So what did our founding fathers have to say about Christianity/religion?

For example: What was one of the first things George Washington did when he was elected president?

“Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 – President George Washington
“WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

“Washington referred to himself frequently using the words “ardent,” “fervent,” “pious,” and “devout.” There are over one hundred different prayers composed and written by Washington in his own hand, with his own words, in his writings….Although he never once used the word “Deist” in his voluminous writings, he often mentioned religion, Christianity, and the Gospel”

“”The Commander in Chief directs that divine Service be performed every Sunday at 11 oClock in those Brigades to which there are Chaplains; those which have none to attend the places of worship nearest to them. It is expected that Officers of all Ranks will by their attendence set an Example to their men. While we are zealously performing the duties of good Citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of Religion. To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian. The signal Instances of providential Goodness which we have experienced and which have now almost crowned our labours with complete Success, demand from us in a peculiar manner the warmest returns of Gratitude and Piety to the Supreme Author of all Good.” –George Washington, General Orders, (May 2nd, 1778)”

“John Adams: The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. … The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.

Samuel Adams: I [rely] upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins. … I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world … bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace. … We may with one heart and voice humbly implore His gracious and free pardon through Jesus Christ, supplicating His Divine aid … [and] above all to cause the religion of Jesus Christ, in its true spirit, to spread far and wide till the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.

John Hancock: That the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be continually increasing until the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.
…

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I can still remember the day around 6 months after i arrived when the stock market crashed. The standard response was “It will come up again.” There were magazine articles explaining how Japan was “unique”, and different from other countries, so the economy would dip a bit, and then come back stronger than ever, and be number one in the world. Of course a few years before that there was a man in America who wrote a book something along the lines of “The Japanese Century”, referring to how the 21st century would see Japan become the dominant power in the world. Funny thing happened tho, that same man is now studying Chinese – ha!

Anyway, very few industries in Japan are really efficient, but the export-driven companies are usually tops in their fields. Especially in electronics and automobiles have they been world-beaters. So they have amassed a huge foreign reserves, second only to China’s. Japan’s reserves

It is a good thing, as that is about the only bright spot in Japan’s financial picture. The demographic problem is the biggest, with the population aging rapidly, and the young choosing not to get married, or married much later, many unborn killed, and a fear of allowing many foreigners in. The 1990s is called even in Japan a “wasted decade”, as the government continued to throw good money after bad on public works projects to somehow “ignite” the economy. Of course that didn’t do much good, as current stories of a huge govt. recreation centers etc. being sold for as little as $1 in some cases, because really no one wants them! So Japanese govt. debt ballooned to where it is now way higher than any other major country’s. Public debt per GDP is twice as bad as America’s, yet there is little angst about it, as most of the holders of the debt are not foreigners, but domestic. list of countries by public debt

Today Japan announced the first red ink in international trade in 31 years. 2011 Japan’s red ink. The stated reasons are the cleanup from the tsunami, tsunami cleanup pics and even bigger – the shutdown of many nuclear plants after the Fukushima problems, with the slack in electricity production being taken up by importing more oil and coal. This is ominous, as the export sector has been propping up the economy, and if Japan loses its reserves, there is basically nothing left financial wise.

Which leads to a big question – what will happen to the yen? The yen has been on a tear over the last few years, rising against all the other major currencies. When i left Japan in 2005, it was around 110jpy/1usd, but now that is 76/1. That is great for earning in yen, and sending to other countries to help people, but what will happen if Japan self-implodes?