Crader lecture to focus on religion, U.S. founding

This week, the annual Crader Family Lecture will be held at Dempster Hall on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. The subject is the influence of religion on America and its founding and will be given by American University professor Dr. Daniel Dreisbach.

A short video from the Faith & Liberty Discovery Center gives a brief look at Dreisbach's views on faith, the Bible and America's founding.

"I think it's difficult to tell the story of American history, more specifically the story of the American founding, without an understanding of the Bible," said Dreisbach.

He went on to talk about how integral the Bible was to our founding fathers and how it informed their lives and ideas. It informed the way they talked about politics and government, Dreisbach added in his video commentary.

The annual Crader lecture, which started in 2009, was endowed by the Crader Family Endowment for American Values and, according to the university news release, "is dedicated to education, research and public engagement in the historical traditions of the United States of America and Western civilization."

These lectures traditionally have been strong, with speakers from a variety of backgrounds giving good information. This year's talk appears to be in line with that record. The Bible certainly has played a role in society, forming many of our ideals and laws.

A special thanks to the Crader family for their endowment of the lecture, which is a gift to this community that continues year after year with impressive speakers from a variety of backgrounds.

We hope you will plan to attend the talk. It will start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall.