 Know that we have been blessed of God to have a nation like ours. We also know that this nation did not just happen, but it rose out of a Christian understanding that dominated intellectual pursuit from the 16th century Reformation until the founding of the United States of America. The Reformation's dual emphasis on the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man taught the human mind that only under the providence of an absolute sovereign God can man ever truly be free. This is the thought that gave rise to the political philosophy that moved our forefathers to establish this great Republic of America.