Speech
Reception in Dallas, Texas
Alan KeyesApril 3, 2004
Well, thank you. Good evening everyone! I just want to express my thanks to the Lord for a wonderful day, today- -a day of great inspiration and great proof of the heart that is, in His hands, in the American people. And I think that we will see more of it, all over the country.
And we will see more of it, in great measure, because of one of those wonderful gifts of God that we can't anticipate, and that I will have to say, I didn't anticipate- -though, I've had an interest in the issue particularly in what was being done in the courts to destroy our freedom of religion, and to distort and destroy the constitutional liberty we were guaranteed under the Constitution.
I used to talk to people, in the course of my campaigns, and other things, about what I call the myth of separation and the phony doctrine that had been articulated, by the federal judiciary, to destroy the real liberty, and the real freedom of religion, that had been guaranteed in America.
But I had thought, and this was one of those prudential judgments, I spent a lot of time talking about the pro-life movement and abortion, and illustrations of great moral crisis of the country, but always, even in the midst of that, I would tell people that the fundamental issue was the issue of God's authority, and whether we were going to respect that authority, starting with our nation's first principle, that our right to life comes from the hand of God not from human choice.
But I had really thought that, that issue, as it relates to our politics, was just not one where you were going to get folks to mobilize, that you wouldn't have a chance to give them a clear sense of what had been done to the First Amendment, what was being done to our religious liberty. And then, last summer, when Rick got in touch with me, now I have known Judge Moore, I had helped him get elected Chief Justice, so we knew of the Ten Commandments fight that he had been engaged in, in the State of Alabama, but when he took that stand to the state level, when he stood there as he did with an integrity that then inspired as it attracted the loving attention of people around the country, he became not just an individual standing for a belief, he became, I think, a tool, an instrument, in the hand of Almighty God, offering to people of faith and conscience in this country, a priceless opportunity.
But you see, when we say that, you have to remember one thing, and it's one of those things that in America we ought never to forget, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ is, among other things, a God of freedom. He is a God who understands. He has all the absolute power! He could force every single one of us right to our knees, every moment, any time He pleased, and without choice, whatsoever, we would do His will, but that is not the position in which He has placed our humanity. He has placed our humanity in a position where He comes to us, even as the angel came to Mary, the Mother of Christ, and said, this is what God wants to do. But you know, God wasn't prepared to do it until she looked at that angel and said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and said, "Yes, I'm ready."
You see, we have a choice! God intends the instrument but it is up to us to respond. And what sometimes I think we have to remember, in the midst of all that we are now able to do around this country, is that the opportunity that God offered us in the person of Roy Moore, came to us in the end by the grace of God, because Roy Moore had the heart to say yes, to God!
And watching him over the course of this both, ordeal and opportunity, I've been reminded, to tell you the truth, of why it is that at the end of the day, when folks have tried, over the course of human history, to capture the great characters that have been on the stage of human life and history, they will often reach for granite and marble and other things that convey, what? They convey a sense of simple, solid, integrity. That's it. And you see, that is what has inspired me about Chief Justice Moore. He's not just somebody who is able to stand with an eloquence of action that outdoes every other kind of speech, but someone who comes across to people in the clarity of his convictions, because of an attribute that cannot be feigned, that cannot be phonied up, over the course of some response to a poll, or pollster, and that attribute is simple faith. The kind of simple faith that Jesus recommended to every one of us. The faith that shines in the face of a child. The faith that comes from that simple understanding that God is God. It's as simple as that.
And I have watched time and again, as he was under that cross-examination by Bill Pryor, and the remarkable thing that I have found in this whole episode, has been that through it all, through all of the ups and downs, the assaults, the misunderstanding, the criticism, from all sides, including unexpected conservative quarters, and unexpected quarters in the religious community of faith, through it all, though he felt, even as Jesus Christ felt, the burden that was placed upon him, yet he said, even as the Lord said, "Not my will, but Thine be done."
Yet he responded, in every case, with a heart that was willing to stand untroubled, in peace, to make the simple declarations of truth that God requires. And you see, that, to me, is the emblem of God's grace for us. Because such a heart, such a commitment, such a simplicity of faith, such a single-minded understanding of the need to stand without shame, without fear, and without apology, for the simple truth of God's sovereignty, that is a wonderful of work of grace.
At a moment like this, it might seem appropriate for us to thank Roy Moore, but I think he would understand me when I say that I do feel an enormous gratitude in my heart. An enormous gratitude for his courage. An enormous gratitude for his faith. An enormous gratitude for the labor and perseverance that he has put into understanding and conveying the truth of our religious heritage, and our right to claim that heritage as citizens. I would stand up and thank him, but I think he would join me in saying that what we really need to do is stand and put our hands together, and give our pledge to God Almighty, that He sent the man for this time! That He sent a heart for this struggle! That He sent an example that can inspire our citizens, all over this country, to know that we can stand as Americans as he has stood, even though it cost us everything we had, for our courts to acknowledge the Lord God as the Father of our hearts, and the Sovereign of our land.
