The actor Richard Gere recently said that America needs leaders who can “raise us to a higher level of possibility” and criticized what he called a “crude mentality.” Because he is a celebrity, his spiritual views—shaped by Buddhism—are treated as wisdom and widely accepted.
But this raises an honest question: why do the spiritual ideas of entertainers carry such authority, while the beliefs of ordinary Christians are ignored or dismissed? Why is it acceptable to promote Eastern religion, but unacceptable to say, “If the world wants truth, it must return to what Jesus taught”?
This is especially inconsistent because America was not founded on Buddhist principles or any other world religion. Its laws, institutions, and moral structure were shaped directly by the Bible. The founders did not hide this.
George Washington said:
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
John Adams wrote:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.”
Noah Webster stated:
“The moral principles and precepts of the Bible ought to form the basis of all our civil laws.”
These men understood that a nation cannot survive without a solid moral foundation. The Bible provides that foundation by dealing with the human heart—truth, conscience, sin, repentance, responsibility, and the value of every person. These are matters of the soul, not simply emotion.
And this is the difference.
Many world religions offer practices that calm feelings or elevate the mind for a moment, but they do not transform the inner life. They appeal to emotion but do not address the condition of the soul. The teachings of Scripture speak directly to the deepest part of a person—their character, their moral choices, their eternal identity—and this is what gives a nation stability.
America has lasted because it was built on something stronger than sentiment. Its laws may seem firm, even uncomfortable, to the rest of the world, but they endure because they rest on biblical truth. If America is going to remain free, just, and strong, it must protect the very foundation that made it what it is. When a nation lets go of the truth that shaped it, it begins to lose itself.
The Bible is not merely a religious book; it is the foundation of the nation’s moral strength. And if America is to survive, it must guard that foundation—not replace it with ideas that only soothe emotions, but hold fast to the truth that shapes the soul.