Why must we stand?
ABOUT
To our great benefit, we were reared in the kind of America that inspires patriotism and instills national pride. While it was not perfect, the America we grew to love was characterized by civility, mutual respect, the merit of honest debate, an appreciation for a diversity of thought and opinion, a freedom to bring ambition to fruition, and an overall acceptance of the facts of physics, biology and logic. To fly the American flag was to pay tribute to our shared values and inalienable rights—among them, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
In the last two decades, however, a cloud of pollution has settled across the blue sky that serves as the backdrop to those flags that wave in the wind all across our land in towns large and small, rural and urban. God has been pushed out of our schools and our public squares, and in His place has arrived all manner of anti-American rhetoric and chaos.
We now have politicians paying to bail rioters out of jail. We have doctors performing sex change surgeries on minors and hospitals and pharmaceutical companies profiting from it. Men dressed as women are invading spaces once regarded as safe for women and children—places like public libraries and female locker rooms—and there, they are exposing them to indecency and incredible amounts of confusion. Socialism is seeping into our nation’s fiscal policies, freedom of religion finds itself under constant threat, and 63 million babies have died on our nation’s altar to “women’s rights.” Not even the helpless plight of a born-alive infant can stir the hearts that have grown cold through apathy or evil.
It is absolutely clear our nation has both a spiritual problem and a leadership problem. At a time when the easy and perhaps even understandable thing to do is to give up on America, convinced her greatest days are too far gone and her future too surely sullied, we must rouse ourselves by a sense of duty and determination to stand for the things that matter. Out of respect for the memory of those who have sacrificed so much to establish and preserve this “land of the free and home of the brave” we cannot now give up and leave the fight while the war still rages. It is our turn now to offer our lives in service of the Great American Experiment. How can we squander so great a gift that has been passed to us and fail our children miserably in so doing?
We cannot. We must not. And we need your help.
Together, we can turn the tide. America is not too far gone, and our values are still as worthy of defense as they were in 1776. Do we face opposition? Certainly. Will the battle be handily won? Far from it. But what does it matter? The heart of an honorable patriot and heavenly citizen does not choose battles based on what victory is most easily achieved but what victory is most worthy of the fight. In defending life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, guided by the very Christian values that inspired our forefathers, we find a virtuous battle worthy of engagement, and engage we must. From Concord to Normandy to Gettysburg, some have given all to defend freedom and democratic ideals. Now, we must give something.
How can we squander so great a gift that has been passed to us and fail our children miserably in so doing?
We cannot. We must not. And we need your help.
MISSION
The Danbury Institute is an association of churches, Christians, and organizations aligned to affirm and preserve God-given rights to life and liberty by influencing culture and public policy, upholding the free exercise of religion, inspiring the vigorous involvement of an informed citizenry, and promoting Judeo-Christian values as the proper foundation for a free and prosperous republic.
DANBURY LEADERSHIP
At-a-glance
Scott Colter, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Sharayah Colter
Chief Communications Officer
Collin Hain
Chief Operations Officer
Kimberly Hobbs
Chief Financial Officer
C.J. Cavin, J.D.
Chief Legal Officer
Ellie Everett
Director of Digital Media
Natalie Bowman
Director of Pro-Life Policy
Richard Land, D. Phil.
Advisory Council Chairman
Nate Bennett
Communications and Marketing Associate
HISTORY OF THE DANBURY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
The Danbury Baptist Association, founded in 1790 in Connecticut, played a significant role in shaping the discourse of religious freedom in the United States. While it was a regional entity, the association's influence far surpassed its immediate sphere due to its interactions with prominent figures, most notably, Thomas Jefferson. In the late 18th century, Connecticut was unlike many of the other states.