And we will see more of it, in great measure, because of one of those wonderful gifts of God that we can't anticipate, and that I will have to say, I didn't anticipate
I used to talk to people, in the course of my campaigns, and other things, about what I call the myth of separation and the phony doctrine that had been articulated, by the federal judiciary, to destroy the real liberty, and the real freedom of religion, that had been guaranteed in America.
But I had thought, and this was one of those prudential judgments, I spent a lot of time talking about the pro-life movement and abortion, and illustrations of great moral crisis of the country, but always, even in the midst of that, I would tell people that the fundamental issue was the issue of God's authority, and whether we were going to respect that authority, starting with our nation's first principle, that our right to life comes from the hand of God not from human choice.
But I had really thought that, that issue, as it relates to our politics, was just not one where you were going to get folks to mobilize, that you wouldn't have a chance to give them a clear sense of what had been done to the First Amendment, what was being done to our religious liberty. And then, last summer, when Rick got in touch with me, now I have known Judge Moore, I had helped him get elected Chief Justice, so we knew of the Ten Commandments fight that he had been engaged in, in the State of Alabama, but when he took that stand to the state level, when he stood there as he did with an integrity that then inspired as it attracted the loving attention of people around the country, he became not just an individual standing for a belief, he became, I think, a tool, an instrument, in the hand of Almighty God, offering to people of faith and conscience in this country, a priceless opportunity.
But you see, when we say that, you have to remember one thing, and it's one of those things that in America we ought never to forget, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ is, among other things, a God of freedom. He is a God who understands. He has all the absolute power! He could force every single one of us right to our knees, every moment, any time He pleased, and without choice, whatsoever, we would do His will, but that is not the position in which He has placed our humanity. He has placed our humanity in a position where He comes to us, even as the angel came to Mary, the Mother of Christ, and said, this is what God wants to do. But you know, God wasn't prepared to do it until she looked at that angel and said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," and said, "Yes, I'm ready."
You see, we have a choice! God intends the instrument but it is up to us to respond. And what sometimes I think we have to remember, in the midst of all that we are now able to do around this country, is that the opportunity that God offered us in the person of Roy Moore, came to us in the end by the grace of God, because Roy Moore had the heart to say yes, to God!
And watching him over the course of this both, ordeal and opportunity, I've been reminded, to tell you the truth, of why it is that at the end of the day, when folks have tried, over the course of human history, to capture the great characters that have been on the stage of human life and history, they will often reach for granite and marble and other things that convey, what? They convey a sense of simple, solid, integrity. That's it. And you see, that is what has inspired me about Chief Justice Moore. He's not just somebody who is able to stand with an eloquence of action that outdoes every other kind of speech, but someone who comes across to people in the clarity of his convictions, because of an attribute that cannot be feigned, that cannot be phonied up, over the course of some response to a poll, or pollster, and that attribute is simple faith. The kind of simple faith that Jesus recommended to every one of us. The faith that shines in the face of a child. The faith that comes from that simple understanding that God is God. It's as simple as that.
And I have watched time and again, as he was under that cross-examination by Bill Pryor, and the remarkable thing that I have found in this whole episode, has been that through it all, through all of the ups and downs, the assaults, the misunderstanding, the criticism, from all sides, including unexpected conservative quarters, and unexpected quarters in the religious community of faith, through it all, though he felt, even as Jesus Christ felt, the burden that was placed upon him, yet he said, even as the Lord said, "Not my will, but Thine be done."
Yet he responded, in every case, with a heart that was willing to stand untroubled, in peace, to make the simple declarations of truth that God requires. And you see, that, to me, is the emblem of God's grace for us. Because such a heart, such a commitment, such a simplicity of faith, such a single-minded understanding of the need to stand without shame, without fear, and without apology, for the simple truth of God's sovereignty, that is a wonderful of work of grace.
At a moment like this, it might seem appropriate for us to thank Roy Moore, but I think he would understand me when I say that I do feel an enormous gratitude in my heart. An enormous gratitude for his courage. An enormous gratitude for his faith. An enormous gratitude for the labor and perseverance that he has put into understanding and conveying the truth of our religious heritage, and our right to claim that heritage as citizens. I would stand up and thank him, but I think he would join me in saying that what we really need to do is stand and put our hands together, and give our pledge to God Almighty, that He sent the man for this time! That He sent a heart for this struggle! That He sent an example that can inspire our citizens, all over this country, to know that we can stand as Americans as he has stood, even though it cost us everything we had, for our courts to acknowledge the Lord God as the Father of our hearts, and the Sovereign of our land.