Puritans 
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their hope of religious freedom led 
them to leave the hypocrisy of England in search of a closer connection 
to God's word. It was aboard the flagship Arbella, just before landing 
in Massachusetts Bay, that John Winthrop issued his sermon, ``A Model 
of Chritian Charity.'' In his sermon he said, ``We must consider that 
we shall be as a city upon a hill; the eyes of all people are upon 
us.'' His words explained the purpose of the Puritans, a people who 
would develop a close relationship with God's Word and lead by example.
  Years later, the 13 colonies waged the Revolutionary War against the 
English to secure their religious freedoms. Their triumph was a 
cleansing of intolerance in the new frontier. After the war, 
revolutionary America set out to champion the values for which they 
fought into a national law. This challenge was met with the 
Constitution, a unique document heavily influenced by the laws of God 
in the Bible. James Madison spoke of the Bible's influence on the 
Constitution. He said, ``the future and success of America is not in 
this Constitution, but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution 
is founded.''
  Psalm 119:2 says, ``Blessed are they who keep to His statutes and 
seek Him with all their heart.'' This verse is especially relevant for 
today's national leaders. My colleagues and I need to seek personal 
guidance from the Bible. As Noah Webster said, ``The Bible must be 
considered as the great source of all truth by which men are to be 
guided in government. * * *'' My hope for National Bible Week is that 
it will serve notice to our U.S. Congress, that we may begin to 
reacquaint our actions, words, and politics with Biblical example to 
serve our citizens better.
  All Americans should take notice that ``All Scripture is God-breathed 
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in 
righteousness. (II Timothy 3:16)'' Society puts

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many burdens on family values. National Bible Week is an opportunity 
for families to reaffirm their unity through study of the Bible, or to 
acquaint children to the Bible for the first time. Remember the example 
of John Quincy Adams who said, ``So great is my veneration for the 
Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, 
it is of all good books in the world, that which contributes most to 
make men good, wise, and happy--that the earlier my children begin to 
read it, the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it 
throughout their lives, the more lively and confident will be my hopes 
that they will prove useful citizens to their country, respectable 
members of society, and a real blessing to their parents.'' Utilize 
National Bible Week to introduce its stories and parables to your 
children so that they may later in life rely upon the Bible.
  Finally, how appropriate that National Bible Week falls in the same 
week as Thanksgiving, a holiday that celebrates the Founders of our 
Nation, founding principles, and all of our blessings. On Thanksgiving 
we can all thank our Nation's Founders for remaining true to Biblical 
principles and incorporating them into law. More importantly, National 
Bible Week enables all Americans to enhance the celebrations of 
Thanksgiving through a renewed and heighted focus on the study and 
mediation of the Bible.

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