Special to WorldTribune.com

By Bill Federer, March 31, 2024

Excerpts from American Minute

Composer George Frederick Handel quoted Job chapter 19 in his masterpiece Messiah, 1742: “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

George Washington Carver made comments on divine inspiration, after which he was criticized by a New York Times editorial, November 20, 1924. Rev. Lyman Ward sent him an encouraging letter, to which Carver replied, January 15, 1925:

“My dear Bro. Ward, Many, many thanks for your letter of Jan. 4th. How it lifted up my very soul, and made me to feel that after all God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. I did indeed feel very badly for a while, not that the cynical criticism was directed at me, but rather at the religion of Jesus Christ. Dear Bro. I know that my Redeemer liveth.” …

In an Easter address in St. Peter’s Square, April 1, 1956, Pope Pius XII stated:

“This year’s celebration of Easter should be primarily a recall to faith in Christ, addressed to people who, through no fault of their own, are still unaware of the saving work of the Redeemer; To those who, on the contrary, would wish to have His name wiped out of the minds and hearts of nations; and finally, in a special manner, to those souls of little faith who, seduced by deceptive enticements, are on the point of exchanging the priceless Christian values for those of a false earthly progress.” …

William Jennings Bryan, who was the Democrat Presidential candidate in 1896, 1900, and 1908, gave over 600 public speeches during his campaigns. His statue is in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Bryan’s most famous being “The Prince of Peace,” printed in the New York Times, September 7, 1913, stating:

“The world had known love before … but Jesus gave a new definition of love. His love was as wide as the sea; its limits were so far-flung that even an enemy could not travel beyond its bounds. … Reared in a carpenter shop; with no knowledge of literature, save Bible literature; with no acquaintance with philosophers living or with the writings of sages dead, when only about thirty years old He gathered disciples about Him, promulgated a higher code of morals than the world had ever known before, and proclaimed Himself the Messiah. He taught and performed miracles for a few brief months and then was crucified; His disciples were scattered and many of them put to death; His claims were disputed, His resurrection denied and His followers persecuted; and yet from this beginning His religion spread until hundreds of millions have taken His name with reverence upon their lips and millions have been willing to die rather than surrender the faith which He put into their hearts …”

William Jennings Bryan concluded:

“How shall we account for Him? Here is the greatest fact of history; here is One who has with increasing power, for nineteen hundred years, molded the hearts, the thoughts and the lives of men, and He exerts more influence today than ever before.” …

British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in his 1975:

“As man alone, Jesus could not have saved us; as God alone, he would not; Incarnate, he could and did.”

President Donald Trump stated March 31, 2018:

“During the sacred holiday of Passover, Jewish families around the world give thanks to God for liberating the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt and for delivering them to the Promised Land of Israel. … For Christians, we remember the suffering and death of God’s only Son and his glorious resurrection on the third day. On Easter Sunday, we proclaim with joy … Christ is Risen!“

George Washington’s tomb is engraved with the Scripture, John 11:25, where Jesus told Martha:

“I am the Resurrection and the Life; sayeth the Lord. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.”

  Memorable reflections on Easter Sunday: ‘He exerts more influence today than ever before’