As God can protect his people under the greatest despotism, so the utmost civil liberty is no safety to them without the immediate protection of his Almighty arm. I fear that Christians in this country have too great a confidence in political institutions .. . [rather] than of the government of God. Alexander Carson
About This Quote

This quote comes from George Washington's Farewell Address, where he warns of the dangers of relying on the civil authorities to solve the nation’s problems. Washington believed that all men are equal in the eyes of God, and that all men are created in God's image, but "the greatest liberty" is not always a right. The kind of liberty that leads to tyranny is different from the kind of liberty that leads to true democracy. The kind of liberty that leads to tyranny leads to confusion and division within society. On the other hand, "the utmost civil liberty" is also an important ideal, but it is never safe without the protection of God.

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More Quotes By Alexander Carson
  1. As God can protect his people under the greatest despotism, so the utmost civil liberty is no safety to them without the immediate protection of his Almighty arm. I fear that Christians in this country have too great a confidence in political institutions .. ....

  2. If we need the protection of men, let us first ask it from God. If we prevail with Him, the power of the most mighty and of the most wicked must minister to our relief.

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